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cover of episode NYC Mayoral Candidate Whitney Tilson Talks Key Issues

NYC Mayoral Candidate Whitney Tilson Talks Key Issues

2025/6/16
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我认为库莫和我都是中间派,所以我愿意支持他。其他候选人更加偏左,而库莫有经验,可以完成工作。在上次的市长辩论中,我是唯一一个愿意公开表示支持库莫的候选人。我希望大家不要投票给极左的Zoran Mamdani,他只有33岁,缺乏经验,是民主社会主义者。我坚信库莫是更适合领导纽约市的人选,因为他能够与各方势力周旋,为纽约市争取利益。

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This chapter analyzes the upcoming NYC mayoral election, focusing on the diverse range of candidates and their approaches to key issues. The complexity of the ranked-choice voting system is also discussed, along with the potential outcomes depending on which candidates gain traction.
  • Multiple independent and diverse candidates are running for mayor.
  • Ranked-choice voting adds complexity to the election.
  • The election's outcome is uncertain, with several candidates vying for the top spot.

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This is an iHeart Podcast. Switch to Verizon Business and get more from your internet without paying more for your internet. Get LTE Business Internet starting at $39 a month when paired with select business mobile plans. That's unlimited data and with it, unlimited possibilities. Start saving today with Verizon Business, ranked number one in small business internet customer satisfaction by J.D. Power.

Starting price for 25 megabits per second LTE internet plan with smartphone plan savings, plus taxes, fees, and economic adjustment charge. Terms apply. For J.D. Power 2024 award information, visit jdpower.com slash awards. Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts. Radio. News. For all of you nationwide, we are transfixed in New York City by a mayoral race. There is an election in November, which months ago was like no big deal because there's 12 Republicans in New York City. But all of a sudden, it's like, okay,

This could be a really interesting election because this candidate's an independent. This one's an independent. There'll be four, even five people on the ballot. Governor Cuomo was in the other day. As a disclaimer, I want to make clear that he's received the endorsement of Mr. Bloomberg. Michael Bloomberg is the owner of various Sundry Bloomberg events, including Bloomberg LP.

Bloomberg Television and Radio. Whitney Tilson joins us right now after surviving the race. As Mr. Cuomo said, Whitney Tilson is a financial guy in the hedge fund community and such and has gone through the public process of being a candidate. This word "cross-endorse" in rank voting. Can you cross-endorse Governor Cuomo this morning?

Yes. And it's not a cross endorsement because I haven't asked for his endorsement in return. But at the on the mayoral stage at the last debate on Thursday night when asked, I was the only candidate who was willing to say who I would vote. Why is that? Why are you the only candidate that's lining up behind Cuomo? Jessica did in the Queens, I believe it was as well.

because the rest of the candidates are more progressive lefty types, and Cuomo and I are the only two people in the moderate lane. So I'm happy to throw my support behind him and just say don't rank Zoran Mamdani, who's the far lefty 33-year-old inexperienced democratic socialist. Whitney, crime, homelessness, if you ask, I think the average New Yorker

Those two topics would be at or near the top of their list of concerns. Yes, second only to housing and affordability. How do you deal with that issue broadly tied together?

Well, it's a tough one. There's no quick solution, but a bunch of legislation passed five years ago that effectively decriminalized all low-level crime, not surprisingly. Shocker, you had a huge increase, and New Yorkers got upset, and we're in the process slowly, too slowly, rolling some of that back. But it demoralized police, and we're down to a 34-year low in the number of police officers.

The good news, however, is that on his fourth attempt, his fourth police commissioner in three years, Eric Adams, our current mayor, was sort of forced to hire a competent person, Jessica Tisch, who has came in in November. She's done a great job, got more police out in the streets, started enforcing quality of life stuff. The murder rate is down 28% year to date. Shootings are down 21%.

Almost every type of crime is down, smaller amounts. So I'm hopeful that we're going in the right direction for the first time in five years. Housing affordability, top of the list. I've been in this city for a long time. It's always been an issue. Everybody wants to come to New York, and we know why. I don't care what's going on in the world or what's going on with the city. People keep flooding into the city. You see them every single day.

how do we house these folks yeah i should say my uh one more just got added to that list yesterday my youngest daughter graduated from college in minnesota on saturday and she has already accepted a job back in new york my third daughter all three of them are now back in new york working building their lives here it's the greatest city in the world but housing is key my youngest daughter is going to be living at home because she can't afford on a teacher's salary to live in new york so what do you have to do about it four words if i were to summarize unleash the private sector

All the candidates have their various proposals because voters are screaming about this issue. I'm the only one who said there's not primarily a governmental solution. Trust me, the private sector wants to invest in the richest city in the world with a 60-year low vacancy rate.

But we've just put up so much of the zoning regs, environmental regs, the city bureaucracy where they have to hire expediters to try and navigate the city bureaucracy. We've got to clear that out and shorten what's a four-year process on average down to a two-year process, which is what it was under Mike Bloomberg.

And the difference in two years and four years to a project start to finish in a higher interest rate environment like today is a viable project or a non-viable project. I brought this up with Governor Cuomo, the election that Ed Koch won, where Mario Cuomo, Governor Cuomo's father, took Staten Island and I believe Brooklyn, I can't remember, but Dio took Bronx.

