Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Loree Sutton

Loree Sutton

  • Democratic Mayoral Candidates Offer Ideas for Addressing Food Insecurity

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    Free food giveaways (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Nine candidates vying for the Democratic nomination to become the next mayor of New York City gathered Tuesday morning in a virtual forum to discuss their visions for the city's food policy and serving the roughly 2 million New Yorkers who are food insecure.

    At the "Town Hall on the Future of Food in New York City" -- hosted by Hunter College in partnership with City Harvest, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, Food Bank for NYC, Hunger Free America, and other organizations, and moderated by

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  • Democratic Mayoral Candidates Offer Albany Agendas, Strategies for Accomplishing Them

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    The Governor & Legislative leaders (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)


    Eight of the top Democratic mayoral candidates appeared at a virtual forum on Monday to outline their legislative and budget priorities at the state level, and their strategies for achieving those goals. To varying degrees, they laid out tactics for partnering with, even opposing, Governor Andrew Cuomo and corralling the state Legislature to their side. But there were clear differences among the candidates, informed by their own background and experiences,

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  • WATCH: Democratic Mayoral Candidates Outline Their Albany Agendas

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     l-r (top): Kathryn Garcia, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley, Carlos Menchaca; bottom: Shaun Donovan, Dianne Morales, Loree Sutton, Eric Adams


    Eight leading Democratic mayoral candidates appeared in two sessions at the "Albany Agenda" forum hosted by Empire State Indivisible and moderated by Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max. The candidates — Kathryn Garcia, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley, Carlos Menchaca, Shaun Donovan, Eric Adams, Dianne Morales, and Loree Sutton — discussed their state policy agendas and how they would navigate the processes, politics, and

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  • WATCH: 30 Minutes with the Candidates for New York City Mayor

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    The race for City Hall is on (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    With all of city government on the ballot, 2021 is an immensely important election year in New York City. New York voters will elect a new Mayor, and many other new officeholders for citywide, borough-wide, and City Council positions. In partnership with Manhattan Neighborhood Network, Gotham Gazette is producing "Decision NYC with Ben Max," a series of in-depth 30-minute

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  • Several Points of Conflict and Differentiation at Brooklyn Democrats' Mayoral Candidate Debate

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    Top: Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Andrew Yang, Ray McGuire; Bottom: Eric Adams, Loree Sutton, Maya Wiley, Scott Stringer


    Eight leading Democratic candidates for New York City mayor participated in what was billed as the first debate of the primary, hosted Sunday evening by the Kings County Democratic Committee and moderated by NY1 anchor Errol Louis.

    The hour-long debate moved quickly and covered a lot of ground, while also featuring rare bouts of direct interaction between candidates, some of it quite pointed, as a

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  • Decision NYC: Loree Sutton Discusses Her Run for Mayor

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    Loree Sutton (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)


    Loree Sutton, a Democrat running for Mayor in the 2021 election, joined MNN's "Decision NYC with Ben Max" for an in-depth discussion of her candidacy for the city's top job. This interview is part of a series produced by Manhattan Neighborhood Network. Watch:

  • Democratic Mayoral Candidates Discuss Addressing City’s Health Care Gaps After Covid

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    Top (l-r): Carlos Menchaca, Dianne Morales, Scott Stringer, Loree Sutton, Maya Wiley,
    Bottom (l-r): Eric Adams, Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Ray McGuire, Andrew Yang


    Eleven Democratic candidates for mayor appeared at a virtual forum on Tuesday focused on how they would shape health policy to be more equitable in New York City, especially amidst and in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought the city’s health care infrastructure under considerable strain and has had a starkly unequal racial impact. The pandemic has thrust the issues of

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  • The Money Race in the Mayoral Primary: January Filing Sets the Stage for 2021

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    l-r: (top) Eric Adams, Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Carlos Menchaca, Zach Iscol (bottom) Dianne Morales, Scott Stringer, Loree Sutton, Maya Wiley, Ray McGuire


    With under six months until the 2021 primary elections, candidates running for mayor filed their January campaign finance disclosures. The disclosures were due on Friday, covering the last six months of fundraising and spending activity. For a number of candidates, it was their first filing.

    There are well over a dozen candidates running in the Democratic primary, the winner of which will likely be the next mayor because of the

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  • Democratic Mayoral Hopefuls Pitch Upper Manhattan Club

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    (l-r) top: Maya Wiley, Scott Stringer, Eric Adams, Kathryn Garcia, Carlos Menchaca

    bottom: Dianne Morales, Loree Sutton, Ray McGuire, Shaun Donovan


    Nine Demcocratic candidates for mayor of New York City appeared one-by-one Thursday night at an online forum hosted by the Uptown Community Democrats. The moderator of the forum was Kyle Ishmael, a club leader who also serves as both Executive Director of the Manhattan Democratic Party and Executive Director of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus.

