SHARE: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the fifth-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, shook up the New York City mayor’s race by throwing his support behind Maya Wiley in the Democratic primary earlier this month. The endorsement provided a major boost to Wiley, a former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio. It also put the rumored rivalry between Jeffries and one of Wiley’s opponents, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, into the spotlight. Jeffries talked to City & State about why he backed Wiley and how, despite persistent “political gossip,” he has “nothing but respect” for Adams. The borough president also denied any discord. However, from their roots representing overlapping districts in the state legislature, the pair have notably ended up on the opposite sides of multiple political fights as they tried to play kingmaker in Central Brooklyn. With the mayor’s race in full swing, the pair find themselves at odds again with Adams trying to maintain his status as a frontrunner and Jeffries placing his bet on the insurgent Wiley. It’s a clear fault line through the heart of Brooklyn’s political landscape.