Former mayor Mike Bloomberg has endorsed Andrew Cuomo within the race for mayor — a uncommon transfer for the billionaire that comes simply two weeks earlier than major day.
Bloomberg and Cuomo had a tense relationship as mayor and governor. The endorsement comes as Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist candidate whose constantly polled in second forward of the June 24 Democratic major, is making a closing push at closing the hole between him and the ex-governor.
“I care deeply about the future of our city, and since leaving office, it has been difficult to watch its struggles, especially since the pandemic. In sizing up the field in the race for mayor, there is one candidate whose management experience and government know-how stand above the others: Andrew Cuomo,” Bloomberg mentioned in an announcement.
Michael Bloomberg speaks on the Bloomberg International Enterprise Discussion board in New York on September 24, 2024. (Picture by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP through Getty Photos)
Mamdani has pledged to lift a 2% earnings tax on town’s wealthiest residents to be able to pay without spending a dime childcare and buses. He is also pushing for a hire freeze for metropolis residents in regulated flats.
Bloomberg beforehand endorsed Mayor Adams after the 2021 major election, at which level the race was not aggressive. That post-primary endorsement was the one time Bloomberg has endorsed a mayoral candidate since leaving workplace, his spokesman confirmed, so the backing on Cuomo is a really uncommon exhibiting of help from the ex-mayor.
Michael Bloomberg, left, is pictured after endorsing Andrew Cuomo (proper) for governor at New York Metropolis Corridor on Sept. 22, 2010. (Todd Maisel / New York Each day Information)
The previous mayor’s daughter, Emma Bloomberg, gave the $2,100 max contribution to Cuomo’s marketing campaign, and Bloomberg adviser Kevin Sheekey, who ran the billionaire’s longshot 2020 presidential bid, additionally chipped in $500. Others in Bloomberg’s orbit have additionally donated to a brilliant PAC referred to as Repair the Metropolis in help of Cuomo’s candidacy.