The campaign trail led mayoral candidates Bill de Blasio and Joseph Lhota, who are continuing to fight over raising taxes on the city’s wealthiest residents, to the National Action Network Saturday. NY1′s Zack Fink filed the following report.
On Saturday, both Bill De Blasio and Joseph Lhota were at Al Sharpton’s Harlem headquarters for a rally, which happened to fall on Sharpton’s birthday. Sharpton said he wouldn’t endorse Lhota, but thanked him for at least reaching out for a dialogue. He even poked some fun.
“Now, I didn’t know what the paper meant when they said he was going to reach out to blacks, whites and Al Sharpton, like I was in a different category,” Sharpton said. “Like I was a race unto myself.”
Lhota challenged comments de Blasio made in front of a business group on Friday, in which de Blasio described himself as a fiscal conservative.
“Last four years, Bill has been the public advocate. In the eight years prior to that, there wasn’t a fee, there wasn’t a fine, there wasn’t a tax that he didn’t vote for,” Lhota said. “We need to get the size of our government under control.”
De Blasio said his message has been consistent.
“My opponent is not talking about the central issues we’re facing,” de Blasio said. “He is not addressing inequality. He’s not talking about how to make sure that more people are able to make ends meet in this city.”
Later in the day, at a rally for immigrant rights in Brooklyn, de Blasio called on the federal government to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
“That must include a path to citizenship for everyone,” he said.
Also at the National Action Network Saturday morning was Ken Thompson, who recently beat Charles Hynes in the Democratic primary for Brooklyn district attorney. Hynes now says he plans to run as a Republican.
“He told the people of Brooklyn that he was going to work on a smooth transition,” Thompson said. “I expect him to keep his word.”
Thompson denied that former Brooklyn Democratic boss and convicted felon Clarence Norman worked for his campaign, a key reason Hynes is running.
“He has never worked for me,” Thompson said. “That’s an outright lie.”
Hynes hasn’t officially said that he’s running yet, although a formal announcement is expected on Tuesday. However, even Republicans acknowledge it will be a tough race, since Democrats outnumber Republicans in Brooklyn by a margin of about 8 to 1.
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