NEW YORK – On Thursday, September 14, a fundraiser was held for New York State Assemblymember and New York City mayoral candidate Nicole Malliotakis at the Park Avenue penthouse of Liz Peek co-sponsored by Greek-American John Veronis and his wife Lauren, and Gail Wilson. Malliotakis met with her supporters at the event and spoke with them about the issues facing the city and her plans once she is elected mayor.
Veronis, whose roots are in Crete, is a founding partner of Veronis Suhler Stevenson, the media-based private-equity firm that bears his name and from which he withdrew his partnership in 2010, spoke with The National Herald about the event and about the candidate, noting that he “just met Nicole. She’s lovely. We have to work hard for her to win.” He added, “She needs our help to win.”
Also among the attendees who met the candidate for the first time was Maria Spears, also Greek, who said she is supporting Malliotakis in the election because incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio is “terrible.” She also mentioned that the Greek community especially should support Malliotakis whose father is from Crete.
Malliotakis is very close to the goal amount to receive matching funds that would force two debates with the mayor and also allow more TV commercials to spread her message throughout New York City, she noted in her speech at the event. Ed Cox, chairman of the New York Republican State Committee, introduced the candidate. He said, “We’ve got a problem here in New York,” noting that the mayor is undoing the reforms of previous mayors Rudy Guiliani and Michael Bloomberg. Cox observed that Malliotakis’ experience in the minority in the New York State Assembly is an excellent training ground.
Liz Peek, one of the first women on Wall Street to become a partner of a “major bracket” firm and now a columnist and contributor on politics and economics for the Financial Times and Fox News, noted that she had never done a fundraiser before but felt it was time for two reasons- because she was appalled that “we rolled over and elected a terrible person to be mayor” and “we have someone who can win- Nicole.”
Noting Malliotakis’ margin of victory in the last three New York State Assembly elections, Peek said “61, 73, and 100 percent, that last one sounds like Cuba,” referring to the numbers usually reserved for dictators and to Malliotakis’ Cuban heritage on her mother’s side. Peek also thanked the candidate for running and later asked once she is elected that the first thing she should do is get rid of the bike lanes in the city.
Malliotakis spoke about the deterioration in the quality of life in the city, highlighting the failure of the mayor to even work with members of his own party like Governor Andrew Cuomo on the transit issue, mentioning that just today there were delays on five subway lines. The rise in homelessness, the problems with education and graduation rates, and “skyrocketing sex crimes” are at odds with the results the mayor claims under his administration, Malliotakis said.
She observed that Democrats are “disenchanted” and not excited to vote for the incumbent mayor, citing the low turnout in the primary election on September 12 and the many New Yorkers who have told her that “de Blasio has got to go.”
Malliotakis also noted that her campaign needs about 175 people to donate $175 each to reach the goal for matching funds by the deadline on Monday, Sept. 18 and the first debate would take place on October 10, urging those present to spread the word about her campaign to their friends. She concluded by reiterating her reasons for running for mayor, “This is the city that I love. My parents came here to live out the American dream… We can’t afford another four years of Mayor de Blasio.”
Malliotakis then answered questions from those in attendance, one of whom began by saying he is a Democrat and noted that Malliotakis was “running with Trump on your shoulders” to which she replied that she would like to be judged on her own merits and her plans for the city and not on any other Republican politician. Malliotakis noted that she had worked on the Marco Rubio campaign early on.
When asked in former mayor Michael Bloomberg would be endorsing her, she answered that she has spoken with him but believes he will not be endorsing anyone in this mayoral election.
Veronis mentioned that he spoke with Bloomberg and invited him to attend the fundraiser but the former mayor was unable to attend though he spoke favorably of Malliotakis to Veronis. She was pleased to hear it, but noted that an endorsement by Bloomberg may or may not help her campaign since the former mayor was not universally loved throughout New York City. Getting a high voter turnout was more important, Malliotakis said, especially among the disenchanted Democrats, women, and Hispanic voters who could keep the incumbent mayor from a second term in office.
More information about Malliotakis and her campaign is available online at nicole4mayor.com.
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