No, it is not me but someone I highly recommend those residing in NY City to consider to support. As a strong conservative guy, you may be wondering why I would support a Democrat to run the NYC mayor! Well, for one, while I'm not a NYC resident myself, I do have personal tie there. It pains me to see how bad the situation the once-great city has become under the extreme leftists. Just like any big cities controlled by the leftists, they are all destroyed by the crazy madness due to the extreme left ideology! Based on what I know about him, I think Tilson will likely turn the situation around and return the past glory of the great city! If you don't already know, Tilson is a very successful value investor, retired in 40s and he is one of my investment mentors. While I don't agree with his political views, I do respect him very much as a person and believe his credibility and capability deeply.
Dear friends,
As you may know, I announced last week that I’m running for mayor of New York City (here are links to the launch article in the NY Post, Biden-bashing Democrat Wall Street investor Whitney Tilson to run for NYC mayor, and my campaign website, Whitney for Mayor, which includes a donation link).
My elevator pitch is simple:
Mayor Bloomberg left office exactly 11 years ago.
If you think the city has been doing well since then, is headed in the right direction, and want more of the same, then do not vote for me. There are many career politicians to choose from who will maintain the status quo (while blowing smoke at you promising change).
If, on the other hand, you agree with me (and the majority of NYC voters) that:
- The city is headed in the wrong direction.
- Crime and cost of living are much too high, the subways are dirty and dangerous, traffic is maddening, schools are lousy, etc.
- The government is corrupt, wasteful and ineffective, burdening us with the highest taxes in the country but delivering mediocre services (at best).
- The Democratic party machine has been captured by an army of well-heeled insiders, activists, consultants, lobbyists, unions and special interests, all feeding at the trough of your tax dollars.
- Too many of our leaders share the views of (or at least pander to) extremist far-left zealots (the “defund the police” types) who are dangerously out of touch with reality – and everyday New Yorkers.
- It’s a disaster that all of these factors have led CNBC to rank our state dead last in business friendliness and that 500,000 New York City residents have fled the city since 2020, a higher percentage population loss (6%) than any of the 50 largest cities other than San Francisco.
We need to shake up our city government and abandon a lot of terrible ideas, which can only be done by an outsider and a businessperson, not a career politician.
I am the only candidate in the race who fits the bill.
A leader who can unify New Yorkers and bring fresh thinking, unconstrained by “that’s the way it’s always been done.” A leader who doesn’t need the job and isn’t beholden to anyone so is willing to speak hard truths. A leader who will hire an all-star team and then give them the freedom to execute on the best ideas. A leader who listens to a wide range of people, including critics. And a leader who has the humility to admit mistakes and fix them.
I will be that leader.
I’m viewed as a long shot right now but – mark my words – I’m going to win.
Why? Voters in New York City – like those across the country – are angry. They (correctly) feel like the current system is screwing them and therefore want change.
Well, they’re not going to get that with the current and prospective crop of candidates, all of whom are career politicians, including an incumbent with the lowest approval rating in recorded polling history.
A recent New York Times poll showed that only 12% of city residents said they would vote for Mayor Adams in the Democratic primary, and not one of his challengers garnered more than 6% support.
That’s because voters recognize that these candidates are the problem, not the solution.
I am the only change agent in the race.
But I still have a steep hill to climb, running against the system in off-year, off-season partisan primary in which only 26.5% of eligible Democrats voted last time.
For my insurgent campaign to succeed, we first need to do something that’s never been done before: raise more money, faster, than any mayoral candidate in history.
This will shock the establishment, demonstrate that I’m a serious candidate, allow me to hire a great team, and allow us to focus 100% on running a great campaign (rather than begging for money) as we sprint toward the June 24 primary that will almost certainly determine the winner.
To win this race, I need your help in two ways
First, I would deeply appreciate it if you would donate to my campaign right now by clicking here: https://secure.actblue.com/
The individual contribution limit is $2,100 and I would of course be grateful if you’d max out, but I’m not twisting your arm if this is a stretch. I would be grateful for any donation because, from a political perspective, the number of donors is as important as the amount. I would rather have five $50 donations than one $250 one.
In particular, for NYC residents, it’s the first $250 that really counts because of the 8:1 match from the city. It’s an insanely generous program: any NYC resident who donates as little as $10 up to as much as $250, the city gives my campaign eight times that amount.
That’s right: $10 turns into $90, $50 into $450, $100 into $900 and $250 into $2,250. For those of you in the investing world, think of it this way: you can make an investment that delivers you a guaranteed, instantaneous 800% return!
Here’s my second even bigger request: as big as my email lists are, I can’t do this by myself, so I’m asking you to please forward this to your family, friends, work colleagues, etc. – especially those who live in NYC – and ask them to support my campaign.
This is what one of my buddies sent out yesterday – and 50 of his friends have already donated:
I have a personal favor to ask. My good friend Whitney Tilson is running for mayor of NYC. I can’t tell you right now what his chances are, but I know he’d be a great mayor, and I really want to help him.
The key right now is to raise 1,000 $250 donations in the first week, which would boost him into the top four candidates and show he is legit.
