NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Citigroup vice chairman Raymond McGuire, one of the most prominent Black executives in finance, may announce this week that he is entering the New York City mayoral race, Fox Business reported Sunday.
The network's senior correspondent, Charles Gasparino, tweeted, "Two sources involved in NYC Democratic Party politics say they expect @Citi vice chairman Ray McGuire to announce his candidacy for mayor this week, probably as a Dem." He credited his producer Lydia Moynihan for the reporting.
Buzz about McGuire running for NYC mayor has been around since at least last January, though, when CNBC reported that he was being encouraged by allies in the business community to seek the office.
And in January, CNBC reported that McGuire had met with "several high profile political strategists," recently, including Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf, whose previous clients include Bill Clinton and Mike Bloomberg.
McGuire co-authored a recently-released report about the cost of racial discrimination on the economy, and he's been vocal about the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police.
"Maybe this time is different because there's no confusion," McGuire said of Floyd's death. "We saw cold-blooded murder."
Gasparino also tweeted, "On the positive side: He's an economic centrist and will have the support of the @MikeBloomberg coalition if not @MikeBloomberg outright (Bloomberg's partner Diana Taylor is a Citi board member). His financial skill set will be needed given the fiscal issues the city faces amid the pandemic. He recently co authored a @Citi report on the cost of racial discrimination to bolster his cred w NYC progressives."
H countered that though, adding "On the negative side: He's a long-time Wall Street investment banker, which puts him at odds w progressives. Moreover, he has spent much of his career at Citigroup, maybe the most controversial of all the big banks. The implosion of Citi is widely regarded as among the root causes of the 2008 financial crisis. Citi also has had close ties to the Saudi government in business and on its board, which could put him at odds elsewhere."
