Adams' pick for New York City’s top attorney withdraws amid opposition

(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Eric Adam's pick for the city's top legal post has withdrawn his nomination just days before the City Council was expected to vote it down.

In a letter to Adams on Tuesday, Randy Mastro requested that his name be removed from consideration for the city's next corporation counsel and bemoaned a grueling confirmation process he said was "anything but fair" to him. The council was scheduled to vote on Mastro’s nomination on Thursday.

“Speaker [Adrienne] Adams has now made clear, by the way she permitted the Council to conduct its hearing on my nomination, that she intends to deny you the nominee of your choice,” Mastro wrote. "I do not know what possessed the City Council to conduct this confirmation hearing as it did."

Mastro, a former chief of staff and deputy mayor for former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, was tapped by Adams in April to serve as corporation counsel — the top attorney for city government. He was meant to replace the city’s current corporation counsel, Sylvia Hinds-Radix, who is departing amid disagreements with Adams over a sexual harassment lawsuit he is facing.

However, a majority of the 51-member City Council—the council’s Black, Asian and Latino Caucus, representing 34 members—have taken a stand against Mastro’s appointment.

Last week, he faced several hours of grilling by council members during a hearing where they peppered him with questions about his previous legal work in the city and elsewhere. Much of the criticism targeted his work for Giuliani, whose tough-on-crime approach to governing the city has been strongly criticized by Democrats and liberal groups.

In response to Mastro's withdrawal, Adams praised him as "one of our nation’s top lawyers," saying he "fought for social justice, racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and is one of the only lawyers in New York who has taken on Donald Trump multiple times in court and won."

"It’s unfortunate that politics has seeped into this process and, as a result, will deprive New Yorkers of one of the most qualified candidates for this office our city has ever seen," the mayor said in a statement.

A former federal prosecutor, Mastro has represented a range of high-profile clients and worked with the Giuliani administration to combat organized crime in the since-closed Fulton Fish Market and the private carting industry.

In response to Mastro's withdrawal, the City Council issued a statement saying members were “glad to see the unnecessary conflict and divisiveness that Randy Mastro’s nomination represented come to an end" and said the tone of Mastro's letter "demonstrates why so many lacked trust that he would be suitable for all city officials, rather than just for the mayor."

“New York City needs a top attorney who is independent and willing to stand up when the political interests of an administration conflict with the public interests of New Yorkers,” the statement said.