Mayor Adams scrapped nearly all of his public events planned in the city for Thursday after his flight back from a campaign fund-raising trip to Los Angeles got canceled, according to his spokesman and a source familiar with the matter.
Adams, who traveled to Los Angeles on Tuesday, was supposed to get back Thursday morning for six public appearances across the Big Apple, including an education-related rally at City Hall in the afternoon.
But at 7:44 a.m., Adams’ office removed the first five events from his schedule, citing “a last-minute flight cancellation.” As a result, the only public appearance left on Adams’ Thursday schedule was a 6:45 p.m. Cinco De Mayo celebration at Gracie Mansion where he was not expected to take questions from reporters.
Mayoral spokesman Max Young said Adams’ Wednesday red-eye flight from Los Angeles International Airport was delayed by more than 15 hours, making it impossible for him to make the first five events. Adams was instead expected to return to New York on another flight late Thursday afternoon, Young added.
Adams jetted to Los Angeles to participate in a Wednesday panel at the Milken Institute conference. The mayor was the only elected official on the panel, which focused on technology.
Young confirmed that Adams’ travel and accommodation was paid for by his campaign — and a source familiar with the matter told the Daily News that the mayor attended at least one fund-raiser for his reelection bid during the Los Angeles trip.
It was not clear who hosted the fund-raiser, and Young referred questions about the matter to Adams political adviser Evan Thies, who declined to comment.
Public records show that Adams’ campaign had more than $865,000 on hand as of the latest filing deadline.
Ken Frydman, a veteran New York political strategist, questioned why Adams is already raising money, given that he does not have any outstanding campaign debt and the next mayoral election is nearly four years away.
“Instead of fund-raising in Los Angeles, he should be fighting crime full-time in New York City,” Frydman said.
While Adams was on his cross-country trip, Quinnipiac University released a new poll finding that the mayor’s job approval rating is sliding. The survey gave Adams especially poor marks on public safety — his top policy priority — finding that 54% of New Yorkers now disapprove of his handling of the issue.
