NYC Mayor/2021 Megathread

[KaiserDave]

I don't think this exists. But let's get chatting!

The end of the age of De Blasio is nigh. Who will next be New York City's Mayor? I for one am tentatively in for a Yang candidacy, but if he chooses not to run Eric Adams interests me.

https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2020/07/29/nyc-elections-2021-whos-running-no-clear-progressive-has-emerged

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/nyregion/black-race-mayor-nyc.html

Here are some helpful articles

[Never Made it to Graceland]

Yang might be interesting, but I can't see him getting too much support in the other boroughs.

I want Jumaane Williams to run. I haven't seen any other progressive candidates put forward. I'm skeptical of Adams' connections to the police unions and questionable statements in the past, but I would support him overall.

"Whether you are a conservative in Staten Island or you're a liberal in the West Village, you are probably frustrated with this mayor, so what that means is whoever comes in has an opportunity to do something big,” Gupta said.

Sounds like Ravi is forgetting about a rather large portion of New Yorkers who continue to support De Blasio. They don't live in the West Village or Staten Island.

[KaiserDave]

Yang might be interesting, but I can't see him getting too much support in the other boroughs.

I want Jumaane Williams to run. I haven't seen any other progressive candidates put forward. I'm skeptical of Adams' connections to the police unions and questionable statements in the past, but I would support him overall.

Outside of me wanting to see UBI test piloted in New York, I feel like an outside force might be useful.

[Never Made it to Graceland]

Yang might be interesting, but I can't see him getting too much support in the other boroughs.

I want Jumaane Williams to run. I haven't seen any other progressive candidates put forward. I'm skeptical of Adams' connections to the police unions and questionable statements in the past, but I would support him overall.

Outside of me wanting to see UBI test piloted in New York, I feel like an outside force might be useful.

Do we know if he is serious about mounting a run?

[KaiserDave]

Yang might be interesting, but I can't see him getting too much support in the other boroughs.

I want Jumaane Williams to run. I haven't seen any other progressive candidates put forward. I'm skeptical of Adams' connections to the police unions and questionable statements in the past, but I would support him overall.

Outside of me wanting to see UBI test piloted in New York, I feel like an outside force might be useful.

Do we know if he is serious about mounting a run?

I'm not sure, all I know is that he said he's not done running for office and he rather be in an executive position than a legislative one.

[brucejoel99]

I'd support Yang in a heartbeat: he seems extremely capable & can obviously inspire people, but who knows if he actually ends up pulling the trigger on a run? If he doesn't run, though, I'd probably be for Shaun Donovan, though I wish he'd start putting himself out there more & making himself more visible. Other than them, Corey Johnson or Scott Stringer seem like good bets too. Anybody but Eric Adams.

In any event, I expect RCV to massively impact who ultimately wins, whereas the plurality voting of the past made it much easier for somebody with less-than-majoritarian support to make it through the Democratic primary.

[NewYorkExpress]

If AOC ran, she could probably win every borough except Staten Island. But she's probably not going to run unless she gets a heads up that her seat will be dismantled in 2022 (and even then it's more likely she runs statewide instead)

Apparently former Obama Administration OMB Director and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced he was running back in February. I don't think he can win a primary, largely because in addition to working for Obama, he also worked for Bloomberg, and I don't believe Bloomberg's popular citywide at present.

If I had to guess out of the current and speculated candidates, the Democrat with the best chance of winning is probably Corey Johnson (currently the City Council Speaker) or Andrew Yang (though I don't think Yang actually runs- he might pull the trigger on a Congressional bid if Maloney retires in 2022 or if Nadler retires instead...though I'm not sure he wins either race. He also could run statewide. If Hochul steps down as Lieutenant Governor, Yang would be a possible running mate for Cuomo in my opinion.)

[pikachu]

I don't get the appeal of Yang for Mayor. He's an interesting guy, but none of his core ideas make sense on a municipal level and he's never shown an interest in NYC-specific issues. Guy seems much more suited to be in Congress (tbh he should take on Maroney in 2022).

