NYC Mayor/2021 Megathread

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I like Stringer but I also really like Dianne Morales. I'm pulling for one of them to win.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I like Stringer but I also really like Dianne Morales. I'm pulling for one of them to win.

I would say Stringer is in the top tier. Many of my more left wing friends like Morales, but I don't see her going anywhere.

It's a shame. Morales seems like she'd be a genuinely good mayor, leagues better than most of the firmly entrenched white men who get catapulted into the top tier.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Did you guys know that Eric Adams once accused Bronx Borough President Herman Badillo of being a race traitor because he was married to a white Jewish woman? I gotta say, the more I learn about this guy, the less I like him. I'd take Donovan over him if those were the only two choices.

Zoinks

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I would still prefer Dianne Morales but Yang is an interesting candidate. I wonder how he would handle the job given that he has no governing experience and seems to be a lot more about platitudes than confronting the realities of certain aspects of politics.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Copying and pasting some thoughts I wrote out on Twitter cuz I don't feel like rephrasing it for here.

This guy is so hard to pin down. On the one hand, he does talk about issues that are important and even forward-thinking, but he seems to do so without command of the topic or any grasp of how legislation works. I remember during his Presidential campaign, it seemed like almost every issue he talked about related back to UBI. As if he did not have a complex understanding of how poverty or systemic injustice works other than “the absence of money.” The Times piece in the OP refers to him as a “neophyte” and even that feels too charitable. He’s more like a layman. A lot of the things he espouses are rooted in the abstract of what *could* be done as opposed to what *can* be done. And not in a “this idea is pie-in-the-sky” kind of way, more like “well if I think this is a good idea, it must be a good idea” He doesn’t understand legislation, he doesn’t understand government, he doesn’t understand governing. He admits that he’s never voted for mayor because he has “taken city government for granted.” How can you run for President while not having an appreciation for local politics? It seems like it’s a lot more vain than altruistic. It’s like he wants the credit for being the genius who figured out that poverty is bad. He doesn’t want to govern, he wants to be a movie star. It always rubbed me the wrong way that he would run for Pres w/o govt experience. After we elected Donald Trump, who ran for POTUS for the personal glory without understanding how government or legislating works, YOU’RE the guy who should succeed him? Someone who has virtually the same resume as Trump? That takes a lot of ambition. And not in a good way. I’ve always been skeptical of Yang and this article further proves that he may not really understand politics or issues outside of a very elementary grasp of things. It’s like he’s arrived at the correct answer without doing the work. It’s very technocratic.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I agree with much of what you've said, but this is very unfair to Yang. Their both private sector outsiders, but that's where the similarities end.

No government experience? Running using their business experience as both a platform and an appeal to authority? That was my point--if you're running to succeed a disastrously inexperienced President whose inexperience played directly into his failures, you better have a real argument to back that up. Yang was no closer to being prepared for the office of the Presidency in 2020 (or the office of Mayor of NYC in 2021 for that matter) than Donald Trump was in 2016.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I agree with much of what you've said, but this is very unfair to Yang. Their both private sector outsiders, but that's where the similarities end.

No government experience? Running using their business experience as both a platform and an appeal to authority? That was my point--if you're running to succeed a disastrously inexperienced President whose inexperience played directly into his failures, you better have a real argument to back that up. Yang was no closer to being prepared for the office of the Presidency in 2020 (or the office of Mayor of NYC in 2021 for that matter) than Donald Trump was in 2016.

Trump is a billionaire who made his money through an array of disastrous and racially discriminatory real estate enterprises. Yang is barely a millionaire who ran an education start up.

I didn't support Yang for President, ever, or at all, but he and Trump are not that similar.

I'm talking strictly about how they used their private sector experience as a platform to run for office, though. I understand they're not the same kind of businessman, but they both attempted to use that as a justification for why they should be President.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Do we know if Andrew Yang has any like...social disorders? I know he has an autistic son, but the way he carries himself is incredibly reminiscent of someone with high functioning autism. Not an insult or anything that should be used to disqualify him as a candidate, but his behavior has always struck me as a bit atypical.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I'm of the mind that baseless speculation on Yang being on the spectrum is baseless and speculative.

We're very much used to stage managed politicians. Remember that.

