Michael Goodwin: Dems and New York City – mayoral race could decide party's fate. Here's how

With his declaration that "I am the face of the Democratic Party" and vow that "I am going to show America how to run a city," Eric Adams is putting bold markers on the future, and not just his own.

That the stakes are so high even before Adams secures his party’s nomination for mayor and wins the general election illustrates how murder and mayhem have rocketed to the top of voters’ concerns.  His most important appointee will be his police commissioner, whom he said would be a woman. A year ago, Joe Biden accepted the nomination for president at a virtual convention where the rioting and looting in American cities was barely mentioned.