Andrew Yang Launches His Mayoral Run

 by Yehudit Garmaise                                                    

Technology entrepreneur and failed Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has made it official: he has launched his campaign to run for mayor of New York City.

   Yang’s 2018-19 presidential campaign hinged on promoting the idea that all American citizens, ages 18-64, should receive $1,000 a check monthly, no strings attached, from the U.S. government to fight unemployment and poverty that result from a job market that is replaced by technological advances.

   In New York City, Yang says that he plans to guarantee cash payments to half-a-million New Yorkers up to $5,000 annually, which would cost the city $1 billion a year: a price tag that many operatives and lawmakers consider unrealistic given the $3.8 billion deficit that city budget writers must recover by July 1.

    A left-wing activist, Yang campaigned for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania last year and temporarily moved his family to Georgia campaign for winning Democratic Senators Rafael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, which brought the Senate to be evenly split among Democrats and Republicans, although Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will vote to break votes that end in ties.

   Yang, who would make history as New York’s first Asian-American mayor, is the son of Taiwanese immigrants, is expected to connect with New York City’s 1 million Asian-Americans, which is the highest Asian population in any U.S. city.

   Yang has for a long time said that he is “highly aligned” with groups that oppose circumcision for non-Jews, when asked by Hamodia at today’s campaign kickoff in Morningside Heights whether he would enact any policy against circumcision, Yang replied simply, “No.”

    On Dec. 30, Yang tweeted, “I have attended multiple friends’ brises and felt privileged to do so. I believe in religious freedom. This is every parent’s personal decision and not a role of government.”

     For non-Jews, Yang, has said he wants to “inform parents that it is entirely up to them…and that there are costs and benefits either way.

    “From what I’ve seen, the evidence on it being a positive health choice for the infant is quite shaky.”  

     As of Thursday morning, at least 37 people, including City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, former top de Blasio adviser Maya Wiley, and former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia have filed paperwork with New York City’s finance board to run for mayor.