The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a scathing anti-endorsement of progressive 2021 NYC mayoral hopeful Maya Wiley just two days before the Democratic primary.
In an interview with the New York Post, Sharpton attacked Wiley's track record while working under current Mayor Bill de Blasio as Hizzoner's counsel and director of the Minority/Women Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE).
Wiley left his administration in 2016, during which less than 5 percent of public spending was allocated to the the MWBE, despite that it was comprised of 30-percent of Manhattan-based companies, according to records from the city comptroller's office.
The total amount of MWBE allocated for the city even dropped from 5.3 percent to 4.9 percent during Wiley's two-year tenure.
Speaking to the New York Post, Sharpton, who runs the National Action Network civil rights group, said, 'I've not reviewed the contracts but much of our work at NAN is around economic equity and fighting to get MWBE contracts up, not down.
New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley hula hoops while campaigning on June 20, in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The primary election for New York City mayor will be held on June 22
Wiley hula hoops while campaigning on June 20, 2021 in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The primary election for New York City mayor will be held on June 22, 2021
The Rev. Al Sharpton recently attacked mayoral hopeful Maya Wiley's track record while working under current Mayor Bill de Blasio as Hizzoner's counsel and director of the Minority/Women Owned Business Enterprise
As Maya Wiley gains in the mayoral polls, critics are bringing up her alleged inability to secure more funding for minority business owners as head of the MWOBE
Sharpton wasn't the only one to share criticism of Wiley, who is now second in the polls and has been endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren.
City Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo, who threw her support for mayor behind frontrunner Eric Adams, shared Sharpton's reaction to Wiley's inability to secure more funding for minority business owners.
'That is a disgrace,' she told the New York Post. 'Black and brown New Yorkers need economic opportunity, not empty rhetoric.'
And Robert L. Greene, head of the National Association of Investment Companies, said, 'very little has been done in NYC to more broadly engage with minority business.' Despite Wiley's campaign promises and ideas, he added, 'the facts are that minority business enterprise (MBE) utilization rates have remained flat, leaving many minority contractors out of getting full and fair consideration.'
According to a spokesperson for Wiley, the mayoral candidate 'brought together every New York City agency and took New York from $500 million in contracts to $1.6 billion in just two years — an unprecedented jump that reflects her deep commitments to creating a New York that lifts up every community.'
