They are also split on whether to take final authority for disciplining problem officers away from the NYPD commissioner. Many attacked Mayor Bill de Blasio for losing control of the agency, and said they would manage with a firmer hand if they make it to City Hall.

And the next mayor’s pick for police commissioner may face an unprecedented hurdle: The City Council is considering a measure that, if approved in a voter referendum in November, would require the top cop to be confirmed by a vote of the Council.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, a former police captain, promised to name a woman to the commissioner job.

“I would hire my own leadership team at the NYPD, headed by the City’s first female commissioner,” he said. “As a former police officer and police reformer, I would insist that NYPD leadership share my vision for a more just, transparent department.”

The last three commissioners under de Blasio have been white, Irish American men. Before Shea, the department was headed by James O’Neill and Bill Bratton.

“I would choose a person of color who has a deep understanding of the failings of our current system and is committed to change,” said City Council Member Carlos Menchaca.

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang said his commissioner would not be an NYPD veteran or even a law enforcement professional.

“I will replace Commissioner Shea and will instead appoint a civilian NYPD Commissioner whose background is not one primarily in law enforcement so that we can integrate the NYPD into a more just criminal justice system that is far less punitive in how it is structured,” he said. “We need NYPD leaders who better reflect our City’s priorities and diversity.”

While the position of police commissioner is technically a civilian post, the job almost always goes to high-ranking uniformed officers.

Attorney Maya Wiley — who used to chair a police watchdog agency, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, under de Blasio — also said she would look outside the NYPD for her pick.

“I called for Dermot Shea to be fired in July of 2020 because words don’t matter without actions to back them up. We are now in [2021] and the NYPD continues to abuse its authority with impunity,” she said. “To start, I will hire a police commissioner that has not just moved up the ranks of the NYPD rank and file.”

The NYPD under Shea and de Blasio has been attacked for its handling of police brutality protests that started last spring — now the subject of a federal lawsuit by state Attorney General Tish James, who is calling for a court-appointed monitor to oversee the department.

Former Wall Street executive Ray McGuire’s campaign said he “would not retain Commissioner Shea, and would instead appoint a police commissioner who reflects the values that Ray stands for.” McGuire, who like Adams is considered a centrist on policing issues, recently won the endorsement of Gwen Carr — the mother of Eric Garner, who was killed at the hands of police in 2014.

Loree Sutton, the former veterans services commissioner, was the only candidate not to promise a new commissioner, though she didn’t specifically say if she’d keep Shea. She criticized de Blasio for his “adversarial relationship” with the NYPD.

Other candidates made the opposite critique, saying de Blasio has given NYPD brass too much autonomy.

“I will say to the NYPD what Mayor de Blasio has seemingly refused to say: ‘You work for the people of this city, and you are not an independent agency,’” said City Comptroller Scott Stringer.

Former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, who left that job as she prepared to run for mayor, said she “resigned from City Hall because of mismanagement at the most senior level.”

“Mayor de Blasio has completely lost control of the NYPD,” she said.

Stringer, Wiley, Menchaca and Adams all said they would move to strip the police commissioner’s ability to make final decisions in all disciplinary cases. Currently, the CCRB can make recommendations, but the commissioner makes the final call — often reducing the punishment given to the officer.

Stringer said he would overhaul the discipline system to let the CCRB make the final decision — a move being weighed in the Council now, though one which would require state legislation.

Wiley took a similar tack.

“The Police Commissioner will not have final disciplinary authority. As the former Chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, I know first hand how the current disciplinary process is broken,” said Wiley. “Just as civilians must have control over the policy-making process of the NYPD, so, too, must they have final say in disciplinary matters.”

Adams proposed a different system, with the mayor making the call himself. “The police commissioner should not have the final say on discipline — the mayor should — and the timeline for determining punishment should be shortened significantly,” he said.

Garcia, however, said the police commissioner should keep final authority. “My police Commissioner would be strictly accountable to me on discipline decisions, and I would hire someone I trust to have final authority on that decision,” she said.

Other candidates did not directly address the question of whether the police commissioner’s disciplinary authority should be stripped.

McGuire said he would use conduct and complaint data to identify problem police officers sooner. “As Mayor, the buck will stop with Ray when it comes to disciplinary actions for police officers,” his campaign said.

In responses to POLITICO’s questionnaire, the Democrats also ran the gamut on the push to defund the police — with positions ranging from cutting the NYPD’s $6 billion budget in half to opposing any cuts.

Menchaca and former nonprofit executive Dianne Morales both said they would cut the budget by $3 billion. “We know policing doesn’t prevent crime, social services do,” Morales said.

Stringer pointed to his plan to cut the NYPD by $1 billion over four years, and said he views that number “as a baseline to build on.” Adams said he would trim $500 million annually from the budget through overtime cuts and shifting jobs to civilian employees.

Former Obama and Bloomberg administration official Shaun Donovan said mental health crises, schools, homeless outreach and traffic enforcement would be moved to other agencies. Subsequent to POLITICO’s questionnaire, Donovan released a plan that would involve reallocating $500 million a year from the city’s public safety budget to community safety and racial justice initiatives. "[Donovan] will dedicate roughly $3 billion or 20 percent of the city’s public safety budget for these efforts by the end of his first term,” his campaign said.

Other candidates did not name dollar figures, but some said they would move certain functions out of the NYPD.

Wiley said she would also cut the number of uniformed police officers, with the scope of the reduction to be determined through a budget audit, and eliminate the Vice Squad.

Sutton expressed opposition to NYPD budget cuts, amid a spike in shootings and murders.

“I have spoken to many New Yorkers. They are afraid to use the subway system, they are afraid to walk around at night,” she said. “NYPD must have a continued and leading role in all public safety issues ... We must resist the temptation to weaponize political rhetoric by diverting millions from the NYPD budget.”

McGuire did not specify if he’d cut the police budget but said he supports restructuring the NYPD to shift more resources to social services and mental health professionals. “NYPD officers have been forced to deal with any number of situations for which an armed response is not required.”

This story has been updated to reflect additional information from the mayoral campaigns.