Anyway, from my limited research, I like Johnson the most, but also lord knows what the city's going to be like this time next year. Gonna be a really dynamic race.

[warandwar]

Eric Adams *had* positioned himself well, but his brand of politics failed miserably this year. Corey Johnson is going to have the honor of oresiding over mass layoffs - not good. Shaun Donovan is bringing in tons of cash but his appeal is limited to the richer parts of Manhattan - where he'll be squeezed by Stringer and Johnson anyways. Leaving Maya Wiley looking alright, somehow?

Jumaane won't run unless he thinks he'll win. So far there's no indication he's running.

The big news recently is that Tiffany Caban's running for Council. She's going places in the future.

[KaiserDave]

I’ve done more research on Adams and I find some of his past activities highly concerning. His Wikipedia page deserves a good read through.

Hoping Yang goes for it, and again he’s repeatedly stated a preference for executive roles over legislative ones.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

I think Yang is only gonna run for Mayor if he doesn't get a cabinet position. I think he might get Commerce.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

Corey Johnson! Corey Johnson! Corey Johnson!


(yang is such a gimmick)

[President Johnson]

Yang would definitely be interesting. While I'm skeptical of UBI, I think his economic expertise could definitely be an asset in this office. I'm not sure how much support he'd get though.

[KaiserDave]

I like Corey Johnson because he stood up to Airbnb, but Yang is not a gimmick. I just don’t know where that idea comes from.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

I like Corey Johnson because he stood up to Airbnb, but Yang is not a gimmick. I just don’t know where that idea comes from.

Everything about Yang 2020 was a gimmick. He was dubiously qualified, his plans ranged from the economically illiterate to the unconstitutional, and his support base was...memey...to say the least. And now you guys want this weirdo running a city of 8 million people. No thanks.

[KaiserDave]

I like Corey Johnson because he stood up to Airbnb, but Yang is not a gimmick. I just don’t know where that idea comes from.

Everything about Yang 2020 was a gimmick. He was dubiously qualified, his plans ranged from the economically illiterate to the unconstitutional, and his support base was...memey...to say the least. And now you guys want this weirdo running a city of 8 million people. No thanks.

I didn’t agree we everything he proposed but his way of thinking in many ways has been entirely vindicated by the pandemic. You’re making him out as this memey weirdo like Kanye or Vermin Supreme. He’s an accomplished businesses man who has written extensively on socioeconomics. Sure some of his supporters are idiots but if we judged every candidate just on their worst supporter we’d get nowhere. Yang proved to be a far more seriously competitive candidate than many comparatively “serious” politicians. And I never even supported him for president.

So yes I want him to run my city of 8 million people.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

I like Corey Johnson because he stood up to Airbnb, but Yang is not a gimmick. I just don’t know where that idea comes from.

Everything about Yang 2020 was a gimmick. He was dubiously qualified, his plans ranged from the economically illiterate to the unconstitutional, and his support base was...memey...to say the least. And now you guys want this weirdo running a city of 8 million people. No thanks.

I didn’t agree we everything he proposed but his way of thinking in many ways has been entirely vindicated by the pandemic. You’re making him out as this memey weirdo like Kanye or Vermin Supreme. He’s an accomplished businesses man who has written extensively on socioeconomics. Sure some of his supporters are idiots but if we judged every candidate just on their worst supporter we’d get nowhere. Yang proved to be a far more seriously competitive candidate than many comparatively “serious” politicians. And I never even supported him for president.

So yes I want him to run my city of 8 million people.

Still not a particularly good endorsement. Being a second-rate businessman with a loose grasp of socioeconomics is not a strong rationale for electing someone mayor. My bet is that he'd try a few gimmicky reforms but fail miserably against NYC's enormous institutional intertia (the unions, NYPD, Wall Street, PANYNJ, the MTA) because at the end of the day, he has no idea how to run a city. I'm very unimpressed by the tech bro move-fast-and-break-things approach to municipal governance.

