Bloomberg targeted in letter from 90 New Yorkers of color: 'Stay away' on Super Tuesday
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A letter signed by community leaders, people of color and the loved ones of those killed by New York City police officers urged voters not to support Mike Bloomberg during next month's Super Tuesday elections.
The open letter, dated Monday, comes as the former New York mayor faces mounting criticism for controversial practices like stop and frisk, which negatively impacted many residents of color, and a spike in economic inequality across New York over the 12 years he led America's largest city.
"We lived under the Bloomberg administration," the letter states. "His governing record in New York -- a period that lasted 12 years, because he used his wealth and influence to change the law and give himself an additional term -- was abysmal and destructive."
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The letter was signed by nearly 90 people and groups, including Kisha Walker, whose brother Sean Bell was killed by the NYPD in 2006, sparking a wave of protests around the city, and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
The letter goes on to list various policies under Bloomberg, including stop and frisk, the surveillance of Muslim communities in the city, an uptick in arrests for marijuana possession that critics say targeted young people of color, even though whites use the drug at equal or higher rates, and the closing of schools in low-income neighborhoods.
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“As more voters of color begin to have their say in the Democratic presidential primaries, we hope that you’ll heed our advice: stay away from Mike Bloomberg," the letter said. "After four years of Trump, the last thing our country needs is someone who will champion racist and discriminatory policies, exacerbate economic inequality, and undermine democracy with his wealth.”
The Bloomberg campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment on the letter.
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March 3 -- which is Super Tuesday this year -- will see many states, including California and Texas, holding their primaries, with around 40 percent of Americans slated to vote.
New York holds its primary on April 28.
Bloomberg has seen a surge in polling in recent weeks as he continues to spend millions of his own money to finance his campaign. He was a lifelong Democrat before switching to the Republican Party before becoming mayor. He left the GOP to register as an independent in 2007 and re-registered as a Democrat in 2018.
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"Although Bloomberg is running in the Democratic primary, he has a long history with the Republican Party," the letter says. "While in office, he advanced a Republican police agenda that ushered in an era of skyrocketing economic, racial and social inequality in New York City."