    The

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  • Our 2020 Conversations with the 2021 Candidates for Mayor

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    l-r: (top) Eric Adams, Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Carlos Menchaca, Zach Iscol (bottom) Dianne Morales, Scott Stringer, Loree Sutton, Maya Wiley, Ray McGuire


    New Yorkers will elect a new Mayor in 2021 and a large and growing field of candidates is forming in the race to replace term-limited Bill de Blasio, a Democrat.

    Most of the action through 2020 has been in the Democratic primary, which will take place in June and is very likely to annoint the next Mayor given the party's overhwhelming voter registration advantage in the city (though New York City is

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  • Four Women Running for Mayor Pitch Candidacies to ‘Amplify Her’

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    Four women running for Mayor (photo: @AmplifyHerNYC)


    There’s never been a woman elected Mayor of New York City and four of the candidates attempting to change that fact through next year’s election met for a forum Tuesday night hosted by Amplify Her, an organization dedicated to electing more women to office in New York City.

    Former New York City Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, nonprofit executive Dianne Morales, former city Veterans Affairs Commissioner Loree Sutton, and Maya Wiley, a civil rights attorney and former counsel to Mayor Bill de

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  • Democratic Mayoral Candidates Differ on NYPD Involvement in Mental Health Calls, Use of Solitary Confinement & More

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    Top (l-r): Loree Sutton, Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Carlos Menchaca, Eric Adams
    Bottom (l-r): Dianne Morales, Scott Stringer, Joycelyn Taylor, Maya Wiley, Zach Iscol


    The NYPD’s involvement when responding to mental health crises took center stage at a forum featuring ten of the 2021 Democratic mayoral candidates Thursday night.

    The event, which was hosted by Citizen Action of New York, a grassroots nonprofit advocacy group, and a consortium it is part of that seeks to reform mental health and other

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  • Democratic Mayoral Candidates Talk Public Safety at Brooklyn Forum

    Gotham Gazette:

    l-r: (top) Eric Adams, Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Carlos Menchaca, (bottom) Dianne Morales, Scott Stringer, Loree Sutton, Maya Wiley


    Eight Democratic candidates for New York City mayor gathered Tuesday night for another candidate forum in the early phase of the campaign, which will culminate with a June primary and fall 2021 general election. The online forum, hosted by the Central Brooklyn Political Action Association, focused on “The Future of Public Safety” and was moderated by Dr. Christina Pardo and Greg Albro, co-chair of the New York Progressive Action Network.

    The eight

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  • Mayoral Candidates Pitch Their Resumes and Values to the West Side Democrats

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     l-r: (top) Eric Adams, Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Carlos Menchaca, (bottom) Dianne Morales, Scott Stringer, Loree Sutton, Maya Wiley


    With the 2020 elections over -- but for the counting of absentee ballots across the city and state -- greater attention is turning to New York City’s 2021 local elections, including an increasingly-crowded race for mayor. The first candidate forum of the 2021 cycle was held by the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club last month,

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  • Democratic Mayoral Hopefuls Appear at First Candidate Forum of 2021 Race

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    l-r: Eric Adams, Kathryn Garcia, Shaun Donovan,  Dianne Morales, Scott Stringer, Carlos Menchaca, Maya Wiley


    The Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, which bills itself as the progressive LGBTQ political club, hosted the first forum for the 2021 New York City mayoral election Tuesday night, inviting seven declared or exploring Democratic candidates to participate. The Democratic and Republican primaries for mayor will take place in June of next year.

    Participating candidates -- who appeared one at a time by Zoom, giving brief opening

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  • 'I Actually Have to Negotiate a Budget': Corey Johnson and the Challenge of Running for Mayor as City Council Speaker

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    Corey Johnson, with Bill de Blasio watching (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    Speakers of the New York City Council don’t fare well when running for citywide office. Melissa Mark-Viverito, who previously held the job, was unsuccessful in a crowded 2019 special election for public advocate. Christine Quinn, the speaker before her, placed third in the 2013 Democratic mayoral primary that saw Bill de Blasio advance toward the mayoralty. Gifford Miller, Quinn’s predecessor, similarly lost in the 2005 Democratic mayoral primary to Fernando Ferrer, and Peter