You know, Bella Abzug took Manhattan, but Ed Koch won. With this Democratic primary, how does Whitney Tilson frame the first Tuesday of November? All of a sudden, it's complex.

Yes. It's particularly complex because we have the primary coming up in eight days, and it's ranked choice, so voters can rank up to five candidates. The way the polling looks right now is whatever round of ranked choice as other candidates are eliminated, it's going to come down to Andrew Cuomo, the former governor, and Zoran Mamdani, the 33-year-old sort of phenom who's run a great campaign but is very dangerously inexperienced, has radical views.

I'll just point your listeners, read the New York Times editorial today. New York Times, the liberal lefty paper of record just destroyed Zoran Mamdani in their editorial today, said he's completely unqualified, his ideas are extremist, would be the ruin of this city, is a

what they just said. So they said, don't rank Mom Donnie. And then they said, whatever your feelings are about Cuomo, rank him somewhere. They had a mixed view of Cuomo. And then they said, Whitney Tilson is the heir to Mike Bloomberg. And if you're a moderate, vote for him. So that was, I was thrilled by that. What are we going to see in November if Whitney Tilson doesn't get traction? Well, I will, I am only running in the Democratic primary and

realistically with eight days left there's a very narrow path for me to win the primary I don't win the primary I will not be there in November be there in November what's interesting is is both mom Donnie and Cuomo regardless of which one wins and loses will likely to be in November and then you have the current mayor Eric Adams

Curtis Sliwa on the Republican side in all likelihood, and it's not ranked choice. So you could have a scenario where someone gets 40% and becomes mayor with only a minority of the vote because three or four other candidates could split the remaining 60. We've seen some very...

troubling images for many people coming out of Los Angeles as the deportation plan of President Trump ramps up. What's your view on how New York should deal with it? How would you deal with that? This is great, Paul. Thank you for bringing this up. Whitney Tilson, one of our staff, had a close friend's husband picked up this weekend in New York City. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I strongly support New York's status as a sanctuary city. I do not think we should be cooperating anyway with the Trump administration's lawless, I would argue, campaign of terror against our immigrant communities. We, though, as Democrats, need to be smart and not lose the narrative and not

appear to be or in reality be protecting the very small number of people who are here illegally who have joined gangs and are making our city less safe. So there needs to be limited cooperation there. But, you know, I was asked on the debate stage, what would you do, you know, if the Los Angeles, you know, protests came here? And I'd be like, I'd get out in front. I'd be out there protesting as well what the Trump administration is doing. But

critically in a peaceful way. And the flags we should be waving shouldn't be Mexican or Palestinian flags. We should be waving American flags. We are patriots fighting for our country, for our democracy against an authoritarian power grab, which is what I think is going on here.

What's the biggest issue from your perspective that you'd want to get across here when you go out and meet New Yorkers on the street? Well, I was one of the founders of Teach for America 36 years ago, my first job out of college. A few blocks from here, I've been on the board of KIPP Charter School, so I've been trying to elevate the issue of education reform, improving our public schools where we spend more and get less than any city or state in the country.

It just hasn't been a big issue, honestly. And it always comes back to, you know, housing slash affordability and crime and safety. And so but I do my best to elevate an issue that I care about a lot is the by far the single biggest part of our city budget. Forty billion dollars of our one hundred and fifteen billion dollar budget goes into the DOE and it's not well spent.

Whitney Tilson, I want to ask a delicate question here in that there's such a distrust of Governor Cuomo. There are those that support him. You know, we all know the debate here in New York. And I think, frankly, nationwide, people know the debate here.

If we have Mayor Cuomo, how does he move on from the baggage that was earned in Albany? Are you optimistic that he can, if he's mayor, that he can move on from the train wreck that was his term in Albany?

Yes, and I would not characterize his years in Albany as a train wreck. He got a lot of stuff done. I didn't mean politically. I'm talking about social. The stuff on the cover of the New York Post. I know how it ended, but I have had some interactions with him over the years. Back when he was governor, he was a strong supporter of charter schools, and he...

At the end of the day, he's experienced, competent and can get things done. And to those who, you know, he's referred to as a vindictive, followed by an expletive by many people. And my argument back to them is, is there's a lot to be said for someone with a fearsome reputation.

trying to get things done here in a very fractious city where you've got to deal not only with the city council but with Albany and now with the federal government is going to be a real challenge as well. We need, I think we need someone like Cuomo and I'm optimistic he'd be up to the job. I guess as it relates to the federal government, can he work with the Trump administration? Because

Perhaps that's maybe one of the things the city needs someone to work with the Trump administration on behalf of New York's interests. Is that something you think he could do? I think Trump is a bully and he respects other bullies and people who will stand up to him. And I think Governor Cuomo fits that bill. They've known each other for a long period of time. And I think Cuomo, I would hope, would be smart.

in standing up to Trump, but not needlessly provoking him. And when the alternative for us is a 33 year old socialist, I think he would just get destroyed by city politics, would get destroyed in Albany, would be destroyed by Trump. And so, that's an easy decision between those two.

Whitney Tilson, thank you so much for joining us today. Whatever our political persuasions and thank you for your public service of running for office. I accept your condolences. Getting out there and running. I hope it is restful as time moves on. Switch to Verizon Business and get more from your internet without paying more for your internet. Get LTE Business Internet starting at $39 a month when paired with select business mobile plans. That's unlimited data.

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