Andrew Yang Jumps Into Packed NYC Mayoral Race

New York City NY

14 January, 2021

11:43 AM

Description

NEW YORK, NY — Andrew Yang, the former nonprofit executive and Democratic presidential candidate, jumped into the jam-packed New York City mayoral race on Thursday, launching his unorthodox campaign with a rally in Morningside Heights. Yang, 46, has no experience in city government and has never held office, but pitched himself as a technocratic leader who could help guide the city out of the coronavirus pandemic. He joins more than 30 people also running to succeed Bill de Blasio, who is term-limited. "I'm running for mayor for a very simple reason: I see a crisis and believe that I can help," Yang said in his speech at Morningside Park — a few blocks from where he lived in the mid-1990s while he attended Columbia Law School. He was flanked by his wife, Evelyn, and their two sons, as well as U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, who said he will co-chair Yang's campaign. At the core of Yang's platform is a proposal to launch "the largest basic income program in the history of the country" — an offshoot of his proposal during last year's presidential primaries to institute a nationwide universal basic income. His plan would give annual cash payments of up to $5,000 to thousands of New Yorkers, costing about $1 billion, according to the New York Post. Yang made his announcement in Morningside Park, a few blocks from where he lived in the mid-1990s while he attended Columbia Law School. (Nick Garber/Patch) It is unclear how Yang proposes to pay for it, given that the city faces a $3 billion pandemic-induced budgetary shortfall this year. Responding to a reporter's question on Thursday, he argued that the program would largely pay for itself by reducing the city's spending on social services, but did not share details. Yang's campaign rollout got off to a rocky start in recent weeks. Reports emerged last month that Yang had never voted in a New York City mayoral primary despite living here for more than 20 years, and he received blowback for comments he made to the New York Times, justifying fleeing the city during the pandemic by pointing to the difficulty of working while his children attended school remotely — a painful reality for many New Yorkers who stayed here. Yang brushed off his inexperience in city government on Thursday by pointing to his close ties with federal officials, who he said would help New York escape its current crisis. "My ties are strong with our partners in the White House and in the Capitol — I have a lot of their phone numbers," he said. Read more about Yang's bid at his campaign website.