The New York City Mayoral Race
The nation’s largest city is about to change leadership again. Term-limited current mayor Bill de Blasio will be leaving Gracie Mansion in January 2022 and turning over the keys to … who? Metropolitan voter registration of Gotham’s 8+ million citizens leans heavily Democratic, by a 5-1 margin, but that hasn’t prevented independents like Michael Bloomberg or Republicans like Rudi Giuliani from taking the helm in previous elections. Most of the early action took place on the Democratic side, with eight contenders vying for the nomination in a first-ever “ranked choice” electoral process where voters rate their preferences and supporters of candidates who are eliminated in the first round of tabulation are assigned to others.
Retired police officer Eric Adams led the field in the first round with 30.8% of the vote, followed by civil rights activist Maya Wiley at 21.3% and sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia at 19.6%; all three are persons of color. Eight rounds of tabulation later, Eric Adams emerged the victor, edging out Kathryn Garcia by just a point, 50.5% to 49.5%. On the Republican side, vigilante group Guardian Angels founder and current radio talk show host Curtis Sliwa easily outpaced his single competitor, 68%-27%. In total, Dems racked up almost a million ballots, while barely 60,000 GOP voters turned out, perhaps presaging a blowout of Republicans in November.
A quick glance at ongoing asteroid patterns could have saved everyone a lot of trouble and expense in determining the Democratic nominee and the Big Apple’s likely next mayor. Asteroids Adams and Mayo (closest to “mayor”) have been running in an extended conjunction since March of 2020, never more than ten degrees apart, and will remain so until well after the November 2 general election, not moving out of orb of conjunction until mid-December. That alone may be the most significant factor in this race, but it makes for an awfully short article, so let’s look a bit deeper.
Eric Adams hit the ground running with his November 18, 2020 announcement of his candidacy. Adams and Mayo were conjoined at 11 and 13 Libra, and trined asteroid Manhattan (named for New York City’s premiere borough, and our celestial stand-in for the metropolis in general) at 18 Gemini, while asteroid Eric at 1 Sagittarius conjoined the 26 Scorpio Sun, placing a spotlight on Adams which he never relinquished.
At the primary on June 22nd, Adams and Mayo conjoined at 17 and 18 Libra are in a Grand Trine with Mercury, ruling the vote itself and its tabulation, at 16 Gemini, and Saturn exact with asteroid Victoria at 12 Aquarius. Victoria is named for the Roman goddess of victory the root of our word, and is at station, about to turn retrograde four days later.
Asteroid Eric at 1 Aquarius is too wide of this pair to be considered conjunct, but opposes asteroid Manhattan at 2 Leo, granting Adams a personalized local connection as well. Eric also opposes asteroid Curtis at 0 Leo, prefiguring their upcoming contest as opponents, and providing Curtis Sliwa’s glide path to his Party’s nomination.
Adams’ primary opponent Kathryn Garcia is seen as asteroid Kathryn, which at 8 Aries widely opposes Adams/Mayo and more closely squares the 1 Cancer Sun, giving her enhanced visibility which brought her well within striking distance of the prize. Asteroid Garcia at 25 Pisces conjoins Neptune at 23, a symbol of disappointment, and also squares asteroid NOT, a general disqualifier, at 23 Sagittarius.
Eric Adams and Kathryn Garcia were well-matched natally for their competition, doubtless a source of the nail-biting outcome. Both have a knack for winning, with Adams’ (born 1 September 1960, no time available) Sun at 9 Virgo conjoined asteroid Nike, named for the Greek goddess of victory, at 6 Virgo, and Garcia’s (born 3 March 1970, no time available) Sun at 12 Pisces opposed his, and trine a stationary Nike at 14 Cancer. Nike turned direct at that degree a week prior, and is an embedded factor in her psyche. Winning just seems natural, for both of them, but that transit Adams/Mayo conjunction in trine to Victoria dragged Eric Adams over the finish line first. Also of assistance to Adams, asteroid TRIUMF (phonetic match for “triumph”), which at 1 Virgo squares the Sun and exactly opposes asteroid Adams at 1 Sagittarius (with asteroid Demokritos at 4 Sag, reinforcing Adams’ Party affiliation).
Both also have strong ties to the community they sought to lead, and the position on offer. Garcia has natal asteroid Kathryn at 18 Sagittarius conjoined natal Manhattan at 14 Sag, both squared her Sun (having one’s own PNA in aspect to the Sun, Moon or Ascendant is quite common), with natal Mayo at 27 Capricorn in exact semisquare. Adams has natal Manhattan at 1 Aquarius in a loose Yod, or Finger of Destiny, sextile natal Mayo at 6 Aries, both inconjunct the Sun at the Apex, so his stint as mayor of Gotham would seem to be preordained. As well, asteroid Adams at 1 Sagittarius is exactly sextile Manhattan and trine Mayo, while asteroid Eric at 8 Libra is opposed Mayo and trine Manhattan. In typical PNA fashion, Adams aspects the Sun (by square), which is also cojoined by a natal Nemesis/Pluto pairing at 5 Virgo, making him a formidable opponent.
