Randy Mastro fought for Giuliani, Big Oil and Chris Christie. Can he become NYC’s top lawyer?

Published Apr 19, 2024 at 4:59 p.m. ET

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Published Apr 19, 2024 at 4:59 p.m. ET

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Randy Mastro has built a reputation as a bulldog lawyer who knows how to wield government power.

But his track record for defending conservatives and their causes may sink his chances of being approved as the city’s new top lawyer before he’s even been officially nominated, according to lawmakers.

He was a Democrat known for being among the most loyal and hard-charging deputies for former Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He helped oil giant Chevron avoid millions in fines in a class action pollution case. He represented former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the “Bridgegate” scandal. More recently in New York City, he fought against bike lanes, homeless shelters, wage hikes for fast food workers, rent regulations and congestion pricing.

Now, as Mayor Eric Adams weighs him to be the city’s corporation counsel, Mastro is already at the center of another political drama: He’ll need to undergo a rare confirmation process with the City Council. In a change to the City Charter several years ago, the position of corporation counsel is one of the few roles subject to the Council’s approval.

The bid would be a test of how the Council judges a prominent private lawyer who has argued positions at odds with the body’s liberal policies. As the head of the Law Department, the corporation counsel is charged with defending the city, its agencies, the Council and the mayor in civil litigation with an army of roughly 850 lawyers across more than a dozen departments.

Shekar Krishnan, a City Councilmember from Queens who is also a civil rights lawyer, said he understood that lawyers should be considered as separate from their clients. But he said he believed Mastro’s cases show a pattern of both conservative and ethically reprehensible clients.

“Mr. Mastro has made choices over his career,” Krishnan said. “This is not just the lawyer for Mayor Adams and his appointees at City Hall. This is also the lawyer and law office for the city of New York and the City Council.”

Adams has yet to officially nominate Mastro, but a top aide confirmed he is being considered in a pre-taped PIX-11 interview released Friday and dismissed the objections of some Councilmembers.

“You have a situation where people are entitled to voice their opinion and raise their concerns,” said Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the mayor’s chief adviser. “Sometimes you don't get 100%. But again, we believe the glass is halfway full.”

She noted that Mastro has previously been a chair of the board for Citizens Union, a good government group, and a co-chair on the board at the Legal Aid Society.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams declined to comment on Mastro but gave a preview of the vetting process that lies ahead.

"His credentials and background are going to be closely scrutinized,” the speaker said at a City Hall press conference, adding, "As with anyone, their legal record collaborating with the committee, with the body, is going to play an important part in this nomination.”

But progressive members of the Council have been circling the wagons since the New York Times reported Mastro was under consideration last week.

Early indications suggest he faces significant opposition: 12 members have already said they intend to vote down the appointment and three others, who sit on the committee that will decide if the nomination goes forward, said they plan to vote it down. They requested anonymity before the official nomination,

The process would involve two public hearings, one which would subject him to a grilling by members. If he proceeds to a floor vote, Mastro would need a majority of the 51 members to vote for him. He declined to comment on the pending confirmation battle.

Critics have also raised questions about why Adams would choose to replace the current corporation counsel, Sylvia Hinds-Radix, a former judge whom the mayor appointed in January 2022. Lewis-Martin said in the same interview Friday that Hinds-Radix was leaving the administration as part of a “mutual decision.”

The replacement could signal a desire by Adams to adopt a different legal strategy for the city.

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio selected Zachary Carter as corporation counsel, marking a shift from the city’s past approach of aggressively defending lawsuits, particularly involving NYPD misconduct. Carter was previously the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York who brought charges against NYPD officers for the 1997 beating and torture of Abner Louima, a Haitian New Yorker.

The controversial pick comes at a difficult moment for Adams, who is facing historically low approval ratings. He has also alienated many Democratic councilmembers amid fights over legislation, the budget and most recently, an online form to engage with city agencies.

At the same time, Adams has been buffeted with legal attacks on all sides. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office recently secured another guilty plea in a case looking into illegal straw donors to the mayor’s 2021 campaign. That probe is happening parallel to a federal investigation into the same campaign involving alleged illegal donations from foreign entities.

The mayor himself is facing a sexual assault lawsuit and one of his longtime confidantes, Timothy Pearson is facing accusations of harassment from two retired NYPD officers. Those cases are being handled by the corporation counsel.

The mayor’s chief counsel, Lisa Zornberg, is communicating with federal prosecutors on the campaign investigation. The mayor has also retained the private law firm WilmerHale.

The mayor has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in all of the cases.

Mastro’s tactics have drawn as much attention as his clients. In 2021, he hired private investigators to spy on a prominent homeless activist as part of a lawsuit to evict a group of men out of an Upper West Side shelter.

When he worked as a chief of staff and deputy mayor for Giuliani, he was known as the “wartime consigliere” who sometimes wielded a baseball bat during meetings.

“He likes the battle,” said Jumaane Williams, the public advocate, who has fought with Mastro over his cases.

Williams said he did not believe Mastro would serve the best interests of the city.

“He’s more likely to do what’s best for the mayor on tough things,” he said.

Other left-leaning Democrats voiced concerns that Mastro could represent a return to policies under a Republican mayor.

“Mayor Adams already shares Rudy Giuliani’s passion for cutting city services and criminalizing working-class New Yorkers,” said Ana María Archila, co-director of the New York Working Families Party. “Now he wants to elevate Giuliani’s right-hand man to one of the most powerful positions in city government. That’s the last thing we need.”

Joe Lhota, who worked alongside Mastro in the Giuliani administration, disputed that view. He said he chuckled when he read the news this week.

“I always thought Randy would be a great corp counsel,” Lhota said.

He said he had not spoken with Mastro for many years but said the negative accounts of him in the press were inaccurate.

A 1998 Times story about his departure from City Hall described him as an “in-your-face” enforcer of the mayor’s policies, but also “a key strategist, entrusted to negotiate with elected officials, curry favor among unions and other special interests.”

Lhota summed up his former colleague this way: “He took on difficult jobs and brought them to conclusion.”

Giulia Heyward contributed reporting.

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Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]

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