Maya Wiley Announces Run For Mayor in 2021 Election

Maya D. Wiley, a civil rights lawyer, New School professor, and MSNBC analyst, has announced her candidacy for mayor of New York City in the 2021 election.

Wiley, 56, of Flatbush, officially announced her candidacy in a video posted on Twitter on Oct. 8, followed by a launch event in Brooklyn. In the video, Wiley points out diversity in race, class, sex, and sexuality and the importance it all has in making New York great.

“Now, some will say I don’t sound like past mayors,” she says in the video. “Or look like them, or think like them, and I say yes, I don’t. That is the point. I am not a conventional candidate, but changing it up isn’t the risk. Election the same kinds of people, bringing the same old broken promises over and over again and expecting things will be different – that’s the risk we can’t afford right now.”

Wiley was the counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio during his first term, and was briefly chair of the New York City’s police oversight agency – Civilian Complaint Review Board. Wiley left her role as a paid contributor to MSNBC and NBC News in July when she began considering her run for Mayor of New York.

If elected, Wiley would be the first woman mayor and second Black mayor in the city.

Wiley separates herself from other democratic candidates – Eric Adams and Scott M. Stringer – and brings her focus on racial justice, affordable housing, economic issues and more to the forefront of her campaign.

Wiley has yet to hold a seat in public office or stage a political campaign, but she already has a well-known presence online and within Brooklyn, where she lives. She has over 350,000 followers on Twitter, with many people tweeting excitement and joy about her recent announcement.