Post by Logan on Mar 13, 2016 0:42:48 GMT -6
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Saturday repeatedly slammed Rahm Emanuel and called on front-runner Hillary Clinton to reject the embattled mayor's endorsement as the Vermont senator tries to boost his chances in Tuesday's Illinois primary.
"Hillary Clinton proudly lists Mayor Rahm Emanuel as one of her leading mayoral endorsers," Sanders said at a downtown news conference. "Based on his disastrous record as mayor of the city of Chicago, I do not want Mayor Emanuel's endorsement if I win the Democratic nomination. That is not the kind of support I want. We want the endorsement of the people who are fighting for social and racial justice. We do not want the support of people who are indebted to Wall Street and the big money interests."
Sanders took particular aim at Emanuel's handling of Chicago Public Schools, criticizing the mayor's decision to close nearly 50 schools in predominantly minority communities in 2013. The Democratic senator said the school district wouldn't have found itself in such a financial bind had Emanuel refused to pay Wall Street banks $500 million in "risky financial schemes" or so-called toxic interest-rate swaps. Sanders noted other cities such as Houston, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Detroit took legal action, or threatened to, and received some money back from the banks, and criticized Emanuel for "standing with Wall Street" instead of with the city's schoolchildren.
Sanders said both Emanuel and Clinton have received heavy campaign contributions from the financial sector. Joining Sanders was Blaine Elementary Principal Troy LaRaviere, who referred to a Chicago Tribune investigation last year that showed at least 60 percent of Emanuel's top campaign donors received benefits from City Hall.
Read more: www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-bernie-sanders-rahm-emanuel-met-0313-20160312-story.html
"Hillary Clinton proudly lists Mayor Rahm Emanuel as one of her leading mayoral endorsers," Sanders said at a downtown news conference. "Based on his disastrous record as mayor of the city of Chicago, I do not want Mayor Emanuel's endorsement if I win the Democratic nomination. That is not the kind of support I want. We want the endorsement of the people who are fighting for social and racial justice. We do not want the support of people who are indebted to Wall Street and the big money interests."
Sanders took particular aim at Emanuel's handling of Chicago Public Schools, criticizing the mayor's decision to close nearly 50 schools in predominantly minority communities in 2013. The Democratic senator said the school district wouldn't have found itself in such a financial bind had Emanuel refused to pay Wall Street banks $500 million in "risky financial schemes" or so-called toxic interest-rate swaps. Sanders noted other cities such as Houston, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Detroit took legal action, or threatened to, and received some money back from the banks, and criticized Emanuel for "standing with Wall Street" instead of with the city's schoolchildren.
Sanders said both Emanuel and Clinton have received heavy campaign contributions from the financial sector. Joining Sanders was Blaine Elementary Principal Troy LaRaviere, who referred to a Chicago Tribune investigation last year that showed at least 60 percent of Emanuel's top campaign donors received benefits from City Hall.
Read more: www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-bernie-sanders-rahm-emanuel-met-0313-20160312-story.html