Who will elect Mayor de Blasio? The future of New York City may mount an answer

As the presidential election consumed a large portion of New York City, the campaign for another critical race had already begun.

Several mayoral candidates made the pilgrimage to Richard Ravitch, asking for his support and advice on facing the city’s economic crisis. Mr. Ravitch, who helped save the city from bankruptcy in the 1970s, offered no endorsement, but Raymond J. McGuire, Executive Officer at Citigroup, The inner path appears.

Many mayoral aspirants are fighting labor leaders to support them, with one union commitment already: Scott M Stringer, the city superintendent, who got early approval from a union representing 45,000 retail workers.

Nearly a dozen Democratic candidates are set to compete in the mayoral primary elections in June, the free-to-all may be the city’s most important in a generation.

The next mayor will face enormous challenges in getting the city out of the epidemic, fighting an economic crisis that has destroyed the city’s financial resources and left more than half a million residents unemployed.

Race It was already converted Because of the Coronavirus and the massive protests for black lives are important this year. Now the city is struggling to fend off a second wave of the virus, with schools closing again and threatening further closures.

For voters, the contest may boil down to a test of priorities: Do they want a mayor best suited to foster the city’s adoption of progressive politics, or someone better equipped to address its pressing economic concerns?

It will be only the fourth time in nearly half a century that the ballot will not include the incumbent mayor seeking re-election: Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is in his seventh year in office, is barred from running again due to the term limit.

Several candidates worked for de Blasio’s administration, and yet the mayor’s remaining unpopularity gave rise to an unusual trend: most mayoral aspirants do not necessarily run to his left or right, but are very far.

In a recent forum for mayoral candidates, nearly all of the candidates said they would not accept Mr. de Blasio’s endorsement.

Three candidates are women who ran Mister de Blasio and criticize their former boss – Maya Wiley, his attorney; Laurie K. Sutton, who ran the Veterans Services division; And Catherine Garcia, from He recently resigned Sanitation Commissioner.

“I saw a mayor who was not prepared to deal with this crisis, who is responding to headlines and making budget cuts that have hurt our city,” Ms. Garcia said at the forum.

Miss Garcia and Mr. Stringer are promoting themselves as competent managers who can get the city back on track. For Mr. Stringer, the slogan appeared: “I will run the hell out of this city!”

Like the open elections that brought Michael R Bloomberg to power in 2001 and Abraham Beam in 1973, the city is facing a financial crisis. Mr de Blasio said he could lay off 22,000 workers if the city couldn’t secure federal stimulus money or long-term borrowing capacity from state lawmakers.

Said Davidoff, former assistant mayor John V. Lindsay, who has worked in and around city government since the 1970s: “The person who will appear on this campaign will have the hardest job I can remember.”

And while the general election will take place in November, the primary will likely determine the winner in a city where the number of Democratic voters outnumber the Republicans by more than six to one. And with so many prominent women and black candidates in the race, voters can elect only the first mayor of the city or the second black mayor.

The recent celebration of Pastor Al Sharpton’s birthday has become a must-visit, with no fewer than five Democratic mayoral candidates visiting Harlem to pay their respects. Three of the candidates are black: Mrs. Willie, Mr. McGuire, and Eric Adams, the mayor of Brooklyn, who officially launched his mayoral campaign on Wednesday.

Six months ago, Mr. Adams, Mr. Stringer and the third candidate, Cory Johnson, mayor, were the first candidates for mayor. Mr. Johnson has since He dropped his bid for mayor after facing criticism Because of his handling of budget cuts for the police.

However, he has emerged as a popular advisor: Since his exit from the race, Mr. Johnson has met several candidates, including Mrs. Wiley in midtown Manhattan, Mr. McGuire in Tribeca, and Sean Donovan, former housing minister under President Barack Obama. Mr. Donovan and Mr. Johnson talked about their Irish heritage, and Mr. Donovan asked Mr. Johnson, who is gay, about reaching out to LGBTQ voters.

Most mayoral aspirants currently focus on raising funds, securing approvals, and demonstrating their progressive goodwill. And trying to convince voters that they have the power to pull the city out of the economic crisis.

Mr McGuire’s campaign has received $ 2 million since he announced his departure Citigroup to prepare for a long time been rumored. He is believed to have the support of some business community, and is looking to broaden his base.

“I was impressed by his intelligence, his eagerness to learn and his recognition of what he did not know,” said Ravitch in a recent interview, adding that among the group of mayoral candidates, he believed that Mr. McGuire was the best fit to revive the city’s economy.

Mr. Ravitch has linked Mr. McGuire to Vincent Alvarez, a major union leader, and Andrew Ryan, a prominent budget expert, sending him a barrage of budget documents.

Like other candidates, Mr. McGuire’s fundraising efforts were made virtually; One such event was attended by Vernon Jordan, a civil rights leader, investment banker, attorney and political power broker, and Henry Lewis Gates Jr., professor at Harvard University. Donors include former Treasury Secretary Robert E. Robin and the philanthropist Laurie M. Tisch.

