March 15 (UPI) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams named an interim first deputy mayor nearly a month after four of his top staff members resigned.
Camille Joseph Varlack will assume that role while also remaining deputy mayor for administration and chief of staff, according to mayoral spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus on Friday.
Maria Torres-Springer resignation as the top deputy took effect Friday, Politico reported.
Joseph Varlack will temporarily serve in the role. She had been elevated to the role of deputy mayor for administration on Jan. 13.
An attorney who has served as Adams chief of staff since January 2023, Joseph Varlack began her career as an assistant district attorney in Kings County.
Torres-Springer and three other deputy mayors put in their resignation papers Feb. 17, expressing dissatisfaction with Adams’ cooperating with the federal government in deporting migrants despite being a sanctuary city.
The other three are Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom, Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chauncey Parker.
The mayor also oversees several departments, including education and police. In all there are more than 300,000 city employees.
Adams is up for re-election and his primary is June 24.
The New York Post reported Friday that Adams is mulling running as an independent if he loses the upcoming Democratic primary – and that’s even if he decides to make a re-election bid as he faces increasingly hopeless electoral prospects.
On March 1, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he is challenging Adams in the primary.
Other challengers for the mayoral seat include state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, city comptroller Brand Lander, former comptroller Scott Stringer, state Sen. Jessica Ramos, state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and former state Assemblyman Michael Blake.
Despite being the incumbent, Adams has faced calls to resign or be removed from office after the Department of Justice dropped corruption charges against him filed when former Attorney General Merrick Garland led the DOJ.
Adams met with Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, and said he would use his executive powers to increase the city’s law enforcement collaboration with federal immigration authorities.