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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. We continue now to interview all the major candidates in the primaries coming this June for Mayor of New York and Governor of New Jersey. The mayoral primary is shaping up to be a fierce contest, as you probably know already with Mayor Eric Adams seeking a second term, and a growing field of challengers, mostly from the left, making the case for a change.

Our latest guest from that field is Scott Stringer, a veteran of city and state government who has served as New York City Comptroller, Manhattan Borough President, and a State Assembly Member. Now he's running for mayor, as he also did in 2021, arguing that his experience makes him the right person to fix the city's biggest challenges. Scott Stringer, welcome back to WNYC.

Scott Stringer: Brian, it's been too long. It's great to be on.

Brian Lehrer: Let me just dive right into asking you. What you argue sets you apart from some of the other candidates in the race, especially because the field of progressives to the left of Mayor Adams, where I think you would count yourself, is long: Brad Lander, the current Comptroller, Zellnor Myrie, Zorin Mamdani, Jessica Ramos, Michael Blake. Why you, more than any of them from the progressive camp, if you accept that framing?

Scott Stringer: Look, I think we're in a very difficult time, very difficult times, I should say, both in terms of the Trump presidency, the impact that will have on New York, and also the very real challenges of affordability, of education, of trying to make it in a city where inflation is just hurting families in all five boroughs. This is not a ideological moment.

This is actually an experience to govern moment. In every office that I've had over the last three decades, I have not just existed as an elected official, but I have fundamentally made real change in the city. When I was in the state Assembly, I was a reformer who ended MTC voting, passed the first rules reform ever in modern history in the assembly.

As borough president, I focused on community-based planning, making sure neighborhoods had a voice in how their neighborhoods should adapt to the changing environment, more affordable housing, more economic opportunity. I reformed the community boards, diversified them, and I was a very active borough president for my community.

As Comptroller, I did things that were never done before, Brian, and we could talk about that today. The reason I say that is because we need a mayor who understands government. I've audited every city agency. I held the Bill de Blasio accountable during his administration. Quite frankly, we haven't seen that scrutiny from the current Comptroller.

Quite frankly, government gave Eric Adams a free pass. When people say Eric got away with murder, and I don't mean literally murder, but Eric got away with a whole lot, it's because we didn't hold him accountable. Imagine electing a mayor who has competence, experience, and a real vision for this city. That's what I'm offering.

Brian Lehrer: Listeners, we have time for a few questions from you, candidate questions for Scott Stringer, 212-433-WNYC, call or text, 212-433-9692, as he runs in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary.

Let me address the elephant in the room that I'm sure people are thinking of if they followed the 2021 race. You ran, but faced a major setback and withdrew when two women accused you of past sexual misconduct, allegations you denied. One claim from a former campaign volunteer was never corroborated, while the other from a woman who said you groped her in the 1990s was called into question after inconsistencies emerged in her account.

Still, many of your progressive allies withdrew their endorsements and your campaign never recovered. How have you rebuilt trust, or can you rebuild trust with voters around those allegations? What do you say to those who still have concerns?

Scott Stringer: Look, the facts must come out and speak for themselves. That's why I brought a defamation suit to just deny this, what turned out to be a political hit. I think voters understand that at that moment, I was just-- It was impossible to respond. Look, I'll say this. For me, traveling the city, people want a mayor. They know that these charges were false. They've given me an opportunity to run. I've raised millions of dollars from thousands of men and women in this city.

This is not a question that comes up very often, but when it does, I talk about the fact that I'm doing a defamation suit, not because of political reasons, because I think people have moved on from the false charges, but I'm really doing it for my children because my two sons have to know that their dad has had a very honorable career. I've done a lot of work for the city. They have to know that I deny these charges and I proved my innocence. There is a case ongoing, and I'm looking forward to resolving it in the months ahead.

Brian Lehrer: Some people might say, well, because there were two, then there's smoke there, even if they can't prove them in court. They go, "I don't know. Scott Stringer, I don't know," the fact that there are two.

