NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Investor Whitney Tilson,

who often pushed corporations to perform better for shareholders

and employees while running a New York-based hedge fund, has

entered the race to replace New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

The 58-year-old Democrat said the city needs "a

businessperson not a career politician" to shake up city

government and pledges to cut violent crime in half, rein in

spending, address the high cost of living and improve public

schools.

Tilson, who ran a hedge fund for 18 years and now publishes

investment newsletters at Stansberry's Investment Advisory, is

the latest to enter a crowded field of candidates vying to

unseat Eric Adams after the mayor was charged with bribery and

fraud.

"There is no clear favorite and there is no one in my lane

in terms of someone who has a business background," Tilson, who

earned a degree from Harvard Business School, told Reuters. The

election is scheduled for November 2025 and a primary will be

held in June.

Tilson's hedge fund Kase Capital Management made bets on

companies ranging from Netflix ( NFLX ), Apple ( AAPL ) and

Amazon ( AMZN ) to Lumber Liquidators.

While calling his campaign "audacious," Tilson said he wants

to be part of a solution to make Democrats electable again after

Kamala Harris' loss to Donald Trump in the presidential race.

Even though he worked on Wall Street, Tilson stressed he is

not wealthy enough to self finance his mayoral run and will take

matching funds. He will not ask billionaire friends, including

investor Bill Ackman, who was a groomsman in his wedding, to

write big checks and rely instead on small donations, he said.

City comptroller Brad Lander, former city comptroller Scott

Stringer and former federal prosecutor Jim Walden are among the

candidates running.

Eight years ago when Trump was first elected, Massachusetts

Senator Elizabeth Warren railed against Tilson, calling him part

of the billionaire class that is hurting the country and would

profit from Trump's economic policies. Tilson said then and

again on Tuesday that he is nowhere close to having the net

worth of a billionaire, supports regulation for the financial

industry and has donated to Democrats, including Warren.