[KaiserDave]

I like Corey Johnson because he stood up to Airbnb, but Yang is not a gimmick. I just don’t know where that idea comes from.

Everything about Yang 2020 was a gimmick. He was dubiously qualified, his plans ranged from the economically illiterate to the unconstitutional, and his support base was...memey...to say the least. And now you guys want this weirdo running a city of 8 million people. No thanks.

I didn’t agree we everything he proposed but his way of thinking in many ways has been entirely vindicated by the pandemic. You’re making him out as this memey weirdo like Kanye or Vermin Supreme. He’s an accomplished businesses man who has written extensively on socioeconomics. Sure some of his supporters are idiots but if we judged every candidate just on their worst supporter we’d get nowhere. Yang proved to be a far more seriously competitive candidate than many comparatively “serious” politicians. And I never even supported him for president.

So yes I want him to run my city of 8 million people.

Still not a particularly good endorsement. Being a second-rate businessman with a loose grasp of socioeconomics is not a strong rationale for electing someone mayor. My bet is that he'd try a few gimmicky reforms but fail miserably against NYC's enormous institutional intertia (the unions, NYPD, Wall Street, PANYNJ, the MTA) because at the end of the day, he has no idea how to run a city. I'm very unimpressed by the tech bro move-fast-and-break-things approach to municipal governance.

Loose grasp? Half his platform has been vindicated by the crisis. And I trust him to deal with the cogs of governance far more than any of the various ingrained city politicians who indebted to a collage of those groups. Yang has made no enemies or debts and I trust his ability to manage successfully.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

I like Corey Johnson because he stood up to Airbnb, but Yang is not a gimmick. I just don’t know where that idea comes from.

Everything about Yang 2020 was a gimmick. He was dubiously qualified, his plans ranged from the economically illiterate to the unconstitutional, and his support base was...memey...to say the least. And now you guys want this weirdo running a city of 8 million people. No thanks.

I didn’t agree we everything he proposed but his way of thinking in many ways has been entirely vindicated by the pandemic. You’re making him out as this memey weirdo like Kanye or Vermin Supreme. He’s an accomplished businesses man who has written extensively on socioeconomics. Sure some of his supporters are idiots but if we judged every candidate just on their worst supporter we’d get nowhere. Yang proved to be a far more seriously competitive candidate than many comparatively “serious” politicians. And I never even supported him for president.

So yes I want him to run my city of 8 million people.

Still not a particularly good endorsement. Being a second-rate businessman with a loose grasp of socioeconomics is not a strong rationale for electing someone mayor. My bet is that he'd try a few gimmicky reforms but fail miserably against NYC's enormous institutional intertia (the unions, NYPD, Wall Street, PANYNJ, the MTA) because at the end of the day, he has no idea how to run a city. I'm very unimpressed by the tech bro move-fast-and-break-things approach to municipal governance.

Loose grasp? Half his platform has been vindicated by the crisis. And I trust him to deal with the cogs of governance far more than any of the various ingrained city politicians who indebted to a collage of those groups. Yang has made no enemies or debts and I trust his ability to manage successfully.

Has it though? A couple stimulus checks is hardly an endorsement of Yang's platform. Anyone who thinks a UBI would reduce rather than exacerbate wealth inequality most certainly has a loose grasp on economics. Yang may not have any enemies, but he also has no friends. And nobody is going to break these institutions power alone. Yang's experience is essentially helping out a couple hundred entrepreneurs. Running a city as complicated as New York is several orders of magnitude more complicated and you can't learn on the job. NYC would be much better served by a reformist local politician who actually understands how the system works and has the experience to improve it. Yang isn't that person.

[NewYorkExpress]

Still think if AOC decided to run she'd be a strong candidate in the primary.

Actually, if Max Rose decides to jump in the Mayoral race, assuming he makes it past the primary, he'd be the strongest possible General Election candidate for the Democrats.

