By Craig Hohmann '24
The NYC Mayoral Race is underway, and I am here to provide you with the cutting-edge analysis you would expect from an anchor of Spectrum News at 12:30 AM.
While it has been a rough primary for various progressives in the race, it has been tougher on the actual populace of the city because frontrunner Andrew Yang has admitted to fleeing to the countryside during March and April, the worst months of the pandemic in New York City. Andrew Yang gained notoriety for his failed presidential campaign in 2020. He advocated for a universal basic income (UBI) to offset the money people lose to automation. Yang has not proposed detailed policies but rather guidelines he might follow if elected. He has come under fire for not holding any prior political office and having no experience in policy. Yang has been billed as a progressive, but he cannot get out of the way of unions. He and the United Federation of Teachers have no love lost, as they have verbally sparred with each other over a multitude of issues such as the SHSAT and the snail's pace at which schools have started to reopen. However, he has furthered his UBI promise and plans to give payments of roughly two thousand a month to those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Eric Adams formerly served as a police captain and has been running on his ties to law enforcement and his Brooklyn borough president experience. Adams has released the most detailed criminal justice plan, attributed to his experiences as a teen being beaten up by law enforcement officers and later becoming a police captain. He has proposed a system built on police department reform rather than an approach of defunding it and redistributing money to social services. Adams has solidified his place in the criminal justice lane, as someone who has been harmed at the expense of police brutality. He is seen as the most popular moderate candidate, as most of the other candidates are fighting in the progressive labor lane, except for Andrew Yang who has, in essence, sworn off organized labor.
Scott Stringer is currently the City Comptroller, meaning he handles the city’s expenses, taxation, and programs that receive funds and grants. His campaign emphasizes experience, as well as being able to balance the budget while running as a progressive with plans for expanded social programs. He has advocated for more teachers with his initiative of adding two teachers in each elementary school classroom. This proposal has become increasingly popular with many parents and the UFT. He has brought more attention to the clean energy crisis in NYC. He has also advocated for a more robust power system that takes the city's reliance off of fossil fuels and into renewable, clean energy. Stringer has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by Jean Kim, a lobbyist who worked with Stringer in the early 2000s as an intern. He is also under fire for a bullying allegation; Ben Kallos, a New York City Council member, has accused him of using vulgar language and holding his endorsement hostage for favorable policies. Stringer has been bleeding endorsements from prominent state Democrats like Rep. Jamal Bowman, who withdrew his support amid the sexual assault allegations. Despite the turmoil surrounding his campaign, Stringer has vowed to carry on as normal.
Maya Wiley was the General Counsel for Bill DeBlasio and is a nationally renowned criminal justice reform advocate. She has centered her platform around being a progressive racial justice champion. She endorses the New Deal New York, a policy centered around jobs and economic stimulus. Wiley claims New Deal New York would create 100,000 jobs in the child care and home care sectors, which have historically underserved Black and Brown communities. She has used the COVID-19 pandemic to highlight racial inequities and policies she hopes to keep implemented once the pandemic abates. She has advocated for other progressive policies, such as universal childcare and ending evictions through federal stimulus and moratoriums.
Dianne Morales is also vying for the progressive lane. She was a non-profit CEO. Morales has tried to cultivate the image of being someone who has lived through the worst that NYC has to offer and is ready for change. She has advocated for drastically defunding the police by more than three billion dollars per year and reinvesting it into social programs. She has also advocated for taking away the NYPD’s power to communicate with ICE about illegal immigration and Know Your Rights training. She has also been one of the more outspoken candidates in the race when it comes to her opponents. She has called for Scott Stringer to resign amid the allegations of sexual assault and abuse. Morales has tried to connect with an expanded voter base through a more sizable presence, but that has not translated into better performance in polls and surveys.
That is your guide to the five most prominent candidates for NYC Mayor. I hope you further research policies to find which candidate you think is up for the job.
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