#Lefty activist Bertha Lewis backs Eric Adams for NYC mayor

Longtime lefty black activist and organizer Bertha Lewis is backing Eric Adams for mayor after dismissing the other candidates as less qualified to run City Hall.

“Eric Adams is our #1 pick due to his experience with public office and demonstrated leadership abilities, despite some issues with his platform,” said Lewis, currently head of the Black Institute and Black Leadership Coalition.

“I think Eric Adams is far and away the right person at the right time to run this city.”

Lewis ranked former city and federal housing secretary Shaun Donovan as her second choice.

“Shaun Donovan is our #2 pick because while he lacks the charisma that we would like to see from a mayor, we believe he is a capable administrator and that the Adams team, or any candidate elected, would benefit from retaining him as a deputy mayor,” she said.

Lewis, a co-founder of the Working Families Party who formerly headed the defunct community and housing advocacy group ACORN, said Adams is right to focus on addressing the increase in crime as well as police reform.

“We always care about crime because we are victims of crime. We want to be safe,” Lewis said.

“We are not anti-police. We are anti police abuse. Eric knows we need both.”

She gave Adams a “B plus” for his tenure as Brooklyn borough president and cited his reform credentials, by founding 100 Black Officers We Care when he was a police officer, taking on what he believes were abusive NYPD practices.

Lewis shredded the other leading mayoral candidates.

She backed Bill de Blasio for mayor in 2013 but soured on him.

Lewis said she’s not impressed with either Kathryn Garcia or Maya Wiley, both of whom worked in the de Blasio administration.

She complained that former Sanitation Commissioner Garcia backed a waste transfer station near an NYCHA project on the Upper East Side.

Lewis took issue with Wiley’s tenure at City Hall, where she served as de Blasio’s legal counsel and heads the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

“Maya Wiley’s record in de Blasio administration and lack of meaningful action in her capacity there makes her a poor choice for mayor,” she said.

Andrew Yang’s “lack of governing experience” disqualifies him, Lewis said.

She also had barbs for city Comptroller Scott Stringer, whose mayoral candidacy has been rocked by sexual harassment accusations. Her group once honored Stringer for his work.

“Scott Stringer’s politicking nature and tendency to ignore proposals unless they benefit him make him a terrible option,” said Lewis.

She said complaints that Dianne Morales opposed her campaign staff unionizing made her a bad choice for mayor.

But politicos have questioned Lewis’ alliances in recent years, notably her 2017 endorsement of ex-con Hiram Monserrate, who sought a comeback bid for his Council seat.