By | The New York Times | June 10 2025 | Read the Full Article Here
Michael Blake, we hardly knew ye
At last week’s debate, Michael Blake was something of a surprise scene-stealer. He landed several effective attacks on Cuomo, livened the stage with Jamaican patois and displayed his sense of humor.
But anyone looking for a repeat performance on Thursday will be disappointed. Blake did not qualify for the debate. (Neither did Ramos, which is perhaps just as well.) Jeff Mays checked in with Blake.
“You’re missing the person who won the first debate,” Blake said.
His assessment, while self-laudatory, was shared by others on social media. But the Campaign Finance Board has ruled that Blake did not meet the fund-raising, polling or spending thresholds needed to qualify for the second debate.
Blake disagrees and filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, saying valid donations were incorrectly disqualified because of “the inflexibility of C.F.B.’s database fields.
”Tim Hunter, a spokesman for the board, declined to comment, citing the litigation.
Blake said that were he given the chance to appear, he would try to get across three points:
- If elected mayor he would end the use of credit checks for the city’s housing lottery and increase its income limits.
- He’d hire 1,000 mental health professionals to help the mentally ill in the subway and on the street.
- With New York City facing threats from President Trump and the federal government, “you don’t need a bully to be mayor, you just need someone from the Bronx,” Blake said. “We’re used to overcoming the odds.”
And he would have tried to re-emphasize his devotion to his go-to breakfast sandwich of bacon, egg and cheese on a croissant with salt, pepper and ketchup. “One thousand percent,” he said.
