Few weeks ago, had a couple of misfortunes whilst I was campaigning as a candidate for Mayor, city of New York. First, I got badly malwared — which took down all my nine websites at a key time when I was going around, meeting New Yorkers in all the five boroughs and trying to get on the ballot. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, my emails became hot and hyperactive, started sending out unauthorized emails to almost three million people. Then came the last straw — three of my petition collectors contacted COVID and died within a week. Tried to move on with the campaign all by myself, but wasn’t easy.

Damage done, campaign over, looks like I’m out. But am I really out? No. Somewhere out of the blue, I got a call from the GOP headquarters in DC offering their full support and back up for my future campaign endeavors. Got another from Florida’s GOP Chairman, and another invite to an event and a meet and greet with Senator Chuck Schumer and Broadway Democrats.

My take from this is, they were simply telling me, “be you a radical Republican or not, you really can’t pull it off on your own independently of either one of us. Choose a side if you are to run for Governor, the state of new York”.

Well I have decided to run for Governor, New York. I have chosen a side. And come 2022, I will be seen to disrupt New York city political landscape with my inter borough and inter community plans, by turning Harlem, South of Bronx, Brooklyn and the North of Manhattan neighborhood Republican.

How?

The Governor is better placed to influence systemic change in urban and rural communities in the state of New York. And me, aiming to be a replacement for Andrew Cuomo means, I have new ways of solving old problems.

As governor, I will therefore:

1. Put New Yorkers’ First:/ AGGRESIVELY PURSUE/ Economic justice, social mobility/ and total infrastructure update.

2. Put New Yorkers’ First:/ ENACT PLACE BASED DEVELOPMENT/ 5 million kids under the age of 10 live/ in abject poverty all over the state.

3. Put New Yorkers’ First:/ REFORM OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM/ It is damaging to individuals, to families,/ to communities, to cities and the state.

4. Put New Yorkers’ First:/ REFORM OUR PENAL SYSTEM/ Offenders reoffending at 60% rate/ after being released is a failure.

5. Put New Yorkers’ First:/ PUT MORE MONEY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS/ Refocus teaching and reform teacher’s priorities./ Reduced classroom sizes, recruit more teachers.

6. Put New Yorkers’ First:/ PROTECT NEW YORKERS’ CONCERN/ About environment, forest preservation, energy,/ water ways, food security and public health.

7. Put New Yorkers’ First:/ PLACE LONG TERM BETS ON/ New ideas, small businesses, innovations,/ new industries and improve supply chain.

8. Put New Yorkers’ First:/ ADDRESS ISSUES FACING OUR NEXT GEN./ Rent, reading disparity, jobs, housing, mental health,/ universal healthcare, and collective bargaining rights.

9. Put New Yorkers’ First:/ HYPER INFLATION AND TAX/ Are liabilities affecting city and state employees,/ A burden on retirees and those on fixed income.

10. Put New Yorkers’ First:/ ADDRESS NEW YORK CITY’S ISSUES OF/ Congestion, air pollution, the subway, ports,/ the NYPD, affordable housing and homelessness.

11. Put New Yorkers’ First:/ PROTECT NEW YORK’S/ Environment, Forest, Water ways,/ Food security and Public health.

12. Put New Yorkers’ First:/ BRING CIVIC STUDIES BACK TO SCHOOLS/ Lead the charge for integrative knowledge. Enable a change/ to attitudes that are dangerous to heritage, culture and the arts.

These are all valid points. Vote winning, yes. And definitely worth making the focal point of anyone’s campaign. But do they really fit the cadence of the moment? My answer is no. And that is why I will relegate all these points to the level of an undercurrent running at the base of my campaign.

These are better off in the background because they are fundamental issues — which if addressed now will not only drain government purse, it will also consume revenues, public resources and whatever reserve we have left to run the state.

In short, they will not broaden revenue base for the state and neither will they provide for new industries, nor allow for new sources of tax.

Therefore, for the general welfare of all, the economic health of the state and got the benefit of all, I will therefore adopt a pruning hook stance. Look at state budget, income, liabilities, expenses and interest rates in the past sixteen months, then build a fitting campaign message from my findings. After all this is a post pandemic period.

My campaign message in this case will not only reflect a concern for the signs of now, it will also reveal the nature of what my approach to budgetary need for the state of New York is going to be like. This to I chose to go along the lines of being frugal, fiscal, long term focus, creative and resourceful.

Why budget and why fiscal pruning stance? Because post-COVID is given us a false sense or recovery, whereas the reality is the opposite. COVID and the long shut down means a lot of state, city and local departments — except a few, had to shut down, and therefore not having to spend all that was allocated to them. And a few others who paid salaries, have had to spend little or next to nothing on cost of overheads and expenses in the last fiscal year.

So for those departments, there is no short fall to report. Like small businesses and big companies, a few other departments have realized workers don’t need to be next to each other to work. So going remote is an opening for reviewing budget and allocations. An opportunity to cut down on liabilities by looking for ways to boost retirement benefits, pensions, healthcare, social services and other job creating incentives through what COVID thrusted on us.

We are neck deep in hyper inflation.

Another thing I plan to do is disrupt the way we trade and the way we collect taxes in the city. I have highlighted certain areas where a little prunning here and there, swell city and state cover so much, I would end up increasing city workers pay grade, or tax them less. And with a little prodding in other areas, who knows New Yorkers might actually enjoy the benefit of a NIT (No Income Tax) for the next ten years.

Be on the look out for my campaign’s opening speech if you are not ready to host.