Richard Bashner

Richard Bashner

Democratic Party

Education

Bachelor's

Harvard College

Law

New York University

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Personal website

Richard Bashner was a Democratic candidate for mayor of New York, New York. Bashner was defeated in the primary election on September 12, 2017. Click here to read Bashner's campaign themes for 2017.

Biography

Bashner earned his B.A. in psychology and social relations from Harvard College. He later received his J.D. from the New York University School of Law. Bashner has been an attorney since 1985. He is also a member of the Brooklyn Community Board.

Elections

2017

See also: Municipal elections in New York, New York (2017)

Incumbent Bill de Blasio defeated Sal Albanese, Michael Tolkin, Robert Gangi, and Richard Bashner in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City.

Mayor of New York City, Democratic Primary Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Bill de Blasio Incumbent	74.00%	343,054
Sal Albanese	15.21%	70,521
Michael Tolkin	4.70%	21,771
Robert Gangi	3.09%	14,321
Richard Bashner	2.44%	11,296
Write-in votes	0.56%	2,606
Total Votes		463,569
Source: New York City Board of Elections, "2017 Primary: Official Election Results," September 26, 2017

Campaign themes

2017

Bashner's campaign website included the following themes:

“	Effective, Open, Responsive Government As Mayor, Richard will champion a more inclusive and accountable city administration. Hire pragmatic, effective world-class managers, who openly work through solutions to our biggest challenges transparently and inclusively. Use cost/benefit analysis to spend our $85 billion budget more wisely. We should have seen more benefit from the Mayor’s 20% budget increase from $70 billion. Shine a light on all government spending and take action to reduce waste. Reduce funds to not-for-profits that use NYC funding for excessive executive pay. Begin citywide local participatory budgeting, with public input for spending. Stream and archive City Council, City Planning, and community board meetings. Fight for campaign finance reform to lower contributions and matching thresholds. Build consensus for approval for NYC to use design/build contracting, value engineering, and updated technology to reduce construction costs. Fight for fair NYS funding for unfunded mandates for schools and homelessness. Fight for home rule, so that NYC can determine its own future better. Support the NYS constitutional convention on the ballot this year to achieve these and other goals, by jumping over Albany’s roadblocks to change. Clean, Scandal-Free Government As Mayor, Richard will root out corruption. Follow the money. End pay-to-play, slush funds, and corruption. Don’t solicit or accept contributions from people doing business with NYC or seeking approvals. Avoid even the appearance of impropriety in government by ending illegal and questionable fundraising. Strengthen and comply with conflict of interest laws. Avoid conduct that results in a need to pay $15,000,000 in taxpayer money for legal fees to fight multiple corruption investigations. Do not release deed restrictions to allow luxury housing to replace a nursing home, and thereby allow the owner of Rivington House to flip it for a $72,000,000 profit. Govern in the public interest rather than for personal political gain. Land-Use, Preservation and Zoning As Mayor, Richard will support neighborhood preservation, parks, and contextual buildings; and challenge out-of-scale development. Base decisions about land-use, preservation and zoning upon what is best for the neighborhood, not upon political contributions and lobbying. Appoint qualified preservationists, zoning experts, and planners, free of corrupting lobbyist influences, to the Landmarks commission, the Board of Standards and Appeals, and the Department of City Planning. Protect residents, landmarks, historic districts, parks, libraries, hospitals, views, light, and air, especially against overdevelopment and the privatization of public assets. Expand environmental assessment review and scoping requirements, especially for taller buildings; include bulkheads, voids, and secondary displacement effects. Sanction developers, architects, and lawyers, who break zoning or construction rules. Change zoning rules to ensure that buildings are built contextually, and to a human scale, with active street uses that contribute to a lively city. Promote responsible development by requiring early electronic distribution of full documentation, and facilitating neighborhood input and debate.	”
—Richard Bashner (2017)

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Richard Bashner Mayor of New York City. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Richard Bashner - Google News

See also

New York, New York	New York	Municipal government	Other local coverage

External links

Suggest a link

• Mayor of New York City
• Campaign website