During a morning Instagram Live interview conducted by journalist Molly Jong-Fast, Ray McGuire said he is running for mayor of New York City because he loves the place. McGuire kicked off the interview by describing it as a city that is facing the crisis of COVID, the crisis of the economy, and religious and racial hatred. McGuire is fully invested in the mayoral campaign. His press team confirmed that last October, he left his previous position as vice president for Citi to run for mayor.
“New York needs a leader in who they can trust, and whom they can believe, who has a track record of actually leading,” McGuire said, during the Instagram interview.
McGuire stressed the importance of actually getting things done. He remarked that he is not a game show host or a stop-and-frisk cop. McGuire said he has managed businesses and budgets globally, but none of the other mayoral candidates have done it.
“My plan is what I’m calling here is the greatest, most inclusive economic comeback in the history of New York City. 500,000 jobs—go big, go small, go forward. Go big, meaning that we’ll focus on the infrastructure, fractured bridges, sewage mains, deeply affordable housing, broadband, making certain that this City does better than it’s ever done, and get people back to work,” McGuire said to Jong-Fast, “Small businesses—giving 50,000 small businesses relief, taking care of half their wages for one year, negotiating their retention of New York City’s sales tax receipts for one year. The plan is outlined in detail on my website.”
McGuire also mentioned investing in things such as technology, women, and minority-owned enterprises. He feels equipped to tackle these tasks and more, since he has already achieved specific accomplishments, such as having a track record of succeeding in budget management. McGuire stated that budgets he handled had been more than state ones, while he was navigating to manage them out of the depths of the financial crisis.
“I have negotiated transactions—the last of which was $108 million. I have managed transactions larger than the City budget, and I’ve done that for longer than anybody in the history of corporate America,” McGuire said confidently.
McGuire also mentioned wanting to have a culture of respect and accountability, when it comes to police reform, and also holding the chain of command accountable. Emergency social services, summer jobs, giving affordable childcare, student debt, and education were other key discussion topics. The mayoral candidate said that he wants to guarantee that every child in New York City can read, by the end of third grade. In sixth grade, he wants to expose youth to career opportunities.
“They need to become financially literate and digitally literate, and by the time they get to the eighth grade, I want them to have summer jobs,” McQuire stated in the interview, also mentioning his ‘Cradle to Career’ concept.
When it comes to the mayoral candidate’s early life, McGuire was raised in Dayton, Ohio. He said he did not know his father. His mother was a social worker, and his grandparents helped to rear him and his two brothers. He eventually attended Harvard. McGuire specifically mentioned coming to New York with a great education, no money, and a lot of debt. The husband and father of three describes New York City as being ‘great to him.’
On his mayoral campaign website, it states that McGuire enrolled in a four-year JD/MBA program at Harvard. After earning degrees in law and business at the same time, he went to New York for a job on Wall Street.
“Over the last 36 years, Ray has led businesses responsible for generating $20+ billion a year in revenue supporting public and private sector clients around the world. He recruited and built teams to do multibillion-dollar deals, and he advised the CEOs of companies on how to help their businesses grow, thrive, and create jobs,” his website says.
Close out Women’s History Month with Black Women for Ray, from 6:30- 7:30 p.m. RSVP at press@rayformayor.com to obtain a Party with a Purpose registration link. Please join Crystal McGuire, Tonya Lewis Lee, Lu-Shawn Thompson, and others for a Black Women for Ray virtual conversation, in support of Ray McGuire. Attend the online discussion of McGuire’s comeback plan for New York City, and its potential impact on Black Women.