Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Mayor 2021

Mayor 2021

  • Choosing Our Next Mayor: The Most Important Issues New Yorkers Need to Hear About from the Candidates

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    Inauguration Day at City Hall (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    It's often said being Mayor of New York City is the second toughest job in America. The challenges of governing our nation's largest city are enormous, especially now in the wake of COVID-19, the racial justice movement, and increased crime and unemployment. And as the city seems to be tilting even more to the "progressive" left, I'm reminded of the sage advice of one of our greatest mayors, Fiorello LaGuardia, that "there's no Democratic or Republican way to pick up the

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  • Decision NYC: Sara Tirschwell Discusses Her Run for Mayor

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    Sara Tirschwell (photo via Tirschwell campaign)


    Sara Tirschwell, a Republican 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

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  • Decision NYC: Barbara Kavovit Discusses Her Run for Mayor

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    Barbara Kavovit (photo via campaign)


    Barbara Kavovit, 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 inter view is part of a series produced by Manhattan Neighborhood Network

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  • Decision NYC: Cleopatra Fitzgerald Discusses Her Run for Mayor

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    Cleopatra Fitzgerald (photo via campaign)


    Cleopatra Fitzgerald, 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

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  • Decision NYC: Stacey Prussman Discusses Her Run for Mayor

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    Stacey Prussman (photo via campaign)


    Stacey Prussman, a Libertarian 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 and Gotham

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  • The Money Race in the Democratic Mayoral Primary: March Filing Key for Matching Funds

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    (l-r) Maya Wiley, Andrew Yang, Kathryn Garcia, Shaun Donovan, & Dianne Morales all appear on track for matching funds


    The top tier of candidates in this year’s Democratic primary for New York City mayor continues coming into focus through a variety of metrics, including the latest campaign finance filings, which help indicate which candidates have gained traction with voters and will have the financial means to compete ahead of the June vote. In the heavily Democratic city, the party’s primary winner is the odds-on-favorite to become the city’s next

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  • At Televised Debate, Democratic Mayoral Candidates Outline Housing, Homelessness Plans

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    (top: Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Andrew Yang, Ray McGuire; bottom: Eric Adams, Dianne Morales, Maya Wiley, Scott Stringer)


    Eight leading Democratic candidates in the race for mayor appeared in the first televised mayoral forum of the 2021 race to share their policy proposals for tackling housing and homelessness in New York City. The discussion had a particular focus on the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, which has added a new layer of concern regarding homelessness, evictions, rent and mortgage debt, housing segregation, affordable and

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  • Debate Schedule Set for New York City Mayoral Race

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    (l-r) top: Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Andrew Yang, Ray McGuire; bottom: Eric Adams, Dianne Morales, Maya Wiley, Scott Stringer


    The New York City Campaign Finance Board on Thursday announced the schedule for debates in the races for mayor and comptroller ahead of the June primary and fall general elections. Debates in the Democratic and Republican primaries for mayor and the Democratic primary for comptroller will kick off beginning May 13.

    Given thresholds for participation, that first official, televised debate in the

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  • Decision NYC: Andrew Yang Discusses His Run for Mayor

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    Andrew Yang (photo: Gage Skidmore )


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

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  • Democratic Mayoral Candidates Stake Out Education Policy Positions

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    Pandemic education (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Leading Democratic candidates for mayor have appeared at several recent forums to outline their priorities on education and the possibility of running the country’s largest school system, as well as their strategies for achieving those aims. Discussion at the various forums, hosted by a number of diverse groups, was often focused on how the mayoral hopefuls would shape equitable and inclusive educational policy for New York City students, especially amid the fallout of the coronavirus

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  • Video Brief: Housing and the 2021 Election

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    Housing plans in motion (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    In the latest video brief on key issues facing New York City and at the center of the 2021 city elections, hosts Ben Max and Jarrett Murphy discuss housing, including the them es of housing development, neighborhood rezonings, affordable housing, homelessness, and NYCHA public housing. Watch:

  • Mayoral Candidates Flunk First Budget Test

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    Budget work (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography)


    Of the endless forums that are being held in the mayoral primary race, the only one that has specifically focused on the City’s fiscal situation and budget was the one last week held by the Citizens Budget Commission, my former organization. (You can watch it here, or read Gotham Gazette’s detailed summary ...

  • Democratic Mayoral Candidates Talk Tenants and Housing

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    Housing (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Nine leading candidates vying for the Democratic nomination to be New York City’s next mayor appeared at a recent virtual forum to offer their stances on issues critical to tenants. Two-thirds of New Yorkers are renters, which means the forum provided candidates a crucial opportunity to impress a large and important group of voters with their policy ideas to solve the city’s housing problems, especially amid a pandemic that has exacerbated existing inequities.

