With the mayoral field upended, will Staten Island Dems eye a progressive future?
By Richard Luthmann and Rick LaRivière
STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK – New York’s political landscape lurched when Mayor Eric Adams abruptly withdrew from his reelection bid. Four years after he declared himself the future of the Democratic Party, Adams stood before cameras and admitted his run was over.
ABC News called his announcement “remarkable” because he had been “considered a burgeoning voice in Democratic politics” only a few years ago. Adams’ collapse mirrored his poll numbers; he was “polling in the single digits” when he dropped out.
A corruption indictment eroded his donations and credibility, and, though prosecutors later dismissed the case, voters never returned. In a parting jab at the progressive front‑runner Zohran Mamdani, Adams warned New Yorkers to “choose leaders not by what they promise, but by what they have delivered.”
However, the energy that once buoyed a former NYPD captain has shifted to a youthful socialist who has already surpassed former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary. With Adams out, Mamdani commands the progressive base and has built a double‑digit lead over Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa.
He is now courting working‑class neighborhoods long ignored by Manhattan kingmakers, and his allies whisper about flipping outer‑borough council seats.
Staten Island’s North Shore feels the tremor. The borough’s only Democratic council seat sits in District 49, held by Kamillah Hanks. A moderate who touts her membership on the Council’s Landmarks Subcommittee (she chairs no full Council committee).
Hanks rode Adams’ coattails to City Hall, and the party machine has shielded her ever since. But Adams’ fall leaves the outer‑borough apparatus vulnerable.
Progressive Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is widely expected to endorse Sarah Blas, a Marine veteran and community organizer running against Hanks. The Working Families Party’s voter guide lists both Mamdani and Blas as its top choices for mayor and District 49, hinting at a shared ticket that could electrify left‑wing voters.
Citizen Action of New York endorsed Blas for her “bold, people‑powered platform” built on fully funding public schools, expanding affordable housing, and “public safety rooted in care, not criminalization,” a vision Blas said is grounded in “justice and accountability.”
That message contrasts sharply with Hanks’ quiet legislative and controversial political record, and has attracted the city’s rising progressive leaders.
Kamillah Hanks Dominoes Fall: The scandals inside Hanks’ office make her vulnerable
While the political winds shift, Kamillah Hanks faces mounting scandals. Three former staffers blew the whistle on a culture of bigotry and cruelty inside her office. In interviews with NY News Press, they said Hanks punished Muslim aides for observing Eid, calling leave requests “UNACCEPTABLE.”
Staffers alleged Hanks’ chief of staff, Marci Bishop, used racial slurs and that the office refused to distribute baby formula and clothing to families from Park Hill because those families weren’t “our voters.” When employees reported the discrimination to Council officials, City leadership ignored them.
One senior aide told the Equal Employment Opportunity office that Hanks retaliated against her for taking leave to care for a disabled daughter and caused emotional distress; “I am now physically sick” because of the abuse. Multiple staffers described being isolated, stripped of duties, and forced to resign after raising concerns.
Another whistleblower said the office mocked an autistic employee, withheld assistance from constituents, and ridiculed Muslim prayers.
These allegations feed a narrative of hostility that has dogged Hanks since her first term. The Islamic Leadership Council publicly demanded she apologize for Islamophobic behavior, saying, “Islamophobia has no place … in our City Council.”
Revelations that Hanks’ husband, Kevin Barry Love, threatened a Muslim activist with a Game of Thrones‑style meme intensified the backlash. And this isn’t the only reported incidence of Kevin Barry Love’s threatened political violence.
“Kevin has intimidated both staff and community members who witnessed signatures for [our candidate] being on the ballot,” a Staten Island political source said.
Local Democrats distanced themselves; Staten Island Democratic Party chair Laura Sword and Assemblyman Charles Fall withheld endorsements, leaving Hanks reliant on District Attorney Michael McMahon’s patronage network.
She has no committee chair assignment and is one of the least-regarded Democrats in the chamber, which further diminishes her clout. Progressive activists argue that District 49 deserves a representative who can caucus with a likely Mamdani administration, rather than clinging to a dying and embattled machine.
Kamillah Hanks Dominoes Fall: Mazzei, Money, and Lawfare
Perhaps the most damaging scandal surrounds Hanks’ ties to Ettore Mazzei, a Staten Island caterer indicted in a sweeping drug‑trafficking case. CBS News reported that Mazzei was the “main target” of a multi‑agency operation and faces 61 counts, including drug dealing, extortion, and fraud.
