Mayor Bloomberg last night defended the overwhelming pile of money he is spending to win reelection, while two Democrats who want to replace him said he was running a city for the rich.
“I made every dime that I have,” Bloomberg told the Working Families Party candidate forum, sparking scattered hisses from the crowd of about 250.
“I’ve used my money only to talk about what I would do and what I have done. There’s nothing wrong with that as far as I can see,” said Bloomberg, who may spend more than $100 million on his campaign. “You can’t buy an election. The public’s much too smart for that. You can use it to get a message out.”
Controller William Thompson and Queens Councilman Tony Avella, two Democrats vying to challenge him in November, both said Bloomberg should have raised income taxes on the wealthy rather than hike the sales tax by a half-point to balance the budget – and said Bloomberg’s statement that “we love the rich” was staggeringly out of touch.
“What about the rest of us? Where do we go?” asked Thompson, who said rising taxes, rents and water bills threaten the middle class.
Avella launched a blistering attack on Bloomberg’s record and policies, saying he allowed large developers to run roughshod over neighborhoods while ignoring the plight of the poor.
“Right now, it has nothing to do with you and I, and it is all about money,” Avella said. “Money should not be moving the system. It should be the people of the city.”
The party has yet to endorse a candidate for mayor.
(Source: NY Daily News)
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Lets all tell him you want our vote ? then bring back the tax rate of homes, cars, income, that you raised to double and triple since you became mayor to where it was when you ran for office the firs time.