Sure, and that’s why I tried to word my post to be strictly speculative while also saying that it shouldn’t diminish his chances in any way, but I don’t think I’ve ever met an adult who acts quite like Andrew Yang. Maybe he is just goofy and awkward.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

https://twitter.com/nydailynews/status/1353161641173671936?s=21

This is actually pretty cool and good for raising awareness. I would hope that more people give Morales a look and a first preference but if this helps her get into the top tier then so be it.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Yang tests positive for COVID:

https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1356636303929053187?s=20

[Grumpier Than Thou]

New York Daily News reporting Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has accepted thousands of dollars in travel and other perks from China, Turkey, and Azerbaijan.

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-nyc-mayoral-race-eric-adams-china-turkey-azerbaijan-20210206-uelz6zyvzzad5p4nuhvx6woqcu-story.html?force_isolation=true

As far as New York politicians go--that's all?

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I think Morales would really benefit in a non-COVID world. She needs to get her name rec up. She's still my favorite candidate in this race, but she doesn't stand a chance unless she becomes more recognizable.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2021/02/17/a-freer-de-blasio-convenes-labor-leaders-for-private-meeting-on-mayors-race-1364097

Very interesting article on Mayor de Blasio's preferences. TL:DR

Adams: Likes, particularly his "story"
Stringer: Has beef with him but would be okay if he won
Wiley: Likes but doesn't think she can win
Yang: Skeptical that he's ahead, not sure about him
Bloomberg-like candidates (McGuire/Yang?): Very opposed to, wants a pro labor not pro business mayor

I think it would be great if labor leaders could coalesce around one candidate to block Yang from getting the nomination. It's just tough to imagine that happening because so many of these candidates are cut from the same cloth and have flaws.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Yikes.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I am probably going to meet Yang today. Any questions?

Furthermore, if you want to ask questions to all non Yang candidates in a Zoom forum

Here is a good one, it's tomorrow

https://www.teenstakecharge.com/mayor

Ask him how soon he plans to resign to primary Biden after winning the race

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I am probably going to meet Yang today. Any questions?

Furthermore, if you want to ask questions to all non Yang candidates in a Zoom forum

Here is a good one, it's tomorrow

https://www.teenstakecharge.com/mayor

Ask him how soon he plans to resign to primary Biden after winning the race

New York doesn't have a resign-to-run law as far as I'm aware. He could primary Biden or Harris as the sitting Mayor of New York City, it's just the optics for that would look horrible.

It was more a joke about how he doesn’t really care about being Mayor

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Let’s go Dianne!!!

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Starting petitioning for Stringer today.  Good stuff!

Got a free Stringer mask and button.

If you happen across any Morales buttons, let me know if you'd be willing to mail it to me.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Menchaca out:

https://twitter.com/cmenchaca/status/1374707085447946247?s=20

[Grumpier Than Thou]

The best thing Andrew Yang could do if he really wants to win is to stop tweeting everything that comes into his brain the moment it comes into his brain

[Grumpier Than Thou]

The best thing Andrew Yang could do if he really wants to win is to stop tweeting everything that comes into his brain the moment it comes into his brain

This is why I made the Trump 2016 comparison, but is there anything in the polls which has shown that his tweets have hurt him? Maybe this is the one, but until we see otherwise, idk if there's a reason to assume the guy's anything but a teflon candidate.

Democrats don’t vote like Republicans though. Republicans don’t care about Trump’s tweets. If given the right amount of sunlight, Yang’s tweets could hurt him. Maybe I’m totally wrong and they won’t ever end up hurting him, but it feels like Yang benefits from the fact that people don’t know anything about him beyond what he wants people to know about him.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Hoo boy:

https://twitter.com/scottmstringer/status/1381634545536135172?s=20

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I don't have a horse in this race (And I'd likely support Morales anyway), but you'd think Yang personally murdered nursing home residents & aided Cuomo in his sexual escapades with the hate he's getting in this thread.

Jesus Christ dude, do you think all criticism is this extreme? I mean, he's running one of the most high profile political jobs in the world. He's subject to criticism, especially when he demonstrates repeatedly that he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. You really seem to be interested in defending him for someone who "doesn't have a horse in this race."

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Some changes to the cycle


Day 1: "I'm finding myself really annoyed by Yang"
Day 2: "Yang's not taking this race seriously at all"
Day 3: "Yang's campaign is finished"
Day 4: "Yang is gonna lose so badly"
Day 5: "Surely this means Adams/Stringer will pull ahead now"
Day 6: Poll comes out showing Yang on top

And repeat

Ok man, do you want an official decree proclaiming you as the forum's biggest Yang Simp?