Their inevitable conflict is foreshadowed in their charts as well. Eric Adams has asteroids Kathryn at 1 Sagittarius and Garcia at 8 Gemini T-Squared the 9 Gemini Sun and Pluto/Nemesis pairing, clearly showing the conflict between them (squares) and Adams’ role as an archenemy or opponent (Nemesis) with the Upper Hand (Pluto). Asteroid Eric conjoins Kathryn exactly, indicating enmeshment; points occupying the same space are bound together, for good or ill, and can act as allies or competitors, but always with a sense of chafing from their proximity.
Kathryn Garcia’s natal asteroid Adams at 29 Aries conjoins both Mars at 27 Aries and Saturn at 5 Taurus, identifying Eric Adams as a competitor (Mars) or restrictive influence (Saturn), especially in career (also Saturn). An exact square from Mars to Mayo at 27 Capricorn shows the mayoralty as the field of engagement, the battleground over which their conflict will be fought. Asteroid Eric at 8 Capricorn squares Garcia’s natal Nemesis at 5 Libra, reiterating the sense that Eric Adams is a personal stumbling block or hindrance to Kathryn Garcia’s ambitions.
Let’s pause a moment to consider the chart of Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa (born 26 March 1954, no time available). Like his Democratic opponents, Sliwa has a strong victory signature and ties to the Big Apple. The 5 Aries Sun conjoins asteroid Manhattan exactly, with asteroid Victoria close beside at 8 Aries, bringing him the GOP nomination for NYC mayor. Asteroid Curtis at 29 Pisces is also within orb of the Sun, a common PNA placement, while asteroid Siwa, closest to Sliwa, broadly opposes from 14 Libra.
A pairing of asteroid Nike with Venus at 17 and 18 Aries forms the crux of a Grand Trine Kite pattern with its opposition to Siwa as the string, and trines to Pluto at 22 Leo and Mars at 22 Sagittarius the ribs of the Kite. Venus/Nike suggests popularity (Venus) as the victory element (Nike) of a campaign (Mars) that could include scandal or mudslinging (both Pluto), and might augur success, except for the fly in the ointment, asteroid NOT at 23 Sagittarius. Remarkably, Sliwa was experiencing a precise “NOT Return” on Primary Day, with the point defining blocked progress or defeat exactly returned to its natal degree, as if to underscore that Siwa’s electoral triumph was only temporary.
When Adams and Sliwa face off on November 2, 2021, the skies are set for a battle royal between them. Sliwa has a strong identification with the city and the day, with asteroid Siwa exactly conjunct Manhattan at 10 Libra, exactly semisextile the 10 Scorpio Sun, and asteroid Curtis at 10 Virgo in exact sextile to the Sun. But these are relatively minor aspects, offering little support, serving more to denote Sliwa’s high profile on the day, rather than affecting the outcome. Siwa/Manhattan also squares transit NOT at 7 Capricorn, with Curtis in trine, suggesting an unsuccessful bid for mayor.
In contrast, asteroid Adams at 29 Scorpio remains conjoined Mayo at 22 Scorpio, with transit Nike now in the mix from 7 Sagittarius, squaring his natal Sun and conjoined natal Adams, adding the imprimatur of victory to his mayoral race. Mayo and Adams also square Jupiter at 22 Aquarius, signifier of success and positive outcomes generally. Transit TRIUMF at 0 Virgo conjoins the solar stellium of Pluto/Nemesis, Nike, Sun and Mercury, ensuring a convincing victory. Additionally, transit Eric at 27 Capricorn conjoins Pluto at 24 Cap, both squaring Mercury at 24 Libra, putting Adams (Eric) in a virtually unassailable position (Pluto) with the electorate (Mercury).
As with Kathryn Garcia, the competition with Curtis Sliwa is foretold in Eric Adams’ birth chart. Natal asteroid Curtis at 5 Capricorn is involved in a Grand Cross with an opposition to Saturn (career, chief executive) at 11 Capricorn and squares to Mayo (mayor) at 6 Aries and Eric at 8 Libra, showing their conflict over New York City’s top job.
With the Sun approaching opposition to quirky, shock-prone Uranus at 12 Taurus on Election Day, nothing is set in stone, and a come-from-behind upset win for Sliwa isn’t out of the question, but all things being equal, Eric Adams seems set to be the next mayor of America’s largest city.
