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Mike Bloomberg on Civil Rights

Mayor of New York City (Independent)

 


I convinced NY Republicans to vote for gay marriage

[As NYC mayor], I went up to Albany, which is the state capital in New York. The Senate was in Republican hands and the assembly was in Democratic hands.

I wanted to get the ability to permit gay marriages in New York City. I'm a believer that it's none of the business who you love, who you want to marry or whatever. You should be free to do that. So I went up to Albany and I convinced the Republicans, even though I was very liberal NYC mayor. I convinced them to vote for gay marriage.

And the way I did it was talking to each one of them and explaining, "Look, if it was somebody in your family that came to your kid, and said, 'Daddy, I want to marry somebody and you're not going to like who it is but this who I'm in love with.' "

What would you say? You wouldn't want to say no, it's your child. I mean you might not be thrilled about it, but in the end you want to give your child what that child wants. And so I convinced them on that basis to actually go and pass a gay marriage bill.

Source: CNN S. C. Town Hall for 2020 Presidential primary , Feb 26, 2020

Guarantee equal treatment and equal rights for LGBTQ+ people

Mike will fight to pass the Equality Act to guarantee protection for LGBTQ+ people in all facets of life and will take executive action to ensure equal benefits and protections for LGBTQ+ federal government employees, as well as employees of firms that do business with the federal government. Mike will also step up anti-discrimination enforcement by conducting affirmative, systematic civil rights testing to identify and address LGBTQ+ discrimination.

Mike will launch a federal "Respect for All" initiative to combat bullying, harassment and discrimination. He will promote school-based mental health programs, including suicide prevention efforts, and protect LGBTQ+ youth from the harmful practice of conversion therapy. Mike will expand support for shelters and services for homeless youth, and ensure equal treatment of child and families in the child welfare system, as well as LGBTQ+ seniors in federally funded long-term care facilities.

Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeBloomberg.com , Jan 20, 2020

Protect voting rights; require automatic registration

Mike will change practices that make it more difficult to vote. He'll end voter suppression by banning unwarranted voter purges. Mike will establish a new Voting Rights Act formula for determining pre-clearance requirements for certain jurisdictions in order to stop discriminatory voting laws before they are enacted.

Mike will create a uniform, transparent, and inclusive districting process that will require states to establish independent redistricting commissions when drawing federal congressional districts. This is especially important for communities of color, who have long been disenfranchised by unfair, partisan redistricting.

Mike will require policies like automatic voter registration and early voting, and ensuring the availability and accessibility of polling places. Mike will upgrade election infrastructure and protect the integrity of our federal elections by mandating the use of state-of-the-art voting machines.

Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeBloomberg.com , Jan 20, 2020

Reinvigorate Civil Rights Division of Justice Department

Mike will reinvigorate the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department and require more transparency from companies in their hiring, pay, lending and procurement practices. Mike's plan also ties federal housing funding to progress in reducing segregation, requires implicit bias training for police, teachers and federal contractors, and expands and protects voting rights.
Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeBloomberg.com , Jan 20, 2020

Set labor rules to end the gender pay gap

Mike's plan will ensure American women receive equal pay for equal work, ending the pay gaps that exist in the vast majority of industries and across all educational backgrounds. Mike will set rules for employers to ban the use of an employee's salary history to set wages and prohibit the retaliation against workers who discuss wages with one another.
Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeBloomberg.com , Jan 20, 2020

Co-chaired "Mayors for the Freedom to Marry" effort

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro has signed onto the "Mayors for the Freedom to Marry" effort. Houston's Annise Parker had previously joined the effort, serving as co-chair. So that's 3 Texas Mayors down, 1,212 to go.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings is still refusing to sign onto the pledge, despite a petition with 253 signatures and promises of protests at his upcoming public events.

The group has also added two new co-chairs, San Diego's Jerry Sanders and Boston's Thomas Menino; with New York's Michael Bloomberg, L.A.'s Antonio Villaraigosa and Houston's own Annise Parker. The five-co-chairs issued the following statement: Source: Dallas Voice, "Mayors for the Freedom to Marry" , Jan 20, 2012

Discrimination against blacks means same against Jews

Never forgotten is William Bloomberg's response when his son asked him why he gave donations to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "He said, 'Because if there's discrimination against blacks, there'll be discrimination against Jews, and everyone else. We're all in this together.'" Mike was 10 or 12 years old but the message resonated.
Source: Bloomberg: Money, Power, Politics, by Joyce Purnick, p. 19 , Sep 28, 2010

1990s: Three sexual harassment lawsuits at Bloomberg L.P.

Bloomberg's vulnerabilities as a candidate could well have doomed his campaign in normal times. The largest of those vulnerabilities turned on the complaints of women about sexual harassment and discrimination at Bloomberg L.P. While preparing to run, Bloomberg had told his advisers about the cases and they tried preemptively to bury the subject--by airing it in public.

Before Bloomberg announced his candidacy, he disclosed that a polygraph test, administered by an expert he had hired, proved he had been truthful when denying the sexual harassment allegations of a former employee. The contents of the test were never made available, just the expert's conclusions.

One suit was settled a year before he became a candidate; he did not admit guilt, and she was paid an undisclosed sum and legally bound to remain forever silent. A 2nd suit was dismissed. A 3rd was withdrawn. A large class-action suit charging discrimination against pregnant employees was filed after Bloomberg had left.

Source: Bloomberg: Money, Power, Politics, by J.Purnick, p.108-110 , Sep 28, 2010

Backs same-sex marriage

Bloomberg supports gun control, has raised taxes, backs same-sex marriage and signed a law banning the use of trans fats in fast-food restaurants. The mayor once filed suit on behalf of the city against two dozen gun dealers.
Source: Michael D. Shear, Washington Post, p. A1 on 2008 election , Mar 25, 2007

  • Click here for definitions & background information on Civil Rights.
  • Click here for a profile of Mike Bloomberg.
  • Click here for VoteMatch responses by Mike Bloomberg.
  • Click here for AmericansElect.org quiz by Mike Bloomberg.
Other big-city mayors on Civil Rights: Mike Bloomberg on other issues:

Tom Barrett (D,Milwaukee)
Bill de Blasio (D,NYC)
Rahm Emanuel (D,Chicago)
Bob Filner (D,San Diego)
Steven Fulop (D,Jersey City)
Eric Garcetti (D,Los Angeles)
Mike Rawlings (D,Dallas)
Marty Walsh (D,Boston)

Former Mayors:
Rocky Anderson (I,Salt Lake City)
Tom Barrett (D,Milwaukee,WI)
Mike Bloomberg (I,New York City)
Cory Booker (D,Newark,NJ)
Jerry Brown (D,Oakland,CA)
Julian Castro (D,San Antonio,TX)
Rudy Giuliani (R,New York City)
Phil Gordon (D,Phoenix)
Tom Menino (D,Boston)
Dennis Kucinch (D,Cleveland,OH)
Michael Nutter (D,Philadelphia)
Sarah Palin (R,Wasilla,AK)
Annise Parker (D,Houston)
Jerry Sanders (R,San Diego)
Antonio Villaraigosa (D,Los Angeles)
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Page last updated: Mar 25, 2021