But neither AOC or Rose is particularly likely to run.

[KaiserDave]

I like Corey Johnson because he stood up to Airbnb, but Yang is not a gimmick. I just don’t know where that idea comes from.

Everything about Yang 2020 was a gimmick. He was dubiously qualified, his plans ranged from the economically illiterate to the unconstitutional, and his support base was...memey...to say the least. And now you guys want this weirdo running a city of 8 million people. No thanks.

I didn’t agree we everything he proposed but his way of thinking in many ways has been entirely vindicated by the pandemic. You’re making him out as this memey weirdo like Kanye or Vermin Supreme. He’s an accomplished businesses man who has written extensively on socioeconomics. Sure some of his supporters are idiots but if we judged every candidate just on their worst supporter we’d get nowhere. Yang proved to be a far more seriously competitive candidate than many comparatively “serious” politicians. And I never even supported him for president.

So yes I want him to run my city of 8 million people.

Still not a particularly good endorsement. Being a second-rate businessman with a loose grasp of socioeconomics is not a strong rationale for electing someone mayor. My bet is that he'd try a few gimmicky reforms but fail miserably against NYC's enormous institutional intertia (the unions, NYPD, Wall Street, PANYNJ, the MTA) because at the end of the day, he has no idea how to run a city. I'm very unimpressed by the tech bro move-fast-and-break-things approach to municipal governance.

Loose grasp? Half his platform has been vindicated by the crisis. And I trust him to deal with the cogs of governance far more than any of the various ingrained city politicians who indebted to a collage of those groups. Yang has made no enemies or debts and I trust his ability to manage successfully.

Has it though? A couple stimulus checks is hardly an endorsement of Yang's platform. Anyone who thinks a UBI would reduce rather than exacerbate wealth inequality most certainly has a loose grasp on economics. Yang may not have any enemies, but he also has no friends. And nobody is going to break these institutions power alone. Yang's experience is essentially helping out a couple hundred entrepreneurs. Running a city as complicated as New York is several orders of magnitude more complicated and you can't learn on the job. NYC would be much better served by a reformist local politician who actually understands how the system works and has the experience to improve it. Yang isn't that person.

It's not the stimulus checks, it's the crisis itself which has accelerated the need for many of his policies. In New York City especially so. I would prefer a fresh face with a list of policies that make all the sense right now and an innovative approach to policy making to the alternatives.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

I like Corey Johnson because he stood up to Airbnb, but Yang is not a gimmick. I just don’t know where that idea comes from.

Everything about Yang 2020 was a gimmick. He was dubiously qualified, his plans ranged from the economically illiterate to the unconstitutional, and his support base was...memey...to say the least. And now you guys want this weirdo running a city of 8 million people. No thanks.

I didn’t agree we everything he proposed but his way of thinking in many ways has been entirely vindicated by the pandemic. You’re making him out as this memey weirdo like Kanye or Vermin Supreme. He’s an accomplished businesses man who has written extensively on socioeconomics. Sure some of his supporters are idiots but if we judged every candidate just on their worst supporter we’d get nowhere. Yang proved to be a far more seriously competitive candidate than many comparatively “serious” politicians. And I never even supported him for president.

So yes I want him to run my city of 8 million people.

Still not a particularly good endorsement. Being a second-rate businessman with a loose grasp of socioeconomics is not a strong rationale for electing someone mayor. My bet is that he'd try a few gimmicky reforms but fail miserably against NYC's enormous institutional intertia (the unions, NYPD, Wall Street, PANYNJ, the MTA) because at the end of the day, he has no idea how to run a city. I'm very unimpressed by the tech bro move-fast-and-break-things approach to municipal governance.

Loose grasp? Half his platform has been vindicated by the crisis. And I trust him to deal with the cogs of governance far more than any of the various ingrained city politicians who indebted to a collage of those groups. Yang has made no enemies or debts and I trust his ability to manage successfully.

