NYC mayoral candidates appear at Labor Day Parade
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- New York City's Labor Day Parade celebrates the people who built this city and those who kept it running. They have a personal stake in who runs it next.
The parade took place a day after Mayor Eric Adams said he will continue his bid for reelection in November.
"I just want a mayor that really gives working class New Yorkers and unions their just rewards," said Betty Nieves.
The candidates were all out on Fifth Avenue vying for union support with less than two months until the election.
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo picked up his first major union endorsement for the general election from Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Endorsements are key, but do not tell the whole story. How well a candidate can energize union members down the stretch to get out and vote certainly matters -- and some would be energized by something pretty straightforward.
"They come in saying they're going to do something, but they never wind up doing it," said Gaspare Coraci.
Cuomo is trying to claw his way back after losing key union support to Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani. Cuomo is also denying speculation that President Trump is trying to engineer a Cuomo win.
"Who do the Republicans want? They want Mamdani who would be a stooge for Trump. There's no doubt about it. Everything else is baloney," Cuomo said.
Mamdani brought some Democratic Socialist muscle with him -- Bernie Sanders marching with him along the parade route.
"I think working people understand that we need elected officials who will stand up for them, have the guts to take on the oligarchy and the billionaires and that's what Zohran is about," Sanders said.
Senator Bernie Sanders spent the day in his hometown, hosting a rally at his Alma Mater Brooklyn College for a fellow Democratic Socialist and supporting his message of making the city more affordable.
"It is not a radical idea to say that every man, woman and child in America can have a decent standard of living. That ain't radical," said Sanders.
Mamdani blasted reports that Trump is trying to narrow the field of candidates to prevent him from winning. Both Mayor Adams and Republican Curtis Sliwa have vowed to stay in it.
"I'm just as outraged as I was about Donald Trump's attempts to intervene in this race. The focus however has to continue to be the struggles of working New Yorkers," Mamdani said.
On Saturday night at Brooklyn College, Mamdani told supporters, he'll just have to beat Andrew Cuomo again.
"This is a man who lost by 13 points to a campaign, our campaign, that got the most votes in New York City primary history and still thinks that this is his race to win," he said.
Cuomo has called it a very different electorate in November, but incumbent Mayor Adams is also running as a moderate independent.
"I'm in the race until the end," Adams said.
Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa also says he's staying in, and Mamdani's supporters seeing him on stage with a political idol tonight are feeling confident.
"The last person I was excited about was Bernie Sanders. I canvassed for Bernie as well. And now, Zohan is the first person that gave me hope again," said Valeria Calleros.
Endorsements are key, but do not tell the whole story. How well a candidate can energize union members down the stretch to get out and vote certainly matters -- and some would be energized by something pretty straightforward.
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