LAWTON – Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg recently opened a campaign headquarters in Southwest Oklahoma.
During the headquarters’ first informative luncheon held Feb. 17, Amanda Finney, Bloomberg’s National Deputy Director for Women’s Outreach, paid a visit to the 910
SW E Ave. location, speaking on Bloomberg’s “proven record,” citing the 78-year-old New Yorker’s achievements as mayor and successful businessman as well as his philanthropic endeavors.
Reiterating New York City’s decrease in gun violence and its increase in teacher pay during Bloomberg’s 12 years as the post-9/11 city mayor, Finney, who worked on campaigns for Hillary Clinton and
President Barack Obama, said Bloomberg simply listened to his constituents and followed up with their concerns.
After hearing multiple stories from family members who had tragically lost their loved ones to gun violence, Mayor Bloomberg’s administration was able to reduce “retaliatory gun violence ... by as much as 63%,” in many communities, campaign literature reads. If elected president, Bloomberg would push legislation “requiring background checks for every gun purchase and reinstate the federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”
A television ad also from the Bloomberg organization states that New York City teachers’ salaries increased by
43 percent during his three terms as mayor of the Big Apple. He is also looking to increase funding for education.
Listed as one of the top 10 humanitarians in the U.S. by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Bloomberg Philanthropies, founded in 2007, is the 12th largest foundation in America. The global organization focuses its efforts on environmental issues, public health, education, government innovation, and the arts. Donating more than “$6 billion to a variety of causes and organizations, in 2018, the organization distributed $767 million,” according to its website.
Bloomberg’s business background has been touted and scrutinized throughout his campaign. When Wall Street investment firm Salomon Brothers was purchased by a commodity trading company in 1981, a 39-year- old Bloomberg found himself unemployed. He then began his own real-time business information company and has developed into a leader in the corporate world. Bloomberg’s global data company currently has 176 locations, employing more than 20,000 people in 120 countries around the world.
Although Bloomberg was a latecomer on the Democratic ticket – beginning his campaign on Jan. 11 – his nontraditional campaign tour was noted by many and stirred up his opponents. Just days away from Super Tuesday, Finney said, “the urgency is real.”
Sarah Baker, State Director for the Bloomberg campaign said, “Some of the candidates have been running for over a year. With campaigns running that long, there’s only so many times you can say the same thing over and over again. So now we’re coming in at the tail-end with new issues and offering solutions.”
“We’ve only been around three months, but a lot of people are genuinely interested,” Finney added.
Historically, most presidential campaigns in the Sooner State have only opened field offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. While it’s not unusual for candidates to hold rallies in Oklahoma, it is rare that they open campaign offices outside of Oklahoma County or Tulsa County.
Bloomberg himself has visited Oklahoma twice since his campaign began. A trip to Tulsa in mid-Jan. allowed the candidate to speak on racial inequality and finance as he visited the site of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in the historic Greenwood District. On Feb. 8, Bloomberg, along with former New York judge and court television celebrity “Judge Judy” Sheindlin, took the time to pay their respects at the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial before speaking at the Oklahoma History Museum later that evening.
According to a recent Marist Poll, Bloomberg is in second place on the Democratic ballot, closely follow- ing the 78-year-old Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. Rounding out the top five Democratic candidates are: 77-year-old former Vice President Joseph Biden, 70-year-old Massachusetts Senator and Vice Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus Elizabeth Warren and 59-year-old Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, respectfully.
Following Wednesday’s Democratic Debate, Chicago based non-partisan political firm Real Clear Politics reflected Sanders holding a 27.8 percent lead of those surveyed; Biden held second place with 17.8 percent and Bloomberg closely trailing at 16.1 percent.