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  • The 2021 New York City Mayoral Race, One Year to the Primary

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    City Hall on inauguration day (photo: mayor's office)


    It’s election day, and all eyes on the 2020 party primaries in New York, though the results won’t be clear for at least one week. But one year from now, New Yorkers will cast their ballots in another primary election, one that will likely determine the slate of leadership of New York City for the next four years, including the next mayor. With Mayor Bill de Blasio term-limited, the stage is set for a fierce competition, which may not really take off until just after this year’s presidential election but

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  • Where the 2021 Mayoral Candidates Stand on Removing School Safety from the NYPD's Domain

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    Police in schools (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    As the City Council is pushing to cut $1 billion from the NYPD’s $6 billion budget for next fiscal year, City Council Members Mark Treyger and Donovan Richards have proposed revoking the police’s role in school safety and restoring it to the Department of Education. The proposal has been a top priority for some police reform and education activists for years and has taken on renewed urgency in the wake of the countrywide protests following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

    Though Mayor

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  • How 2021 Mayoral Candidates Have Responded to the Coronavirus Fallout and Cries for Police Reform

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    New York City Hall (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    New York City has slowly turned the tide of the COVID-19 pandemic and has just begun the first phase of reopening its economy. But despite the last few weeks of success in curtailing the public health crisis, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s leadership has left many frustrated and looking elsewhere. He has been criticized for providing too little clarity and few plans to the public about various health, social, and economic pieces of the city’s larger recovery puzzle, often proving reactive

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  • How 2021 Mayoral Candidates Have Initially Responded to Coronavirus Crisis One Will Inherit

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    Three of the leading 2021 mayoral candidates (photo: Gotham Gazette)


    It took merely three weeks from the first case of the coronavirus being confirmed in the city to thousands of New Yorkers testing positive for the virus. The scale of the outbreak has presented an emergency of a scope that the city has perhaps never before faced. The aftermath of the crisis will be felt well into the future and in 2022, the effects it will have on the city’s people, its economy, and its politics will be inherited by whoever takes the helm at City Hall.

    Next year, Mayor Bill de Blasio will in

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  • Contrasting Herself with Former Boss Bill de Blasio, Loree Sutton Runs to be ‘Quality of Life’ Mayor

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    Former veterans commissioner Loree Sutton (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Loree Sutton knows Mayor Bill de Blasio well, having been hired by him as commissioner of the New York City Department of Veterans’ Services, and she’s now running to succeed him on a platform of bringing a very different leadership style atop city government.

    “I saw things to continue to deteriorate in our city, the quality of life and all that we see around us in the city, I kept looking for who is the common-sense candidate, the passionate pragmatist, the person that

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Mayoral Candidate Loree Sutton

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    (photo: Mayor's office)


    February 5, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Mayoral Candidate Loree Sutton

    Loree Sutton, a retired brigadier general and recently-departed commissioner of the city's Department of Veterans' Services, joined the show to discuss her campaign for mayor. Sutton, running in the 2021 Democratic primary, discussed the reasons she's running, her critiques of Mayor de Blasio, and much more.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter ...

  • January 2020 City Campaign Cash Roundup: Races for Mayor, Comptroller, Borough Presidents

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    (photo: Mayor's Office)


    Candidates running for local office filed their latest campaign finance disclosures with the New York City Campaign Finance Board this week, showing their fundraising and expenditures from the last six months, and cumulative numbers for the 2021 election cycle.

    Next year’s election is shaping up to be highly competitive and consequential, with two of three citywide elected officials, four of five borough presidents, and 35 of 51 City Council members facing term limits. The city will elect a new mayor and comptroller for the first

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  • Without Chair, Council Committee Hears Bills Aimed to Help Discharged Military Veterans

    Council Member Chaim Deutsch

    Council Member Deutsch (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)


    A bill that would require the New York City Department of Veterans Services to help veterans discharged from the military solely for their LGBTQ status to upgrade or change the narrative of their discharge status and “extend all city benefits and services” to them was introduced to the City Council’s Committee on Veterans at a hearing on Monday.

    Introduced alongside it was a bill that would require DVS to create a unit to assist veterans with discharge characterization upgrades and offer

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  • City Council Checks In On Department of Veterans Services, Discusses Reporting Bill

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    Veterans Services Commissioner Loree Sutton, middle (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)


    The New York City Council’s Committee on Veterans met Monday to discuss a bill that would require the city’s Department of Veterans Services to release an annual report detailing certain information about its work to help the city’s military veterans, including the number of its employees and types services it is

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