After more than 20 people were shot during another bloody weekend in New York, Andrew Yang, a leading candidate to become the city’s next mayor, stood outside a Bronx housing project and called for an immediate increase in the number of police officers who investigate gun crimes and patrol subways.
The city, Yang said on Thursday, “is failing us. We can do better.”
A year ago, protests over police brutality and racial injustice rocked cities across the country. Cries of “defund the police” and calls for reform echoed throughout the Democratic Party. But New York’s mayoral contest suggests a different political reality is taking hold among Democrats as urban areas nationwide dig out from the coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic triggered massive job losses, left streets deserted, strained local budgets and contributed to a national rise in violent crime. The murder rate in U.S. cities jumped 25% or more in 2020, FBI statistics show, and is continuing to escalate this year. Last week, the Biden administration launched an initiative to help combat the spike in gun violence and homicides.
The debate over the future of policing is taking place daily in New York, as a bevy of Democrats jockey for the party’s nomination ahead of the June 22 primary that will likely decide who becomes mayor. So far, candidates who have embraced a pro-law enforcement message and pushed back against progressive calls to reduce funding for police departments seem to have the upper hand.
The election’s outcome may provide a window into how voters prioritize issues in a post-pandemic society. That has significant implications for Democrats as they head toward the 2022 elections, when their control of Congress will be at stake — and as they continue to grapple with tensions between the moderate and more liberal voices within the party.
Read more at NEWSMAX.
{Matzav.com}
It just goes to show how out-of-touch DeBlasio is. The big dummy thinks everything is fine & woke. No need for police. No need for businesses to be successful. No need for public transportation to be safe. A real incompetent bafoon.
Btw, what ever happened to those millions of tax dollars he gave to his lovely wife, Chirlane, in order to end homelessness and get the bums off the street??? Cy Vance is as corrupt as they come.