Mayor Eric Adams is endorsing Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in her bid for a second term, The Post has learned.
“Of course, I am endorsing Melinda Katz for reelection. She understands that while we can always make policing better, we still need our police, we need to work with them, and we need them to be able to do their jobs,” said Adams in a statement provided to The Post.
“At the same time, she is working to make our system stronger, vacating wrongful convictions, helping our youth get on the right path, engaging our community and showing up where we need her. She is a real partner in making our city safer, and I’m proud to support her for re-election.”
Katz has been aligned with several of Adams’ key priorities like tackling a surge of shoplifting in the city, participating in Hizzoner’s “retail theft summit” along with the city’s four other DAs. She’s also prioritized cracking down on perps peddling ghost guns and illegal guns on the streets.
Katz has two opponents: Devian Daniels, a Democrat who is touting her background as a public defender, and lefty supporter of alternatives to incarceration. Also running for the Democratic nomination is George Grasso a former judge and NYPD deputy commissioner.
Adams’ endorsement could help Katz shore up support among black voters in Queens, a key demographic that helped secure him his own victory in the 2021 mayoral contest.
The freshman DA was elected in 2019 to succeed the late Richard Brown, who held the post since the early 1990s, besting left-leaning City Councilwoman Tiffany Caban as the establishment candidate.
Previously Katz served as Queens Borough President and in the city council. She also ran a failed campaign for City Comptroller in 2009.
“Mayor Adams is a great partner in our efforts to interrupt the drivers of violence, seize deadly weapons, and protect Queens families from harm. I am honored to receive his endorsement,” the pol said in a statement.
The primary election is set to be held on June 27, but early voting begins on June 17.