Jim Walden for Mayor of New York City
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Walden’s Support Nearly Doubles In Latest Poll

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2025
(646) 705-3286
sara@jimfornyc.com

Walden gains after 24,000 supporters qualified him for November ballot

New York, NY… The latest independent poll, released yesterday, shows the momentum of Jim Walden’s campaign for Mayor. The Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill poll showed that—while all the other general election candidates have lost ground, stayed the same or gone up a single point—Walden’s support has nearly doubled, from 4% to 7%. With over five months until election day, a new Cuomo and Adams scandal a day and 26% still undecided, Walden’s path to victory is widening.

Walden, a former mob-busting federal prosecutor, has raised almost $3 million. Almost 24,000 New Yorkers signed petitions to qualify him for November’s ballot. He is the first independent candidate to qualify for public matching funds in a citywide race. He has been endorsed by the largest labor organization in the city, with 250,000 members. Fifty-eight citywide prosecutors endorsed him, including former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance (D) and former U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue (R). He received the first NYPD endorsement of the cycle.

Jim Walden said “Without support from any political party, our campaign’s grassroots support continues to grow. This survey confirms what I have been hearing on the ground throughout the independent petition process: New Yorkers are desperate for bold, honest leadership. That is why I am running on the ‘Integrity Party’ ballot line. While the usual crowd of empty suits inundates voters with stale, recycled ideas and an allegiance to special interests, I am running against the party system and the lousy choices it produces. I will bring bold vision, independence and integrity to City Hall.”

About Jim Walden

Jim Walden learned early that success comes through resilience and hard work while growing up in working-class Levittown, Pennsylvania. Despite an abusive father who abandoned the family when Jim was 14, he graduated near the top of his class while distinguishing himself in debate. His two years in the U.S. Navy’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps earned him dozens of commendations, foreshadowing a lifetime of public service.

It wasn’t easy for Jim to get to college. He spent a year working multiple jobs—from drugstore clerk to fast-food worker—sleeping on a friend’s floor while saving for his education. At Hamilton College, he excelled academically, winning awards for public speaking and campus service, and played rugby. He went to Temple University law school and graduated first in his class. He secured a coveted clerkship with a federal appellate judge in Philadelphia, Anthony Scirica.

As a criminal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice, Jim quickly earned a reputation for innovative strategies that made him the go-to prosecutor for FBI and DEA agents, as well as NYPD officers. Focusing on organized crime, his investigations led to more than 100 convictions—including members of all five New York crime families and one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. He helped to solve 25 cold-case homicides. His groundbreaking work was featured in two documentaries, National Geographic’s “Inside the American Mob” and Vanity Fair’s “The Disco Inferno.”

  • Jim built one of New York City’s premier litigation boutiques over a decade, while maintaining an unwavering commitment to public service law. Across his 20+ year career in private practice, his “good government” work has touched many corners of city life:
  • Fought for safer schools by forcing the Department of Education to protect bullied school kids
  • Secured $250 million for emergency repairs and better living conditions for over 400,000 NYCHA residents
  • Protected public spaces by stopping illegal parkland transfers in Manhattan and Brooklyn
  • Defended voting rights by successfully challenging gerrymandered district maps
  • Restored vital food assistance to impoverished New Yorkers
  • Protected hundreds of thousands of city retirees from healthcare cuts
  • Saved emergency care in Southern Brooklyn when SUNY wanted to close a critical hospital

Jim also helped expose corruption in international sports, representing whistleblowers who testified about Russian doping during the Olympics and international soccer (FIFA). Jim’s work on the Olympics was featured in the Academy Award winning film “Icarus,” and a character based on his work was played by Idris Elba in the hit feature film “Molly’s Game.” Jim’s work on sports integrity led him to draft a ground-breaking law, the “Rodchenkov Anti-doping Act,” giving the FBI long-arm jurisdiction over doping in international sports competitions, including the Olympics, which President Trump signed into law in December 2020.

While building this career over 30 years and running a thriving law practice, Jim has remained devoted to family and community. He and his wife raised three children in Brooklyn, while financially supporting his sister and her four children. His commitment to public service extends to philanthropic work across numerous issues, and service on an array of not-for-profit boards, demonstrating that success means lifting others as you rise.

Jim’s story—from a challenging childhood to becoming one of New York’s most effective advocates for justice—embodies the spirit of our city: resilient, innovative, and deeply committed to helping others succeed.

For more information: jimfornyc.com.