Bloomberg gives $500,000 to spur Dem turnout in Miami-Dade
WASHINGTON โ Billionaire former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is donating $500,000 to juice Democratic turnout in Miami-Dade County, a place where the party must bank a massive number of votes if it hopes to win the pivotal swing state of Florida. The money will be used to register Miami-Dade voters and knock on doors. In a statement, Bloomberg highlighted the importance of Miami-Dade County. โAs one of the most diverse counties in Florida, Miami-Dade County is a particularly important county for a Democratic victory in Florida,โ he said. โIโm glad to support the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committeeโs work to directly reach voters and urge them to cast their ballots."
Bloomberg raises millions to help Florida felons vote
The former Democratic presidential candidate has helped raise more than $20 million so that felons who completed their prison sentences can vote in the presidential election. Bloomberg also has pledged $100 million to help Joe Biden win Florida. Working together with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, we are determined to end disenfranchisement and the discrimination that has always driven it,โ Bloomberg said in a written statement. The Florida Rights Restitution Coalition had raised about $5 million before Bloomberg made calls to raise almost $17 million more, according to Bloomberg staffers. ____This version corrects the name of the group to Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.
Bloomberg raises millions to help Florida felons vote
The former Democratic presidential candidate has helped raise more than $20 million so that felons who completed their prison sentences can vote in the presidential election. Bloomberg also has pledged $100 million to help Joe Biden win Florida. Working together with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, we are determined to end disenfranchisement and the discrimination that has always driven it,โ Bloomberg said in a written statement. The Florida Rights Restitution Coalition had raised about $5 million before Bloomberg made calls to raise almost $17 million more, according to Bloomberg staffers. ____This version corrects the name of the group to Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.
How Bloomberg's $100 million Florida bet may shape campaign
Facing questions about whether he would fulfill his promise, Bloomberg moved over the weekend to direct $100 million to Florida alone in support of Joe Biden. โMike Bloomberg is an impact player,โ said former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who served as a co-chair of Bloombergโs presidential campaign. After spending $1 billion on his own campaign, Bloomberg won just one primary contest: American Samoa. And they say that, beyond Florida, Bloomberg is one of the Democratic Partyโs biggest funders. Many say Biden, who visited the state on Tuesday for the first time since becoming the nominee, has not reached out enough to Hispanics in particular.
Cuomo: Health workers to supervise annual 9/11 light tribute
NEW YORK โ The annual light display honoring victims of 9/11 is back on, officials announced Saturday, saying New York health officials will supervise this year's tribute to ensure workers' safety amid concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement came days after the National September 11 Memorial & Museum canceled the Tribute in Light over concerns the coronavirus might spread among crews creating twin columns of light to represent the World Trade Center in the Manhattan sky. Alice Greenwald, president and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, thanked former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Cuomo and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation โfor their assistance in offsetting the increased costs associated with the health and safety considerations around the tribute this year." โThis year, its message of hope, endurance and resilience are more important than ever,โ Greenwald said in a statement. The foundationโs tribute will be held just south of the memorial plaza and relatives will read the victimsโ names, with mask-wearing enforced and podiums being sanitized after each speaker.
In shift, Bloomberg offers ex-campaign staff health coverage
WASHINGTON โ Mike Bloomberg will cover the cost of health care for his former presidential campaign staffers through November, reversing course on a decision that had prompted outrage and sparked lawsuits against the billionaire businessman. Bloomberg had initially enticed staffers to join his long-shot presidential campaign by offering generous benefits and pay and promising them employment through November, even if he didnโt win the Democratic nomination. Those commitments helped the candidate build out a staff of thousands across 43 states within months of his late entry into the race. That move prompted former Bloomberg campaign staffers to launch a number of lawsuits alleging the former New York City mayor had lied about the terms of their employment. But on Monday, former campaign staffers received an email from the human resources department citing the โextraordinary circumstancesโ surrounding the coronavirus outbreak and offering to cover health care costs through November.
Sanders' 'summer camp' in Vermont becomes fodder in debate
Yes, he has a home in Washington, where he works; one in Burlington, Vermont, where he lives; and โlike thousands of other Vermonters, I do have a summer camp,โ Sanders shot back. In other parts of the country, Sanders' vacation home would be called a cabin or just a summer home. The waterfront homesits on the island of North Hero in 120-mile-long (190 kilometers) Lake Champlain, between Vermont and New York. Sanders' assertion that โthousandsโ of Vermonters have summer homes is difficult to check. Vermont has 77,000 second homes, rental properties or camps, according to Douglas Farnham, policy director for the Vermont Department of Taxes.