Voters Urged to Choose None of the Above in Mayor's Race
Small business owners launch a campaign in Washington Heights
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Mayor Michael Bloomberg (C) departs a City Hall news conference with City Comptroller William Thompson last year.
Hispanic voters in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan are being urged NOT to choose either Mike Bloomberg or Bill Thompson in next week's mayoral election.
The head of The Coalition to Save Hispanic Small Businesses says the main issue is neither candidate has come out in support of The Small Business Survival Act.
It is a bill introduced in the New York City Council that would give small businesses the right to renew leases for up to ten years and the right to have an arbitrator decide how much of a rent increase is fair.
So the Coalition has put up posters in the windows of small businesses all over Washington Heights. On them are pictures of Bloomberg and Thompson with text, in Spanish, telling people not to vote for either of them.
The Thompson Campaign issued a statement saying, "No one is fighting harder for the middle-class and small business owners than Bill Thompson. Whether it's a small business owner in Washington Heights, or a working class family in the Bronx."
The Bloomberg Campaign also responded with, "The Mayor understands that small businesses are the life blood of this city, which is why he has a plan to cut taxes and ease regulations so they can hire more people and keep their doors open."
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