But while Mr. McGuire’s business background may win some votes, it may not play well with the progressive-minded Democrats looking to expand on the vision of the city they believe Mr. Blasio has failed to achieve.

Were it not for the pandemic, the mayor’s race would likely have been a contest for progressive ideals, as many recent elections in New York City, from the House elections to legislative contests, were won by progressive-minded candidates such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and the actor – elected Jamal Bowman. , Who both defeated the long-running Democratic candidates in the primaries.

This Democratic faction has also scored several major victories in New York in recent years, including Deal kill To bring Amazon headquarters to Queens, and Foil display To recreate the Brooklyn industrial area.

Many candidates are still competing to choose the progressive electorate. Mr Stringer announced a flurry of endorsements from rising stars at the party and pledged not to receive donations from the real estate industry – a group he once relied on.

Ms Wiley is also expected to be a popular choice among left-leaning voters. Her work as a political analyst on MSNBC made it Celebrities among the viewers of the networkAn important demographic in the New York Democratic primary. She is also a civil rights attorney whose father was a well-known civil rights leader.

External factors may alter race dynamics, including when a coronavirus vaccine may be developed and distributed, and when a sense of normality begins in the city.

So, too, there might be a new voting mechanism: use Voting by selection ranked, Which will, for the first time in the New York City elections, allow voters to choose the first, second, and third options.

If no candidate obtains a majority of the first choice votes, the last-place candidate is disqualified and their second choice counted instead of those who selected this candidate as their first choice. This process continues until a candidate emerges with a majority.

“I have to get three calls a week from smart people who still can’t figure out how it works,” said Mr. Davidoff, now a prominent lobbyist, of the ranking vote.

Some candidates incorporate ranked choice voting into their strategy. Mr. Donovan highlights his relationship with the former president to prove his ability to remain as a potential candidate in the top three.

“Shawn’s broad appeal makes him a natural second and third choice for voters, even when they are already committed to another candidate,” according to the “eligibility” slideshow of the rounds.

Mr. Adams, a former police officer, focused on criminal justice issues and demonstrated a work ethic that many find lacking in Mr. de Blasio. Mr. Adams slept on a Arranged in his office For months during the pandemic, a “back to work” subway trip was recently set up to encourage New Yorkers to return to the transportation system.

in a Launch a video campaignMr. Adams stood outside a police station in Queens where he said that when he was a teenager, he was caught once and then beaten by an officer. He said he joined the police force to fight “systemic racism from within,” and pledged as mayor to focus on public safety and the city’s recovery.

“With the right leadership, we will get up again,” he said.

Diane Morales, a nonprofit executive who wants to divest police funding, and Carlos Minshaka, a Brooklyn councilor known for killing the industrial city redivision, are also focused on ordinary New Yorkers.

“It is my experience as a single mother, my experiences as a woman of color, and my life experiences as a first-generation college graduate,” Ms. Morales said in an interview. “These are the people that I think this campaign resonates with.”

Candidates must also navigate the new fundraising rules. Mr. de Blasio fought for the changes that lowered maximum contributions from $ 5,100 to $ 2,000, but increased the power of small-dollar donations, which now corresponds to eight to one for the first $ 250 granted to a campaign by a New York City resident.

Some candidates such as Mr. Donovan chose to run under the old system. Donovan raised about $ 670,000 during the first half of the year, including donations from major real estate figures such as Rafael Cestero and Daniel Brodsky, and Obama administration veterans such as Anthony Fox, Obama’s Secretary of Transportation, and Janet Napolitano, former secretary of Homeland Security . Mr. Adams and Mr. Stringer are using the new system and had more than $ 2 million available in July, according to the campaign deposit.

More candidates can still join. The latest arriving is Zach Eskoll, a former Marine with family ties to Clinton. Arthur Chang, CEO of JP Morgan who led the NYC Votes, the Campaign Fund’s voter education program, created a Mayor Campaign Fund.

A more familiar name might lie: Christine Quinn, a former city council spokeswoman who now runs Homeless Services, is also seriously considering running, according to an unauthorized friend who has discussed her plans publicly.

Ms Quinn was an early candidate in 2013 and won the support of two powerful unions – the Local 32BJ from the International Service Personnel Federation and the Hotel Trade Board – while Mr de Blasio gained the support of Local 1199.

Since the summer, current and former leaders of the Hotel Guild, Richard Marocco and Peter Ward, have met with Mr. Stringer, Mr. Adams and Mrs. Wiley over lunch, via video link and at the union headquarters on 44th Street, according to one person involved in the union’s deliberations. The union has yet to provide validation.

Mr Stringer was recently Certified by the retail workers union At Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square. The union’s president, Stuart Appelbaum, said the race was the most important in decades.

“We have to do it right,” said Mr. Abelbaum. “Our city is in pain.”