Houston mayor backs Bloomberg and will aid outreach to black voters

[left-of-center2012]

Mike Bloomberg picked up the endorsement Thursday of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who leads the fourth largest city in the nation. The announcement follows his endorsement this week by three members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Their support could help allay any renewed concerns about Bloomberg's use of "stop and frisk" policies while he was the mayor of New York City.

CBS News has also exclusively learned that Turner plans to help officially launch Bloomberg's newest initiative, Mike for Black America. The program will be aimed at both engaging black Americans on key issues for the black community and spearheading an organizing effort on Bloomberg's behalf.

Mike for Black America is related to other campaign initiatives designed to appeal to key constituencies, like Women for Mike, Jews for Mike and Ganamos con Mike. It also builds on plans like the Greenwood initiative, which is meant to respond to systemic inequities that have kept many Black Americans from achieving generational wealth.

The launch also comes in the wake of recent polls showing Bloomberg is making major strides in national polls including gains with black voters. A Quinnipiac poll this week put him in second place with the key Democratic voting bloc.

Turner's endorsement of Bloomberg comes at a pivotal time in the campaign, as black voters who had planned to support Joe Biden may be searching for alternatives after his two lackluster finishes in the first two Democratic primary voting contests in Iowa, where he appears to have placed fourth, and in New Hampshire where he was a distant fifth. Turner, the mayor of one of the most diverse cities in the U.S., joins a growing list of black mayors across the country throwing their weight behind Bloomberg.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bloomberg-receives-houston-mayor-sylvester-050118269.html?.tsrc=jtc_news_index

[George II]

1. Mayor Sylvester Turner:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Turner

[msongs]

2. bloomie has sylvester turner, bernie has....nina turner. hmmm which one? nt

[highplainsdem]

3. Sylvester Turner, of course. No contest.