Crime & Safety
Bloomberg Could Spend Own Money to Fight Stop and Frisk Bill Supporters: Report
Mayor considers leveraging more of his personal savings to fight City Council members who overrode his veto of stop-and-frisk bill.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is willing to spend some of his personal fortune to fight the re-election bids of City Council members who voted to override his veto of a stop-and-frisk bill, while also targeting Council members to flip their votes, the New York Post reported.
On Wednesday, the City Council approved the Community Safety Act, which changes the way the New York Police Department does business. The package of bills, spearheaded by council members Brad Lander and Jumaane Williams, would establish an inspector general for the NYPD and give those stopped by police more latitude to bring discrimination lawsuits.
Immediately, Bloomberg promised to veto the legislation, slamming it with the argument that it would make New Yorkers less safe.
But both bills passed by wide margins and have the necessary votes to overcome any mayoral veto
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When asked over the weekend about plans of dipping into his personal bank account to help fight the reelection of certain council members, the mayor offered a tongue-in-cheek response to the Post.
“I think you should urge your readers to vote for those people that want to keep this city safe,” he said during a news conference. “It’s votes that matter, not money.”
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Bloomberg’s political action committee, Independence USA, spent $12 million last year to unseat candidates who oppose gun control and gay marriage.
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