Has it though? A couple stimulus checks is hardly an endorsement of Yang's platform. Anyone who thinks a UBI would reduce rather than exacerbate wealth inequality most certainly has a loose grasp on economics. Yang may not have any enemies, but he also has no friends. And nobody is going to break these institutions power alone. Yang's experience is essentially helping out a couple hundred entrepreneurs. Running a city as complicated as New York is several orders of magnitude more complicated and you can't learn on the job. NYC would be much better served by a reformist local politician who actually understands how the system works and has the experience to improve it. Yang isn't that person.

It's not the stimulus checks, it's the crisis itself which has accelerated the need for many of his policies. In New York City especially so. I would prefer a fresh face with a list of policies that make all the sense right now and an innovative approach to policy making to the alternatives.

Which ones make sense?

UBI?
The legion of builders and destroyers?
Modern time banking?
Data as intellectual property?
A Department of the Attention Economy?
Cutting funding to higher ed?

They're all absurd, and they do nothing to fix New York's three big problems: the MTA, housing affordability, and crooked law enforcement. C'mon, he doesn't have a clue how to make actual change and build coalitions in the areas that actually matter.

[KaiserDave]

I like Corey Johnson because he stood up to Airbnb, but Yang is not a gimmick. I just don’t know where that idea comes from.

Everything about Yang 2020 was a gimmick. He was dubiously qualified, his plans ranged from the economically illiterate to the unconstitutional, and his support base was...memey...to say the least. And now you guys want this weirdo running a city of 8 million people. No thanks.

I didn’t agree we everything he proposed but his way of thinking in many ways has been entirely vindicated by the pandemic. You’re making him out as this memey weirdo like Kanye or Vermin Supreme. He’s an accomplished businesses man who has written extensively on socioeconomics. Sure some of his supporters are idiots but if we judged every candidate just on their worst supporter we’d get nowhere. Yang proved to be a far more seriously competitive candidate than many comparatively “serious” politicians. And I never even supported him for president.

So yes I want him to run my city of 8 million people.

Still not a particularly good endorsement. Being a second-rate businessman with a loose grasp of socioeconomics is not a strong rationale for electing someone mayor. My bet is that he'd try a few gimmicky reforms but fail miserably against NYC's enormous institutional intertia (the unions, NYPD, Wall Street, PANYNJ, the MTA) because at the end of the day, he has no idea how to run a city. I'm very unimpressed by the tech bro move-fast-and-break-things approach to municipal governance.

Loose grasp? Half his platform has been vindicated by the crisis. And I trust him to deal with the cogs of governance far more than any of the various ingrained city politicians who indebted to a collage of those groups. Yang has made no enemies or debts and I trust his ability to manage successfully.

Has it though? A couple stimulus checks is hardly an endorsement of Yang's platform. Anyone who thinks a UBI would reduce rather than exacerbate wealth inequality most certainly has a loose grasp on economics. Yang may not have any enemies, but he also has no friends. And nobody is going to break these institutions power alone. Yang's experience is essentially helping out a couple hundred entrepreneurs. Running a city as complicated as New York is several orders of magnitude more complicated and you can't learn on the job. NYC would be much better served by a reformist local politician who actually understands how the system works and has the experience to improve it. Yang isn't that person.

It's not the stimulus checks, it's the crisis itself which has accelerated the need for many of his policies. In New York City especially so. I would prefer a fresh face with a list of policies that make all the sense right now and an innovative approach to policy making to the alternatives.

Which ones make sense?

UBI?
The legion of builders and destroyers?
Modern time banking?
Data as intellectual property?
A Department of the Attention Economy?
Cutting funding to higher ed?

They're all absurd, and they do nothing to fix New York's three big problems: the MTA, housing affordability, and crooked law enforcement. C'mon, he doesn't have a clue how to make actual change and build coalitions in the areas that actually matter.