Scott Stringer: Okay, so? They both [crosstalk]--

Brian Lehrer: The question is, what do you say to people who say, well, if it was one, maybe, but there are two, so it challenges their trust?

Scott Stringer: Well, look, when it comes up, I will answer. I've answered in court. Read the court papers. It's pretty clear that I got hit very hard with allegations that weren't true. By the way, if you look at all the polling, I am now running second in the mayor's race. My favorable numbers are higher than they were when I first announced for mayor four years ago. I think people do not want to see this campaign go down over false allegations. People are innocent until proven guilty.

By the way, because I had this situation, Eric Adams became mayor. Let's not make the same mistake again. I just think we can move on. I think we have to also get out of the 2021 mud and get into the real debate-facing issues. I hope that shows like yours and others will give me and other people the opportunity to make a case for how we're going to build affordable housing, how we're going to give kids like mine who are in public school the education of a lifetime.

We've got to keep people in this city. The people who are leaving are middle-class people, people who built our city. I want to be the one using my experience and competence to fight for the people here. If you want somebody who can beat Eric Adams, can beat Andrew Cuomo, put your best fighter into this Democratic primary. That's how I came back when people said I was not going to beat Elliot Spitzer. I was able to do that through debate and through my policy proposals. I think we're going to do it again.

Brian Lehrer: People forget that Elliot Spitzer was considered the big kahuna in the race for New York City Comptroller back when you beat him in a Democratic primary as the underdog. Comparing you to Mayor Adams, he has framed his tenure around public safety, arguing that crime is down under his watch. You've said New York has a crime issue, but also criticized Adams' approach. How would you strike the right balance between public safety and addressing concerns about over-policing in a different way from the current mayor? That leaves people confident in your willingness to really fight crime.

Scott Stringer: Let's cut to the chase. Eric Adams' idea of policing was performative, at best. Violent felonies are up 20%. The police force has the lowest police count in a generation. We're actually spending hundreds of millions of dollars in overtime because we don't have enough police officers doing the good work of community policing, learning who the community leaders- learning the businesses, learning the challenges in each neighborhood. I'm going to hire 3,000 more police officers. We're going to train our officers in the challenges that we face right here in 2025.

I'm not going to stop there. I'm going to put a cop on every train. That cop is going to also work with a mental health initiative that I'm proposing that would put nurses and mental health experts on the trains, working with people who are suffering every day. Many people who are suffering are not people who are committing crimes, but they are dying in front of us.

I know this, Brian, because I take my kids most mornings to school. I see the people who are suffering. It's time for a mayor to do the hard work, the competent work, to make sure that we align our policing with a mental health initiative, with working with our 11 public hospitals, making sure we have supportive housing beds.

Right now, at best, if there's somebody suffering from a mental health episode or an episodic attack, you send the person or you take the person to a hospital, they're out in 48 hours. No one knows what happens to them. No one knows where they're going. That's just not good enough in a city with a $114 billion budget and resources to work on these issues. Let's cut the overtime, redirect that money to doing what's good.

Now, what I believe the skills I have is I'm really good at this. I've managed a big office. I've managed a multibillion-dollar pension fund. I have audited every city agency, including the NYPD. I know what we can do.

Brian Lehrer: Listener text this question. "We want a mayor who can stand up to Trump. Is Scott Stringer that person? Can he speak to that?"

Scott Stringer: Look, for me, this is not my first rodeo with Donald Trump. I've been there before when he first got elected and I stood up to him, I did not back down on climate change. The pension fund divested $4 billion from fossil fuels. When he started talking about violence and guns, we divested money from the pension fund, all of our holdings in gun manufacturers. I made sure that we divested from private prisons. I'm not afraid to fight Donald Trump.

Right now, Donald Trump owns Eric Adams lock, stock, and barrel. Everybody knows that. I'm the person who is best qualified to take on Donald Trump. I have political skills. I have genuine experience in these issues. I'm not afraid of Donald Trump or anyone else for that matter.

