5 Takeaways From the Mayorâs Race: A Subway Pledge and Police Scrutiny Some New York City candidates vowed to reform the Police Department â or to ride the subway more often than Mayor Bill de Blasio. Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, was less critical of how the police handled Black Lives Matter protests than some of his rivals.Credit...Elizabeth D. Herman for The New York Times Dec. 21, 2020 The Democratic candidates running for mayor of New York City differ on many issues, but they tend to agree on one thing: All aspire to be different from Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat in his second term whose approval rating dropped after his failed run for president last year.