UBI? Certainly without a doubt vindicated by the crisis. And I'm sure he would present suitable policies to the city's problems if he ran for Mayor, obviously he wasn't proposing MTA fixes in his presidential campaign. I have complete faith that if he ran he would push forward innovative policies to New York specific problems. And that's why I've written him asking him to run.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

I like Corey Johnson because he stood up to Airbnb, but Yang is not a gimmick. I just don’t know where that idea comes from.

Everything about Yang 2020 was a gimmick. He was dubiously qualified, his plans ranged from the economically illiterate to the unconstitutional, and his support base was...memey...to say the least. And now you guys want this weirdo running a city of 8 million people. No thanks.

I didn’t agree we everything he proposed but his way of thinking in many ways has been entirely vindicated by the pandemic. You’re making him out as this memey weirdo like Kanye or Vermin Supreme. He’s an accomplished businesses man who has written extensively on socioeconomics. Sure some of his supporters are idiots but if we judged every candidate just on their worst supporter we’d get nowhere. Yang proved to be a far more seriously competitive candidate than many comparatively “serious” politicians. And I never even supported him for president.

So yes I want him to run my city of 8 million people.

Still not a particularly good endorsement. Being a second-rate businessman with a loose grasp of socioeconomics is not a strong rationale for electing someone mayor. My bet is that he'd try a few gimmicky reforms but fail miserably against NYC's enormous institutional intertia (the unions, NYPD, Wall Street, PANYNJ, the MTA) because at the end of the day, he has no idea how to run a city. I'm very unimpressed by the tech bro move-fast-and-break-things approach to municipal governance.

Loose grasp? Half his platform has been vindicated by the crisis. And I trust him to deal with the cogs of governance far more than any of the various ingrained city politicians who indebted to a collage of those groups. Yang has made no enemies or debts and I trust his ability to manage successfully.

Has it though? A couple stimulus checks is hardly an endorsement of Yang's platform. Anyone who thinks a UBI would reduce rather than exacerbate wealth inequality most certainly has a loose grasp on economics. Yang may not have any enemies, but he also has no friends. And nobody is going to break these institutions power alone. Yang's experience is essentially helping out a couple hundred entrepreneurs. Running a city as complicated as New York is several orders of magnitude more complicated and you can't learn on the job. NYC would be much better served by a reformist local politician who actually understands how the system works and has the experience to improve it. Yang isn't that person.

It's not the stimulus checks, it's the crisis itself which has accelerated the need for many of his policies. In New York City especially so. I would prefer a fresh face with a list of policies that make all the sense right now and an innovative approach to policy making to the alternatives.

Which ones make sense?

UBI?
The legion of builders and destroyers?
Modern time banking?
Data as intellectual property?
A Department of the Attention Economy?
Cutting funding to higher ed?

They're all absurd, and they do nothing to fix New York's three big problems: the MTA, housing affordability, and crooked law enforcement. C'mon, he doesn't have a clue how to make actual change and build coalitions in the areas that actually matter.

UBI? Certainly without a doubt vindicated by the crisis. And I'm sure he would present suitable policies to the city's problems if he ran for Mayor, obviously he wasn't proposing MTA fixes in his presidential campaign. I have complete faith that if he ran he would push forward innovative policies to New York specific problems. And that's why I've written him asking him to run.

Oh come on. Limited stimulus checks during a recession make sense but UBI is absolute bulls**t economics. In the long term, its primary effect is making the upper middle class wealthier. A means-tested welfare state will always make more sense.

So basically your whole argument for Yang is "huh, he seems kinda smart and innovative unlike everyone else because reasons. I bet if he ran, he'd somehow be the candidate with the best policy platform over actual NYC politicians because more reasons and despite his utter inexperience he would somehow be the most effective candidate once in office because other reasons."?

[KaiserDave]

I like Corey Johnson because he stood up to Airbnb, but Yang is not a gimmick. I just don’t know where that idea comes from.