Look, this is a chess moment, not a checkers moment. You got to understand how to push the levers of government, working with the governor, working, working with the future speaker, Hakeem Jeffries, working to make sure that we have a government, a strategy to take on this government that is trying to come at New York in a way, quite frankly, none of us, none of us could imagine.

Look, he took $80 million from us. We have to work to fight back. The Mayor, the Comptroller, the City Council, we've got to get in there and figure out how we prevent this from happening, holding banks accountable, looking at the ways that we can protect this funding. I want to propose a very rainy day fund, and I'm going to do that today, where we've set aside $1 billion, half from the state, $500 million from the state, $500 million in the city, so that we can continue essential services, reinforce our economic independence, and ensure that the federal government cannot dictate the city's priorities through coercion.

I have the skills to do that based on my experience as the Chief Financial Officer of the city, based on my work as Manhattan Borough President. Look, when I was in the State Assembly, I wasn't working only with Democrats. I had to go across to the Republican Senate and move legislation that was critical to New York City.

Brian Lehrer: A follow-up on a specific Trump and Adams policy. Trump is now suing, or the administration, is now suing New York State over its sanctuary policies for undocumented migrants accused or convicted of crimes. Mayor Adams, as you know, also says the sanctuary city law went too far under Mayor de Blasio and has contributed to an increase in crime. Do you support the sanctuary city laws as they exist?

Scott Stringer: Yes. Look, we got to draw a hard line on Trump's overreach. The truth is, as mayor, New York will not be bullied into acting as a federal immigration arm. The City must prioritize public safety. Sure, we'll coordinate when necessary, but we are not ICE's enforcers. We're going to protect our immigrant communities. We're going to work with Attorney General Tish James. We're going to work with our own law and law enforcement, the NYPD, to make sure that we're actually protecting communities and that we're not allowing this political theater.

My kids, in their middle school, they see the fact that kids are not showing up in their public schools, kids who are afraid or their parents are afraid that something could happen to them, that ICE could separate their babies from them. That is something that I would never have imagined could happen. You need a mayor who is rock solid when it comes to protecting our families. That's what we're going to do.

I want to just say that we have to reiterate, and I'm going to talk a lot about this. We have to reiterate our values. Every single New Yorker deserves to feel free and safe in the community. Could you imagine people who are walking the streets now afraid to live in what is slowly becoming a police state where a government agency can conduct raids at schools, at hospitals, churches, and we have a mayor who basically has rolled out the red carpet to save his own skin?

This is the biggest threat we've faced in a generation. We all came from different places, our parents and our grandparents. I am just outraged that we have a city government that is looking to get bailed out, literally, and is now under the thumb of Donald Trump because, as you know, Brian, you've talked about this. Those charges can be brought back at any moment. We are now living in a time where we have to totally not have this happen.

Brian Lehrer: As we enter our last five minutes, I wonder if you anticipated this. The one thing you said in our conversation so far that has sparked the most reaction by listeners is your call for hiring more police officers. We're getting reaction from different points of view. Let me take one from one, and then I'll read you a text from another. Michael in Washington Heights, you're on WNYC with Scott Stringer. Hello.

Michael: Good morning. Yeah, I heard Mr. Stringer's proposal to hire 3,000 more police officers. I think I speak for many New Yorkers when I say that I see many police officers obviously on duty, being paid and not working. I'm wondering what Mr. Stringer plans to do in terms of accountability for overtime fraud, time theft, and also more generally, pushing back against the new federal stated policies relating to police immunity. We need more accountability for police. I haven't heard Mr. Swinger say anything about that.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you, Michael.

Scott Stringer: Well, now that you've asked me that question, I have spent a good part of my career fighting for police accountability. I was arrested in civil disobedience on multiple occasions to fight back, especially during the Diallo shooting. I was proud to be part of that coalition. I was also, quite frankly, the first person who looked like me, a Caucasian male, who came out against "Stop, Question, and Frisk," and would eliminate that in total when I'm mayor.