$250 is the key amount because, for NYC residents, it’s the maximum that the city matches it 8:1, so your $250 contribution gives Whitney’s campaign $2,250 (all smaller amounts are also matched 8:1).
I am committed to raise 100 of the first 1,000 donations. Can I ask you to please give $250? I know it’s a lot, and I will be extremely, extremely grateful.
I am happy to talk about it – just give me a call if you’d like.
Here is the link: https://secure.actblue.com/
Thank you!
I, along with every other candidate, am participating in the city’s matching program, which limits campaigns to spending $7.9 million in the primary (and the same in the general election).
To qualify for matching funding, I need at least 1,000 donors, and my candidacy will benefit from as many as possible, so I welcome contributions of all sizes.
I want to raise this no later than the next filing deadline on January 15 – and, ideally, sooner.
If we do so, we’ll be well on our way to fundamentally changing the trajectory of our city.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reply to this email or call/text me at 646-258-0687.
Thank you!
Best regards,
Whitney
PS—For further information:
1) See my website at www.whitneyformayor.com/media for the NY Post article that launched my campaign, as well as links to nice Bloomberg, Reuters and Politico articles and TV appearances I’ve done with Don Lemon, Fox & Friends and Bloomberg.
2) To give folks the opportunity to meet me and ask questions, I’ll be hosting 15 one-hour Zoom meetings at 9 p.m. five evenings a week, Sunday through Thursday, from December 1 through Thursday, December 19. There’s no need to RSVP – they’re open to all and no password is required. The link to join these calls is: http://whitneyformayor.link
3) I have posted an in-depth 23-page letter to my fellow New Yorkers on my website at www.whitneyformayor.com. In it, I introduce myself, detail how and why our city is headed in the wrong direction, share my top six priorities to turn things around, and conclude with an analysis of the race and why I think I can win.
Here are excerpts from the first three pages:
Dear fellow New Yorkers,
New York is the greatest city in the world.
I wasn’t lucky enough to be born here, but I did the next-best thing: I married a New Yorker, moved to the city more than 30 years ago, and fell in love with it. Susan and I raised our three (now adult) daughters here, and it’s where I founded a half-dozen businesses and 10 nonprofit organizations.
But I’m deeply concerned – and a majority of New Yorkers agree – that our beloved city is headed in the wrong direction.
That’s why I’ve decided to run for mayor.
I am committed to turning our city around and have many bold ideas for how to do so.
My top six priorities are:
1) Create prosperity by growing the city’s economy by 50% in the next decade;
2) Cut violent crime by 50% during my first four years;
3) Address the cost-of-living crisis, much of it driven by housing costs and unnecessary regulation, and put more money in working people’s pockets;
4) Rein in out-of-control city government spending by eliminating corruption, increase efficiency and delivering better services for less;
5) Improve our public schools; and
6) Prioritize citizens (and permanent legal residents) in the allocation of city resources.
About me
My 35-year career has been primarily in the business world, but I’ve also worked tirelessly to help disadvantaged communities, especially children, as a founder or board member of Teach for America, the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, KIPP charter schools, Democrats for Education Reform, and Central Synagogue’s community activism group.
I have a long record of going after big-name Wall Street firms and large corporations when they are fleecing individual investors. For example, I went on national television repeatedly to warn about the Internet bubble, the housing crisis (on 60 Minutes) and the meme stock craze, and have called out dozens of sleazy companies like Lumber Liquidators (again on 60 Minutes).
While the analogy isn’t perfect, I think our city is ripe for a turnaround similar to the many I’ve seen in my investing career, in which a once-great company – laid low by mismanagement and/or external shocks – is restored to its former glory by a new CEO brought in to be a change agent. The CEO hires a new senior management team, and together they develop a strategy to fix the problems, run the organization better, and develop and implement great new ideas. This is the playbook New York City needs, and I know it well.
Ever since Mayor Bloomberg left office 11 years ago, New York has been going downhill under the “leadership” of his successors: a way-too-far-left, incompetent Mayor de Blasio, followed by a more centrist but incompetent and corrupt Mayor Adams. No wonder we keep punching ourselves in the face!
The voters of New York have a very clear choice in the Democratic primary coming up in June: on one side are the incumbent and a bunch of career politicians, who most voters these days think are, at best, a bunch of mealy-mouthed weasels. Not a single one has any background in business.
And on the other side there’s me: a lifelong Democrat – but an increasingly rare type: one with common sense, who understands economics and human behavior; a businessperson who’s never run for office; who doesn’t owe anyone anything; and isn’t tied to – in fact, is running against – the Democratic party machine and all of its special interest groups feeding at the trough.
All the other candidates are great choices for voters who are happy with the status quo – who think our city is going in the right direction and want more of the same.
But for voters who want a change agent, who are fed up with our corrupt, wasteful and ineffective city government and the politicians who run it – especially those who share the views of (or at least pander to) extremist far-left zealots who are dangerously out of touch with reality – there is only one choice.
I promise to be a candidate like you’ve never seen before: I’ll tell you exactly what I’m thinking (while remaining open to hearing other points of view and changing my mind), won’t pee on your leg and tell you that it’s raining, and won’t bore you.
To continue reading this letter, go to www.whitneyformayor.com.
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