Billionaire and media mogul Michael Bloomberg has once again thrown his support behind former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral race for New York City. Bloomberg emphasized Cuomo’s “experience and resilience” as crucial qualities to advocate for the city’s residents.
In a post on X, Bloomberg, who previously served as mayor of New York City between 2002-2013, pointed out that serving as mayor of NYC “is the second toughest job in America.”
“Four months ago, I endorsed @AndrewCuomo, believing his leadership skills and governmental expertise made him the optimal choice for New Yorkers,” Bloomberg stated. “That belief remains unchanged. With early voting now in progress, I feel compelled to reaffirm my backing for Andrew Cuomo.”
Bloomberg further elaborated, “The role of New York City’s Mayor is arguably the second toughest job in the United States, and the upcoming mayor will encounter formidable challenges. Andrew Cuomo possesses the necessary experience and resilience to champion New Yorkers and drive progress. I urge you to join me in supporting him.”
These remarks from Bloomberg coincide with his $1.5 million contribution to a Super PAC named “Fix the City,” reportedly operated by a close Cuomo associate, as detailed by the New York Times.
This financial contribution marks Bloomberg’s initial involvement in the mayoral contest since the Democratic primary. It also follows reports of “business elites” in New York City threatening to invest around $100 million in a campaign to eliminate socialist mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani from the race, according to the publication.
While Bloomberg and Cuomo have had their disagreements during Cuomo’s governorship, Bloomberg and Mamdani are noted to hold even more pronounced differences, the outlet suggests.
Bloomberg’s support of Cuomo in the upcoming mayoral race comes as Mamdani has advocated for city-run grocery stores and has suggested sending “mental health experts” to respond to certain crimes instead of police officers.
– News also reported that Mamdani has received criticism for comments he made on a podcast in July 2020 in which he spoke against sending police officers to respond to domestic violence calls. Mamdani claimed on the podcast that “police do not create safety”:
Police do not create safety … there are so many responsibilities we’ve given to police that, frankly, should have nothing to do with their departments … if somebody is jaywalking, if somebody is surviving, going through domestic violence — there are so many different, different situations that would be far better handled by people trained to deal with those specific situations, as opposed to an individual with a gun.
A Quinnipiac University poll, conducted between October 23-27, which surveyed 911 likely voters in NYC, found that Mamdani was leading with 43 percent of support, while Cuomo received 33 percent of support. NYC Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa received 14 percent of support.