Everything about Yang 2020 was a gimmick. He was dubiously qualified, his plans ranged from the economically illiterate to the unconstitutional, and his support base was...memey...to say the least. And now you guys want this weirdo running a city of 8 million people. No thanks.

I didn’t agree we everything he proposed but his way of thinking in many ways has been entirely vindicated by the pandemic. You’re making him out as this memey weirdo like Kanye or Vermin Supreme. He’s an accomplished businesses man who has written extensively on socioeconomics. Sure some of his supporters are idiots but if we judged every candidate just on their worst supporter we’d get nowhere. Yang proved to be a far more seriously competitive candidate than many comparatively “serious” politicians. And I never even supported him for president.

So yes I want him to run my city of 8 million people.

Still not a particularly good endorsement. Being a second-rate businessman with a loose grasp of socioeconomics is not a strong rationale for electing someone mayor. My bet is that he'd try a few gimmicky reforms but fail miserably against NYC's enormous institutional intertia (the unions, NYPD, Wall Street, PANYNJ, the MTA) because at the end of the day, he has no idea how to run a city. I'm very unimpressed by the tech bro move-fast-and-break-things approach to municipal governance.

Loose grasp? Half his platform has been vindicated by the crisis. And I trust him to deal with the cogs of governance far more than any of the various ingrained city politicians who indebted to a collage of those groups. Yang has made no enemies or debts and I trust his ability to manage successfully.

Has it though? A couple stimulus checks is hardly an endorsement of Yang's platform. Anyone who thinks a UBI would reduce rather than exacerbate wealth inequality most certainly has a loose grasp on economics. Yang may not have any enemies, but he also has no friends. And nobody is going to break these institutions power alone. Yang's experience is essentially helping out a couple hundred entrepreneurs. Running a city as complicated as New York is several orders of magnitude more complicated and you can't learn on the job. NYC would be much better served by a reformist local politician who actually understands how the system works and has the experience to improve it. Yang isn't that person.

It's not the stimulus checks, it's the crisis itself which has accelerated the need for many of his policies. In New York City especially so. I would prefer a fresh face with a list of policies that make all the sense right now and an innovative approach to policy making to the alternatives.

Which ones make sense?

UBI?
The legion of builders and destroyers?
Modern time banking?
Data as intellectual property?
A Department of the Attention Economy?
Cutting funding to higher ed?

They're all absurd, and they do nothing to fix New York's three big problems: the MTA, housing affordability, and crooked law enforcement. C'mon, he doesn't have a clue how to make actual change and build coalitions in the areas that actually matter.

UBI? Certainly without a doubt vindicated by the crisis. And I'm sure he would present suitable policies to the city's problems if he ran for Mayor, obviously he wasn't proposing MTA fixes in his presidential campaign. I have complete faith that if he ran he would push forward innovative policies to New York specific problems. And that's why I've written him asking him to run.

Oh come on. Limited stimulus checks during a recession make sense but UBI is absolute bulls**t economics. In the long term, its primary effect is making the upper middle class wealthier. A means-tested welfare state will always make more sense.

So basically your whole argument for Yang is "huh, he seems kinda smart and innovative unlike everyone else because reasons. I bet if he ran, he'd somehow be the candidate with the best policy platform over actual NYC politicians because more reasons and despite his utter inexperience he would somehow be the most effective candidate once in office because other reasons."?

UBI has been proven to be entire successful, specifically in Finland and I see no reason why not to test pilot it in New York City.

Why are you misconstruing my argument? There is no doubt in my mind he possesses a unique approach to policy making not shared by any of the other prominent names in contention. It is precisely because it's not an "actual NYC politician" they I have particular interest in him.

Also, Bloomberg wasn't experienced either (and while I'm not a fan of him), nobody can dispute he was capable of executing the job. Andrew Yang isn't a child and I'm perplexed as to why you continue to make him out as some infantile meme obsessed joke when he ran a serious presidential campaign and has undeniable unique socioeconomic knowledge that he has put pen to paper on.