    At the February 27 forum

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  • Decision NYC: Fernando Mateo Discusses His Run for Mayor

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    Fernando Mateo (photo: Mateo campaign)


    Fernando Mateo, a Republican running for Mayor in the 2021 election, joined MNN's "Decision NYC with Ben Max" for an in-depth discussion of his candidacy for the city's top job. This interview is part of a series ...

  • How New York City Can Truly Turn the Tide on Homelessness

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    Housing underway (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    We as a city spend $3 billion annually on shelters -- including renting hotel rooms -- that fail to provide the services New Yorkers experiencing homelessness need. 

    These band-aid solutions don’t work. They’ve never worked. Before COVID-19, more than half of New Yorkers were paying more than 30% of their income on

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  • Democratic Mayoral Candidates Discuss Poverty, Education and Economic Mobility

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    (l-r) Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Ray McGuire, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley


    Robin Hood, a philanthropic organization dedicated to fighting poverty in New York, held a virtual forum on Thursday afternoon with five leading Democratic candidates for mayor. The discussion was centered on poverty and economic mobility and featured a combination of standard campaign talking points, ideas attuned to the themes at hand, and some sharper exchanges between candidates than often occur at the countless forums, in part due to the

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  • What's The [Data] Point? $5.3 Billion, Mayoral Candidates Discuss the City Fiscal Crisis

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    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 102 -- $5.3 Billion, Mayoral Candidates Discuss the City Fiscal Crisis [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    cbc mayoral forum$5.3 billion is the current estimate of the budget gap the next Mayor will have to close in her/his first year. Ben Max and CBC President Andrew Rein introduce listeners to

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  • Democratic Mayoral Candidates Offer Ideas for Solving City's Budget Crisis

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    Mayor de Blasio at a budget presentation (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    New York City is facing its worst fiscal crisis in decades, brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, with billions in lost tax revenue and large projected budget gaps in the years ahead. It’s a crisis that the next mayor, likely the winner of the Democratic primary this June, will inherit. At a mayoral forum on Wednesday, eight of the top contenders vying for the Democratic nomination offered their solutions to the city’s budget woes, pitching ideas to fix city

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  • Decision NYC: Maya Wiley Discusses Her Run for Mayor

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    Maya Wiley at her campaign launch (photo: Wiley campaign)


    Maya Wiley, 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:

  • Maya Wiley Rallies Black Women to Make Her the First to Become Mayor of New York

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    Painting a Black Lives Matter mural (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    “Black women get it done,” Maya Wiley, the former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio and 2021 mayoral candidate, declared in a January 22 video that featured a coalition of prominent Black women who are supporting her campaign. It was the launch of her formal effort to woo a core constituency in the Democratic base who time and again have turned out in higher rates in elections and could be a crucial factor for Wiley to become the first Black woman ever elected Mayor of New York

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  • Kathryn Garcia Continues Fleshing Out Mayoral Campaign Platform with Housing, Transit and Food Plans

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    Kathryn Garcia (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    In recent weeks and months, former New York City Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia has further filled out her campaign platform as she runs for mayor, releasing plans for administering the COVID-19 vaccine and working with the federal government, building and maintaining housing, and improving the city’s transit and public spaces. Garcia, who has never run for elected office before but is a veteran of city government in several roles with major responsibilities, is running on her experience as a manager

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  • Video Brief: Education and the 2021 Election

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    Mayor de Blasio & Chancellor Carranza visit a school (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    In our latest video brief on key issues at play in the 2021 New York City elections, with a focus on the race for mayor, hosts Jarrett Murphy and Ben Max discuss education. Key topics within the larger issue include who the next mayor will appoint as a schools chancellor, how the next mayor and chancellor will manage the sprawling education bureaucracy, how candidates are talking about hot-button issues including school desegregation, charter schools, and much

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  • Decision NYC: Guiddalia Emilien Discusses Her Run for Mayor

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    Guiddalia Emilien (photo: Guiddalia for Mayor)


    Guiddalia Emilien, 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 Appear at 'Follow Black Women' Forum

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    Activists (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Seven Democratic candidates running to become the next mayor of New York City appeared Tuesday evening at a virtual town hall event to share their agendas for tackling the systemic obstacles facing Black women, who are doubly affected by racism and sexism and are often referred to as the backbone of the Democratic Party.

    At the “Follow Black Women Mayoral Candidate Town Hall,” billed as the first-ever mayoral forum created by and for Black women and hosted by Community Voices Heard Power, the candidates discussed

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Scott Stringer on His Run for Mayor

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    Scott Stringer on the line (photo: Stringer 2013)


    February 17, 2021 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Scott Stringer on His Run for Mayor

    Scott Stringer, the New York City comptroller and a Democratic candidate for Mayor, joined the show to discuss his campaign.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMaxand @JarrettMurphy. You can listen to the show through the embedded

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