POLITICS
Done With de Blasio, Progressives Say
The NYPD’s response to protests over George Floyd’s killing became the last straw
BY DUNCAN OSBORNE
While his support on
the left was already
eroding, some LGBTQ
people who
previously backed Mayor Bill de
Blasio or who at least have not
been overly critical of his administration
are now openly challenging
his handling of protests responding
to the police killing of George
Floyd in Minneapolis.
“For most of his administration,
Mayor Bill de Blasio has remained
in a gray area on police and public
relations,” Nicholas Tamborra,
the vice president of the Lambda
Independent Democrats (LID), an
LGBTQ political club in Brooklyn,
wrote in an email. “In a critical
time of vicious income inequality
and racial disparity, he has shown
New York City he is not an ally to
progressives. Real New Yorkers
take fi rm stances on tough issues…
And it’s high time the Mayor
decides whether or not he’s in favor
of the NYPD’s aggression or people’s
dignity.”
LID endorsed City Council
Speaker Christine Quinn, an out
lesbian who represented Chelsea,
in the 2013 Democratic primary
for mayor. The club endorsed de
Blasio in the general election that
year and again in 2017 when he
ran for a second term in City Hall.
While he has generally not
clashed with LGBTQ progressives
during his now roughly seven
years in offi ce, he has also not been
praised by them despite advancing
some causes that LGBTQ progressives
would approve of.
The mayor launched Pre-K for
All and he has made progress on
addressing homelessness in the
MICHAEL LUONGO
Mayor Bill de Blasio at the 2019 Pride Rally, a time when his stock was rider higher than it is today in
the LGBTQ community. ➤ DE BLASIO, continued on p.40
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June 25- July 15, 2 38 020 | GayCityNews.com
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