Campaign

Working Families’ Party, progressive groups plan #NeverBloomberg campaign, march on candidate’s home

by John Bowden - 02/27/20 9:23 PM ET

A handful of progressive groups based in New York including the Working Families Party are organizing a “#NeverBloomberg” campaign to counter the former mayor’s growing influence in the Democratic primary.

Politico reported Thursday that the groups are planning a march on Bloomberg’s New York City townhouse Saturday evening, urging Democratic leaders not to rally behind the former Republican mayor over his record while in office.

One member of the Vocal New York Action Fund, one of the groups supporting the march, accused Bloomberg in a statement to Politico of going after the city’s most vulnerable residents while mayor.

“They took away resources from the most vulnerable people in the city, and punished them, terrorized them,” said Paulette Soltani. “He designed the city we’re living in today. He designed the homelessness crisis that we’re living with today.”

The city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams, is also a vocal critic of Bloomberg and has pilloried the former mayor on Twitter, writing that he will not support the former mayor in the Democratic primary.

“Disturbed to see Black leaders back @MikeBloomberg— There’s a history of callous policies harming NYers of more color on housing, education & of course #SQF,” he tweeted earlier this month.

Disturbed to see Black leaders back @MikeBloomberg— There’s a history of callous policies harming NYers of more color on housing, education & of course #SQF.

As I said to @KatyTurNBC & @TheRevAl on @MSNBC, the revelations aren’t a surprise to all who know the Mayor’s work best. pic.twitter.com/NZbjqsWUFz

— Jumaane Williams (@JumaaneWilliams) February 13, 2020

“It’s sad, because I look up to some of them,” he added Thursday at a press conference reportedly unaffiliated with the march, according to Politico. “They should really be ashamed. I’m embarrassed for them.”

Bloomberg’s campaign said in a statement in response that the former mayor pointed to the city’s economic success under his leadership as well as his apology for implementing the controversial practice of stop and frisk.

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“As a long-serving mayor of a big and complex city, Mike made New York a better place to live and where an economy could thrive. He created jobs. He turned around a failing school system. He helped to make the city more sustainable, healthier and safer,” said a Bloomberg official in a statement to Politico. “Mike acknowledges he got it wrong with stop and frisk. As the mark of a true leader, he apologized and learned from this mistake.”

This article was corrected to note Williams’ position on Bloomberg as being opposed to him in the Democratic primary, rather than the general election.