Adams brushes off growing pushback on Randy Mastro for top city lawyer spot

Mayor Adams brushed off mounting opposition to his presumptive nomination of Randy Mastro as the city’s top lawyer Tuesday, saying recent criticisms of Mastro represents a “slippery slope” and that “the process” to appoint him will continue.

Since news broke last week about the administration seeking to use Mastro to replace its current corporation counsel, Sylvia Hinds-Radix, city lawmakers have lined up to denounce the change as a bad move.

That effort intensified Tuesday when the City Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus issued a statement describing Mastro as “unfit to serve as the City’s chief lawyer.”

“He has actively fought against a number of Council priorities, ranging from access to homeless shelters to protections for fast food workers,” the caucus said in a written statement. “In one egregious case, Mastro was hired by former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to conduct an internal investigation that ultimately absolved Christie of any wrongdoing related to the ‘Bridgegate’ political scandal.”

The expected nomination of Mastro to the corporation counsel post comes as Adams is facing legal headwinds on a number of fronts.

Federal investigators in Manhattan are probing his campaign’s ties to Turkey. The Manhattan DA indicted his former Buildings Department commissioner last year as part of an ongoing probe. And the mayor was accused earlier this year of sexually assaulting a former cop during his time with the NYPD in the 1990’s. Adams has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the campaign probe and has denied the assault allegations.

Mastro, a veteran of the Giuliani administration known for this bare-knuckle legal style, got love from the Adams administration just hours after the release of the caucus’s statement.

During a press briefing Tuesday, Adams’ Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg described Mastro as the “conscience” of the Giuliani administration and compared his representation of clients to the second president of the United States, John Adams, representing British soldiers prior to the Revolutionary War.

“It can never be the case in the United States of America that lawyers are criticized and condemned for taking on hard cases for their clients,” she said, referring to Mastro’s representation of the oil giant Chevron. “John Adams, one of the forefathers of this country, in 1770 defended British officers accused of murder in the Boston Massacre.”

Adams seconded that sentiment, telling reporters that it’s a “slippery slope” to criticize an attorney based on the clients they represent.

“We’re going to let the process move forward,” he said. “I’m hoping that anyone we put up for any nomination, they have the opportunity to sell their story.”

Last week, Adams’ chief adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin confirmed on PIX11 that Hinds-Radix would be leaving the administration and that Mastro is the top choice to replace her.

Their defense notwithstanding, Mastro’s nomination will face a tough road to approval in the Council if it ultimately comes to pass.

The Black, Latino and Asian Caucus is composed of 34 members — which represents more than a simple majority in the 51-member lawmaking body. Last week, a number of members of the Council’s left-leaning Progressive Caucus also vowed to block any Mastro nomination.

Councilwoman Diana Ayala, a Manhattan Democrat who’s part of the BLAC Caucus and the chamber’s second highest-ranking member as deputy speaker, said the anti-Mastro statement was circulated among caucus members over the weekend.

“I didn’t object to it, and I don’t remember hearing of any objections,” Ayala told the Daily News after the mayor’s briefing. “The administration is aware that there is a lot of opposition if they should move forward.”

At least one other BLAC member distanced herself from the caucus statement, though.

Staten Island Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks, a centrist Democrat BLAC member, said she “was not part of that statement” and suggested her approval or rejection of Mastro is far from a foregone conclusion.

“I plan on reviewing the candidate and making a decision,” she said.