More than 90 New York activists, citizens, politicians, city officials, and religious leaders who survived the Bloomberg administration have united to pen an open letter in an attempt to shed light on โThe Real Mike Bloomberg.โ The missive from the group described as โNew Yorkers of Colorโ is an appeal to voters in the remaining Democratic primaries and comes with receipts, actual evidence and an โurgent messageโ that can be condensed into two words:
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Not him.
The coalition representing โfamilies of New Yorkers killed by the New York Police Department, community leaders, elected officials, and other New Yorkers of colorโ began by explaining that they lived during the former mayorโs โabysmal and destructiveโ 12-year tenure, noting that he used his wealth and influence to change the laws that prevented him from serving a third term.
โAlthough Bloomberg is running in the Democratic primary, he has a long history with the Republican party,โ wrote the signers. โWe urge you NOT to reward Bloomberg with your vote.โ
While highlighting Bloombergโs past as a GOP candidate and financial contributor, the letter explained that the billionaire Democratic contender stood at the helm of an administration that produced racial, economic and social inequality in New York City. But they didnโt just point to the NYPDโs racially destructive stop and frisk practices. The list of Bloombergโs barbaric policies included:
Warrantless surveillance of Muslim communities
Targeting nonwhite youth for marijuana arrests
Rezoning housing, closing shelters and canceling support for the homeless in order to make the city a โluxury productโ
Allowing big banks to discriminate against homeowners of color
Fingerprinting food stamp recipients
Promoting a โtest and punishโ policy in NYC schools
Closing minority-serving schools and diverting taxpayer dollars to privately run charter schools
โAfter four years of Trump, the last thing our country needs is is someone who will champion racist and discriminatory policies, exacerbate economic inequality and undermine democracy with his wealth,โ pleaded the letter-writers, who (literally and figuratively) said boldly:
โ[S]tay away from Mike Bloomberg.โ
โOur critics are welcome to offer alternative opinions, but the broader range of facts presents a different picture,โ Bloomberg campaign adviser Stu Loeser told Buzzfeed. โBut as much as we encourage everyoneโs right to speak their minds, not all of the facts in this letter line up with Mikeโs real record.โ
Bloombergโs campaign pointed to a New York Times article that praised the mayorโs record on race. WaitโฆI think thatโs the wrong link because the title says New Yorkers were โconflicted.โ Plus, the article says 38 percent of black New Yorkers rated him favorably while 55 percent of whites did, which was an improvement over his predecessor. But if three out of five black people didnโt approve of your performance, what would you expect the letter of recommendation to say?
Anyway...
It seems as if the only black people who support Michael Bloomberg all curiously have a brown paper bag filled with cash under their sink. But maybe itโs a coincidence. I think the takeaway here is that the black and brown people who know him best say โDonโt vote for Michael Bloomberg.โ
Iโll take their word.
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