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NYC Mayor's Elections 2021 examines Democratic Party's position on policing

Andrew Yang, democratic candidate for mayor of New York City, speaks during a campaign appearance at City Hall Park in New York City, U.S., May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
James Oliphant
After more than 20 people were shot during another bloody weekend in New York, Andrew Yang, a leading candidate to become the city’s next mayor, stood outside a Bronx housing project and called for an immediate increase in the number of police officers who investigate gun crimes and patrol subways.
The city, Yang said on Thursday, "is failing us. We can do better."
A year ago, protests over police brutality and racial injustice rocked cities across the country. Cries of “defund the police” and calls for reform echoed throughout the Democratic Party. But New York's mayoral contest suggests a different political reality is taking hold among Democrats as urban areas nationwide dig out from the coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic triggered massive job losses, left streets deserted, strained local budgets and contributed to a national rise in violent crime. The murder rate in U.S. cities jumped 25% or more in 2020, FBI statistics show, and is continuing to escalate this year. Last week, the Biden administration launched an initiative to help combat the spike in gun violence and homicides.
The debate over the future of policing is taking place daily in New York, as a bevy of Democrats jockey for the party’s nomination ahead of the June 22 primary that will likely decide who becomes mayor. So far, candidates who have embraced a pro-law enforcement message and pushed back against progressive calls to reduce funding for police departments seem to have the upper hand.
The election's outcome may provide a window into how voters prioritize issues in a post-pandemic society. That has significant implications for Democrats as they head toward the 2022 elections, when their control of Congress will be at stake — and as they continue to grapple with tensions between the moderate and more liberal voices within the party.
“What happens in New York goes elsewhere. This is a harbinger of what’s to come,” said Douglas Schoen, a Democratic pollster and longtime adviser to former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
CITY IN CRISIS
For many in COVID-scarred New York, indelible images of a city in crisis came last May, when peaceful protests over racial injustice descended into several nights of looting and mayhem on empty avenues in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
More recently, the city has been rattled by a series of violent incidents. Shootings are up 90% since the same time a year ago.
A poll conducted this month by the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, found that nearly half of Democratic primary voters rank public safety as their top concern and that just 18% said they want fewer police patrolling their neighborhoods. A recent Emerson College poll also listed public safety as voters' top issue.
“This mayoral race is absolutely a window into what New Yorkers want to see in a city reborn,” said Michael Hendrix, the Manhattan Institute’s director of state and local policy. “They want a return to economic growth and jobs. They want safe streets and a sense of some kind of public order."
That has given an opening for moderate candidates such as Yang, an entrepreneur and former presidential candidate; Eric Adams, a former police officer and current Brooklyn borough president; and Kathryn Garcia, a longtime civil servant who ran the city’s sanitation department.
Polls have showed them among the top of the field, with progressives such as civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley lagging behind, although the race remains fluid.
Adams has made public safety a centerpiece of his campaign, often showing up at crime scenes around the city. He has pledged to revive a controversial anti-crime unit within the New York Police Department and supports a revised version of a police tactic known as “stop and frisk” that has been widely criticized by activists as intrusive and discriminatory.
He has tried to win over skeptics by promising better training for police officers and other reforms. Norman Siegel, a former head of the American Civil Liberties Union's New York chapter who endorsed Adams, said street-level tactics like "stop and frisk" are necessary.
“There’s guns on the street. There’s increasing shootings. You can’t be blind to that,” Siegel said. “I’m convinced with Eric as mayor we will get a different NYPD.”
Progressives in the city hope the election’s new ranked-choice voting system will allow a candidate such as Wiley to emerge as other hopefuls are eliminated – and that perhaps the highly popular progressive U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will endorse a like-minded candidate soon.
PAYING ATTENTION
Democrats and Republicans alike will be watching to see the direction the city chooses.
Earlier this month, Democrats conceded in an internal memo examining the 2020 election that Republican attacks last year on their candidates over issues such as defunding the police were effective in some battleground races, perhaps costing them seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and elsewhere.
Support for the Black Lives Matter movement and dramatic police reform had become a litmus test for some Democrats. President Joe Biden largely side-stepped the issue as a candidate. Other moderate Democrats, even if they had never expressed support for slashing police budgets, found themselves on the defensive anyway.
In a speech on Thursday, the Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, served notice that his party intends to make crime a major issue in next year's midterm elections by blasting “defund the police” efforts.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the arm of the party that oversees House races, said it plans to blunt those attacks by emphasizing the economic relief Congress has sent to pandemic-battered communities and by pointing to federal police reform legislation that passed in the House but remains stalled in the Senate.
The pandemic and surge in crime came at a perilous time for progressive candidates and the Black Lives Matter movement, said Christina Greer, political science professor at Fordham University. The debate over policing has become “more nuanced, more complicated.”
“When crime starts to rise, whether its real or perceived," she said, "voters tend to want a more conservative, law-and-order candidate."
Reuters, May 30, 2021/1:05 PM EEST
Image Copyright Reuters
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BENEFIT AGM approves 10%...
- March 27, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).
Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.
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