A doctor, retired Army brigadier general and former veterans' services commissioner declared her candidacy for New York City mayor on Thursday, which could make her the city's first female and first openly gay leader.
Loree Sutton, a Bronze Star winner and a veteran of various Middle East operations, retired from her city role at the end of October. Speculation began quickly that she could launch a bid for the 2021 race.
“We’re all in this together,” Sutton said in a statement, adding "I passionately believe there’s nothing wrong with our City that can’t be fixed by what’s right with our City."
"We've got some big problems in this country and in our city and I'm ready to lead," she said to NBC New York.
Sutton spent three years as the Army's top psychiatrist while working at the Pentagon, but abruptly resigned in 2010 after she says it failed to diagnose brain injuries, maintaining that she was used as a scapegoat.
She then spent five years running the city's office for veterans. The de Blasio appointee is a moderate Democrat facing an already crowded field. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. are also eyeing bids to replace the term-limited Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Despite working for the mayor for years, she apparently didn't tell him about her intentions to run.
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“She hasn’t talk to me about it," the mayor said on Thursday. "I think very highly of Commissioner Sutton.”
