☀️ AM: Primary Problems

Good Morning, New York! The Working Families Party will sue Adams’ charter team if they try to switch to jungle primaries, Zohran allies are threatening to primary 5 New York house members including Hakeem Jeffries, and Eric Adams solidifies his election team. This is your Tammany Times AM Briefing for Wednesday, July 9th, 2025.

WHERE’s KATHY: In New York City, with no events publicly on the schedule.

WHERE’s ERIC: No public schedule available.

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Hall Monitors

Trump is vowing to "straighten out" the city if Zohran Mamdani wins. The former president, calling Mamdani a "communist," threatened federal intervention and accused the candidate of plotting to seize grocery stores, which Mamdani's campaign dismissed as an insult to voters. Gov. Hochul also chimed in, asserting that New Yorkers, not "wannabe kings," decide their leadership. (NY Daily News)

NYC's Working Families Party is ready to sue if Mayor Adams' charter revision commission pushes for a nonpartisan 'jungle' primary system. The WFP worries the shift could violate the state's fusion voting system and undermine political parties. While some argue open primaries boost voter turnout, critics fear it will increase the role of money in politics and dilute the influence of grassroots groups. (City & State NY)

The stakes are high as teams picked for powerful community advisory committees were announced for each of the eight proposed casino projects. These committees hold the key, as they have the power to greenlight or kill any project with an up-or-down vote expected later this summer. With the mayor, governor, and local representatives each getting to appoint a seat, the competition for those coveted casino licenses is officially heating up. (NY1)

Capitol Gains

Trump's "big, beautiful" energy policy bill is causing quite the stir in New York. Energy provider NOCO warns customers that costs are about to jump due to the elimination of tax incentives from Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. However, Rep. Langworthy argues the bill will save taxpayers money by cutting "harmful" programs. (State of Politics)

Get ready for some answers on New York's $9 billion Medicaid home care program. State senators have pushed back a hearing to August 21, confident that the state's Health Commissioner and other leaders will testify and address concerns about bid-rigging and a rocky transition to Public Partnerships LLC. 1199 SEIU, PPL, and other workers are also expected to testify. (State of Politics)

New York's six-figure public pension club is booming, with over 11,000 state retirees now raking in over $100,000 annually. Public hospital execs lead the pack – one former communications executive at the Westchester Health Care Corporation pulled in over $500,000. Cops and firefighters also make up a sizable chunk of the high-earning retirees, with average pensions doubling that of other recent retirees. (Times Union)

Trail Mix

Fresh off Zohran Mamdani's mayoral primary victory, his allies are threatening to primary Hakeem Jeffries, Ritchie Torres, Jerry Nadler, Dan Goldman and Yvette Clarke. Jeffries' team is pushing back hard, labeling the challengers, "Team Gentrification" and promising a "forceful and unrelenting" response. Jeffries' advisor warned that if they target the House minority leader, he'll retaliate by going after the democratic socialists from Brooklyn elected to the state legislature. (CNN)

Eric Adams is gearing up for his re-election bid, bringing back Frank Carone to chair his campaign. “We have the team here with the experience and the candidate who is energized to run on his record,” said Carone, confirming he will chair Adams’ campaign once more. (NY Post)

Mayor Adams is shaking things up by reportedly hiring Eugene Noh as his campaign manager, but this guy's got a history. Noh, who's married to anti-Adams Councilwoman Julie Won, previously faced criticism for inflammatory remarks, including suggesting staffers use drugs to boost voter turnout and allegedly being booted from Twitter for using the N-word. (NY Daily News)