NYC Mayoral Hopeful Tours KGH After Rosenthal Endorsement
The excitement of the press conference where Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal endorsed Andrew Yang for mayor is not unusual for the candidate. Seemingly everywhere he goes, there is interest in this non-politician running for the nation’s most high-profile mayoralty.
Part of his unique appeal is that while other candidates are seeking to engage the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, Yang has been reaching out to the moderates and conservatives, expressing a dislike for identity politics. During his presidential run, he was interviewed by conservative thought leaders such as Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson. But during his mayoral run, he spoke at Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and was endorsed by progressive Assemblyman Ron Kim. Yang spoke of his skepticism in big government, but also of his signature proposal for a universal basic income to answer for automation and other sources of job losses.
He spoke against bris milah before reversing his position, after hearing from Rosenthal and other Jewish community leaders. Likewise, his opposition to BDS has become more outspoken after initially expressing interest in hearing from Palestinian activists at a forum last month. He has also expressed strong support for nonpublic schools, noting the lack of trust between government and yeshivos on a visit to Borough Park.
Yang was born in 1975 in upstate New York, a child of Taiwanese immigrants who found success in this country. His father worked as an engineer at General Electric, and his mother was a systems administrator at a college. His academic brilliance enabled him to skip a grade in school, for which he was bullied by his classmates. But it did not deter him from taking the SAT at age 12, which resulted in his acceptance at a summer school program at Johns Hopkins University. He then graduated from Brown University and Columbia Law School. His legal career was short as he found it uninspiring. Instead, he dedicated his life towards entrepreneurship that promoted philanthropy and tech start-ups.
Manhattan Prep was created as a tutoring service that was later acquired by industry stalwart Kaplan; Venture for America promoted entrepreneurial skills among college graduates. His efforts earned him recognition in 2015 from President Barack Obama as a “champion of change.”
Although his run in the 2020 Democratic Presidential primary did not earn him wins in any of the states, his ability to earn small donations from many people demonstrated grassroots support and the strength of his online campaign.
Yang and his wife Evelyn have two sons. They live in Manhattan.
By Sergey Kadinsky
