Ray McGuire Doesn’t Specify If He Backs a Wealth Tax

NEW YORK — In an interview with NY1 on Wednesday night, new mayoral candidate Ray McGuire argued the wealthy need to pay more, but he didn’t specify if he supports a wealth tax.

“Folks who have the economic resources, like me, they’re going to have to step up even more,” the Democratic candidate said in an interview with Inside City Hall anchor Errol Louis.

But McGuire also said: “Some say the way we do this is with income taxes. That’s possible, but I’ve run the numbers and we simply can’t tax our way out of this. We need to grow our way out of this. We need to create revenue. So those who have the resources should step up and indeed pay more.”

McGuire did not provide details on his plans to bridge the city’s massive budget gap — pegged at billions of dollars due to the coronavirus pandemic — although he said the middle class cannot be taxed more.

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The man he’s looking to replace, Bill de Blasio, this week said a solution is for the state legislature to back his long goal: a “millionaires’ tax.” When he first ran for mayor, de Blasio called for the wealthy to pay their fair share and proposed a tax on city residents making $500,000 or more a year. And advocates say taxing the more than 100 billionaires who live in New York state could ease the budget pain. The idea is backed by Democratic leaders in the state legislature, including Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.

On many hot-button issues in the race, McGuire avoided answering specific questions and providing details. Among the highlights:

He told NY1 the city needs to reach a balance of making sure tenants are not evicted, while ensuring landlords can pay their bills. However, he did not say if he backs forgiving or renegotiating leases, including for struggling businesses.

He said he backs reallocating money from the NYPD’s budget for social services and programs, such as by giving funds to organizations that support New Yorkers in need of mental health support. McGuire, however, did not say if he would keep Dermot Shea on as police commissioner if he’s elected mayor next November.

He did not say if he supports replacing Rikers Island with community-based jails, instead saying people in jails and at Rikers should be given jobs and vocational training to address the root causes.

He said he backs students going to class during the coronavirus pandemic if they and teachers can be kept safe and protocols are followed, but he did not say if students should attend every day.

He supports including other measures, in addition to the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT), in determining admissions to the city’s specialized high schools.

He said New Yorkers living in public housing should be protected, but McGuire did not say if he backs selling or leasing New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) land to private developers to raise revenue for repairs.

And he said the city needs to build more affordable housing units, including for students in homeless shelters.

McGuire brings a well of financial experience to the race for mayor, but progressive critics worry his resume as a veteran Wall Street executive makes him out of touch with everyday New Yorkers. The 63-year-old was most recently vice chairman of the banking giant Citigroup, a job he left last month.

But McGuire argued on Wednesday that his Wall Street life wouldn’t bar him from empathizing with New Yorkers. The Dayton, Ohio native, has portrayed himself as an American success story, attending Harvard University and becoming one of the highest-ranking Black executives in the financial industry after being raised by a single mother and not being raised in wealth.

He says his upbringing is similar to scores of struggling New Yorkers.

“This is how I grew up,” McGuire said. “These New Yorkers are me. These kids who don’t have the opportunities that I had — they’re me.”

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