Local leadership is on the ballot in 2025, from City Hall down to your neighborhood Councilmember. And it’s set to be a doozy, even by the raucous standards of New York politics.

Mayor Eric Adams is seeking reelection while under indictment on federal corruption charges, with a trial set to begin just eight weeks before Primary Day.

Meanwhile, a crowd of at least six fellow Democrats have swung into gear to challenge him, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to do so as of early 2025.

They’ll have their work cut out if they win the top municipal job in New York City. Whoever the next mayor is will have to contend with President Donald Trump, who has often been openly hostile to the city’s needs, and whose policies on immigration, taxes, climate and more will have huge consequences on the city’s people.

They’ll also have to cope with an ongoing and acute housing affordability crisis, public safety and the perceptions around public safety and balancing a budget with a potential drop in federal help.

And it’s not just the mayor on the ballot. New Yorkers will choose candidates for comptroller — the city’s money manager and auditor — all 51 seats in the the City Council, two of the city’s five district attorneys, all five borough presidents and the public advocate.

Here are the basics voters should know about the 2025 local elections:

Key dates Before the June Primary

• February 14: Last day to change your party enrollment for the primary, e.g. if you are an independent voter and want to switch to the Democratic or Republican party to be able to participate in New York’s primary.
• June 9: Last day to change your address before the June primary.
• June 14: Voter registration deadline for the primary and the last day the Board of Elections can receive an application for absentee ballots for the primary.
• June 14-22: Early voting period.
• June 24: Primary Day

Key Dates Before Election Day in November

• October 25-November 2: Early voting for the general election.
• October 25: Voter registration deadline for the general election
• November 4: General election.

Who’s Running for Mayor?

As of January 2025, here are the people who have declared they are running for mayor, and how much the major candidates have fundraised. But keep in mind: We won’t know exactly who’s in the running until much later in the spring after a process called petitioning that candidates must follow to legally secure a spot on the ballot. Here’s the timeline for that.

But let’s back up. What does the mayor do?

Whoever serves as the mayor has enormous influence over the day-to-day lives of every New Yorker. They choose the heads of every city agency, like the Department of Social Services, Department of Education and the NYPD, and can approve or veto each piece of legislation passed by the City Council.

They also choose which are the most important goals for the city. Should we spend money on developing affordable housing, or hiring more teachers, or building projects to protect our infrastructure from climate change?

Many of those decisions involve the city’s $115 billion budget — more than the gross domestic product of Croatia or Costa Rica — that serves as a blueprint for how we do things in the city.

One thing to remember: The mayor, contrary to popular belief, has limited influence over the MTA, so fares, tolls and policies on the subways, buses, bridges and tunnels are for the most part not in City Hall’s control.

There are of course so many other things the mayor influences. For more information, this guide from the Campaign Finance Board is helpful.

Yup, we’re doing ranked choice voting again

This year is the second citywide election using what’s known as ranked choice voting. Basically, you get to rate your favorite candidates from one to five. Here’s our guide on RCV and many frequently asked questions from readers about how it works.

Remember two things about ranked choice before heading to the polls: 1) You can rank up to five candidates, but you do not have to fill all five slots. If you like only three candidates, rank only those three. 2) If you don’t like a candidate at all, don’t rank them. Putting a candidate on your ballot means you want them in office, not that you dislike them the least.

Other Races to Watch

Here are all the other races on the ballot this year:

City Comptroller

Here are the candidates in the race to be the city’s next fiscal watchdog. The job includes managing a staff of more than 700 people, handling union contracts, a multi-billion dollar pension fund and conducting audits of city agencies.

Public Advocate

The current public advocate, Jumaane Williams, is up for reelection this year after serving a four-year term. He can serve once more before being term limited. While the public advocate’s office has little staff — and next to no real power — the position is first in line for mayor if the current mayor cannot serve or vacates the office.

Borough presidents

All five borough presidents are term limited. But what is a borough president and what do they do? Read our guide.

City Council

The entirety of the 51 seats in the City Council are also up for election this year, including nine Councilmembers who are term-limited and cannot run again. Among those nine are some of the Council’s top leaders, including Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Queens) and minority leader Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island.) Not sure who represents you? Check here.

District attorneys

In Manhattan and Brooklyn, district attorneys Alvin Bragg and Eric Gonzalez are up for reelection. Reminder: Because these offices are within the state court system, they are not decided by ranked choice voting, which only applies to municipal offices. Voters will cast their ballot traditionally for DA, by choosing only their top candidate.