District Attorney Michael McMahon called him “a crooked, evil businessman” who preyed on addicts and forced them into servitude.
Mazzei served on the board of Hanks’ nonprofit and, according to whistleblowers, she paid herself from that nonprofit while he sat alongside her. She never returned his campaign donations, even after his arrest was made public.
Her husband, Kevin Barry Love, admitted in filed court documents that they under‑reported campaign expenses and threatened workers who demanded payment. Angry campaign staffers called the couple “deadbeats” after they received “ten cents on the dollar” for campaign work.
Court filings reveal they admitted to using intimidation and connections to avoid paying debts.
Hanks and McMahon have also used legal maneuvers to suppress challengers. City & State reported that Hanks’ campaign successfully knocked NYPD widow Jozette Carter‑Williams off the Democratic primary ballot by challenging her petition signatures. The same article noted that three other candidates – Abou Diakhate, Telee Brown, and Sarah Blas – remained on the ballot, though they raised far less money.
Critics decried the lawfare, pointing out that Hanks’ husband has relatives on the Board of Elections payroll and that McMahon sent embattled operative Carmen Cognetta to help disqualify opponents.
Law enforcement groups reacted angrily because Hanks sponsored the How Many Stops Act, which they view as anti‑police. The Sergeants Benevolent Association’s president condemned her for funding groups like True2Life that defend gang members and cop-killers, and for refusing to return Mazzei’s cash.
Voters have already circulated flyers accusing Hanks of being an undercover Republican and calling for a special election if she is elected..
Kamillah Hanks Dominoes Fall: Blas’ progressive surge and the coming fall of the machine
Into this chaotic landscape steps Sarah Blas. A Staten Island native, Marine veteran, and founder of the Staten Island Peace Conference, she has cast herself as a champion for the underserved North Shore.
In campaign events, she speaks of fully funding public schools, investing in affordable housing, and creating public safety through social services rather than over‑policing. Citizen Action’s endorsement echoed these priorities, and the Working Families Party’s voter guide lists her as its choice for District 49.
Progressive leaders hope that a joint Mamdani‑Blas slate will turn Adams’ downfall into a movement. While Mamdani surges in citywide polls, Blas galvanizes a district where Democratic turnout sagged under Hanks.
The rumored affair between Hanks and Charles Chase Gardner, head of the Uncle Chase Foundation, only fuels gossip in local political circles and further depresses enthusiasm for the incumbent.
“I didn’t see it, but I heard she blew him in the back seat of a parked car,” said a Staten Island political operative. “The word on the street is that she’s been stepping out on Kevin Barry Love for a while. And that’s probably a good thing. With his lifestyle, he’ll probably give her AIDS.”
If Mamdani publicly endorses Blas – an announcement insiders expect in October – she could consolidate progressive votes and ride a citywide wave into office.
The old machine is showing cracks. District Attorney Michael McMahon, Hanks’ chief patron, faces whispers of his own. He has weathered repeated ethics probes, and his support for Drug Lord Mazzei’s associates has prompted calls for his resignation. Observers note that McMahon’s endorsement may be a kiss of death as the progressive tide rises.
Meanwhile, Hanks lacks key institutional support; the Democratic Party, major unions, and even local pastors have remained neutral or endorsed opponents. With Adams gone and Mamdani ascendant, Staten Island’s North Shore could become the first domino to fall, heralding a realignment that ends decades of machine rule.
As November approaches, the race is about more than a council seat. It is a referendum on corruption, accountability, and the direction of New York’s only Republican‑leaning borough.
For progressive voters, it is a chance to show that outer‑borough communities can demand representation rooted in care and justice. For the old guard, it is an existential battle to maintain control against a movement energized by scandal and betrayal.
One thing is certain: Paul Casali, a veteran operative and beloved Democratic organizer who recently died, would have loved the fight.
Friends remember Paul as a loyal party man who reveled in the rough‑and‑tumble of Staten Island politics. His conversations and insights shared with this outlet were invaluable. We can now state that any prior aspersions previously cast upon him by this outlet were “political cover” for a savvy operator. Paul wanted the truth known, particularly about what certain people said about him and others.
His loss leaves a void in a community now poised on the edge of transformation.
As the dominoes begin to fall, his spirit will no doubt be watching.
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