For Immediate Release
Contact- Jake Oliver, jake@anatgerstein.com, (347) 361-9983
New York, N.Y. (October 7, 2021) — Citizens Union released the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum in response to the report released by the Department of Investigation detailing Mayor de Blasio’s misuse of public resources for political and personal business:
“While we understand the need to keep elected officials and their families safe, it is unfair to ask the taxpayers to subsidize the Mayor’s political campaign and other personal trips and activities. Government resources should be used for government business. The Mayor should reimburse these funds immediately.”
“It is important that concrete steps are taken to ensure that this does not happen again. The Department of Investigation report outlined the need for the Conflicts of Interest Board and the NYPD to provide clear, written guidance for the operation of the Mayor’s security detail. We encourage them to publish these guidelines as soon as possible so these problems can be avoided with future administrations.”
About Citizens Union
For over 120 years, Citizens Union has been a force for transparency, accountability and ethics in New York’s City and State governments. A nonpartisan organization, some of our current initiatives include the election info hub ElectNYC.org, a new agenda for police accountability, and increasing civic engagement. Learn more at www.citizensunion.org.
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