Let's have an honest conversation. I'm not going to Knee-jerk to the left. I'm not going to knee-jerk to the right. I'm just going to tell you what it's like. If you don't think it's true, then there's a lot of candidates to vote for, but we cannot continue to spend $1.3 billion on police overtime because we don't have enough police officers. We just hire 3,000, and then we use that money and other funding to build out a mental health program. That, to me, makes sense.

I'm running the kind of campaign which is like, no more nonsense, no more performative approach to government. If we're serious about working for a better city, a unified city, then I'm going to use every part of my lived life experience. By the way, I grew up in Washington Heights. I went to Kennedy High School. I traveled in a community in the 1970s when there were 2,000 murders a year. I know what it's like to feel unsafe, but I also know that a lot of my friends were accused of things that they didn't do by the police. They got hurt in their life career.

Look, I've been falsely accused. I know how painful it is, but we also have to have a mayor who's going to look at the whole picture, and that's what I'm going to try to do.

Brian Lehrer: Here's a question from sort of the other side. Since we're running out of time, I'll let you answer this question and then say anything else you want as kind of a closing statement as we wrap up. Another listener writes in a text, "How do you intend to hire 3,000 officers if there's already a recruitment recruiting shortage?"

I think the subtext there is our police officers are being treated badly. They're always criticized. They're being put into regulatory and ideological handcuffs. How do you, as somebody who's arguing for police accountability, say, "Come on back, apply for this job, we're going to be good to you," in a way that even Eric Adams can't get them back to do?

Scott Stringer: Look, I think by being truthful about the benefits of this job. It's a great honor to protect people. Part of protecting people is knowing that there's a lot of training that goes into being a police officer. How do you navigate communities? How do you navigate diverse communities? How do you make sure that we're protecting the civil rights of our individuals by not falling back on "Stop, Question, and Frisk"?

There's also another issue. If young police officers who want to have families, who want to have lives are being forced into these shifts of 12, 14, 16 hours because it's performative policing month, so you link a cop in the trains with military personnel, this is not what people sign up for. We have to also think about a police officer's quality of life for two reasons. One, that police officer will actually do the job. Second, you want to make sure that we don't tire these cops out where mistakes are made along the way, sometimes very tragic mistakes.

I think we need a reorg of the NYPD. I'm going to throw the rascals out. We're going to rebuild this department from the bottom up. We're going to bring in people who have honesty and integrity, who see the big picture of celebrating the civil rights of this city, but at the same time making sure that random attacks on people, especially women at night or on the trains, that cannot continue if we are going to be a civilized city.

Now, I don't know if that, that means I'm a lefty, I'm a liberal, I'm a conservative, I've been called all sorts of things in my career, but I will say this in my conclusion. I am a very serious public servant. For 30 years, I took on the toughest battles in this city, from protecting tenants to serving the city building affordable housing. I financed $1 billion in financing for affordable housing.

I made sure in this city that we audited and letter-graded every city agency based on agency spend with women and minority-owned businesses. It had never been done before. That was something that went a long way to getting economic revitalization in our communities. I also consolidated the pension fund from five funds to one investment meeting that not only returned 9% investment, even during the COVID era, the totality of eight years, but I also doubled down on the social justice issues of our time.

I divested from climate change. I divested from guns. I divested from private prisons. Nobody can speak to those issues. The reason I was able to do it is two things. Then I'll leave the podium.

Brian Lehrer: 10 seconds.

Scott Stringer: I did it because I knew something. I knew how to bring talent into government. If there's one thing people will say about me, my office always attracted the best and the brightest, scandal-free, competent, but also mission-driven. That's why I'm running for mayor.

Brian Lehrer: Scott Stringer, the latest guest in our series of interviews with all the major candidates in the primary for Mayor of New York and Governor of New Jersey, we really appreciate that you came on with us today for this. Thank you very much.

Scott Stringer: Thank you, sir.

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