Throughout his long political career, Eric Adams seemed to float effortlessly above a constant drumbeat of reports questioning his ethical conduct. Just before he won the New York City Democratic mayoral primary in 2021, an aide predicted the city would come to appreciate him as a “lovable rogue.”

Now Mr. Adams’s flirtation with trouble has sent his mayoralty into a tailspin and has opened the door to the mind-bending possibility of a comeback by another tarnished leader. There is a plausible scenario in which Andrew Cuomo runs and wins election as New York’s next mayor.

The former governor — who resigned in 2021 in the wake of sexual harassment allegations and intense criticism over his handling of the Covid pandemic — has reportedly been weighing a run for mayor for months, and he is very likely gaming out his chances of winning if Mr. Adams manages to remain in office and seeks re-election. If Mr. Cuomo chooses to run, one spectacle in New York politics will be followed by another.

A Cuomo candidacy would turn a municipal rite into a morality tale, with elements of disgrace, redemption and revenge. Mr. Cuomo would be running not just to restore his honor but also his family name. Ultimately, it would ask New Yorkers to decide what they are willing to look past to fix the city.

A Marist poll last week found that 48 percent of Democrats in New York City favor Mr. Cuomo running in next year’s election and 52 percent are opposed. Many voters would doubtlessly find his actions in office so repugnant that they would not even consider his candidacy. Others seem open to the argument.

I’m not a partisan of Mr. Cuomo’s, but I believe there’s a compelling reason he should run. Whether he deserves to win is another question altogether. (Full disclosure: I declined an offer by Mr. Cuomo to join his administration about a decade ago.)

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