All eight candidates for the June 22 Democratic primary who participated last night in a televised debate promised that, if they become the next Mayor, protect undocumented immigrants deportation, solidifying NYC’s status as a “Sanctuary city”.
Although current Mayor Bill de Blasio has had an unpopular tenure, leading contenders to succeed him supported his approach to prohibit local authorities from reporting the immigration status of residents to the federal authorities, during the second debate televised last night on the ABC7 channel, and which was also the first to be held with the candidates in person.
“We have to be a true sanctuary city. We have to live up to our values, which means making investments in our families regardless of the documentation, “said the former Sanitation Commissioner. Kathryn Garcia, who recently went on to lead the polls.
Garcia – who does not speak Spanish but kept the last name of her former Puerto Rican husband – said she worked to provide free food to needy New Yorkers during the coronavirus pandemic, regardless of their immigration status.
“We are a sanctuary city, It’s about respect, it’s about dignity it is about support, it is about those who have allowed the city – and have sacrificed for this city – to be where it is, “he said. Ray McGuire, former Citigroup executive.
Businessman Andrew Yang, The son of Taiwanese immigrants, he said, “I appreciate anyone who comes to this country or to New York City in search of a better life.” And the borough president Brooklyn, Eric Adams, He said immigrants were his neighbors who grew up in Queens.
The other candidates, the city comptroller Scott Stringer, Obama’s former housing secretary Shaun Donovan, Maya Wiley Y Dianne Morales, also expressed their support for NYC as a sanctuary city.
De Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo repeatedly fought with then-President Donald Trump over his federal policy of threatening to withhold federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities, the New York Post recalled.
Given that the vast majority of the city’s voters are registered in the Democratic Party, the winner of the primaries on June 22 is likely to repeat the victory in the general election in November.
Although some have already retired, at one point there were 57 candidates for various parties and independents for mayor, considered the second most important election office in the US behind the presidency. The updated list of pre-candidates – the vast majority Democrats – can be found here.
Under the new system of “voting by classification”, Democratic and Republican voters will be asked to choose five main options during the primary round. If no one gets more than 50% of the preferences, the last-place candidate is eliminated and their votes redistributed. This technique is repeated until someone achieves a minimum majority over 50%.
The “Voting by classification” seeks to avoid the recurrence of cases such as 2013, when De Blasio reached the Mayor’s Office although only 3% of the total registered in the Democratic party in NYC voted for him in the primaries of that year. And in 2017 he was reelected more easily, without competition from his party.
The “instant second round” process would begin seven days after June 22 to wait for the absent and military ballots to arrive. This video from the reform group “Fair Vote” explains the new process and its alleged benefits.
Next mayor wants NYC to be even more of a ‘sanctuary’ for illegal immigrants https://t.co/wQZrZv56Ew pic.twitter.com/N0giQ86SNa
– New York Post Metro (@nypmetro) June 3, 2021
Tensions simmer among candidates during 1st in-person NYC mayoral debate on WABC https://t.co/Wp388Pkiq2 pic.twitter.com/iuALCjor07
– Eyewitness News (@ ABC7NY) June 3, 2021
