Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo picked up a key endorsement in the NYC mayoral race Saturday from the union representing thousands of bus operators and other transit workers citywide– that wants no part of a “free bus” plan being pitched by socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
Leaders of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 726 and the ATU New York State Legislative Conference Board formally endorsed Cuomo during a Staten Island rally, saying they support his mass transit vision that includes expanding the city’s “Fair Fares” program that funds half-price transit fares for poor New Yorkers.
They said they also oppose socialist Mamdani’s pie-in-the-sky plan to provide New Yorkers free bus service, in large part because a similar $50 million experiment in Kansas City failed miserably.
The union and Cuomo put out a statement saying “ATU members who endured Kansas City’s failed experiment are united in their opposition to repeating the same mistake in New York.”
The Midwest city used federal COVID-19 relief money in 2020 to become the first in the country to institute free buses but put the brakes on it last month — because the city can no longer afford it.
“Cuomo has always recognized the unique challenges facing our borough’s transit system and is one of the rare elected officials to actually deliver for Staten Island riders and workers alike,” said Daniel Cassella, president of ATU Local 726 and chair of the ATU New York State Legislative Conference Board.
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