(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named New York City (NYC) Mayor Bill De Blasio (D) our September 2020 Porker of the Month for demanding $5 billion from taxpayers while refusing to make any commonsense cuts in spending.

Mayor De Blasio has been called the worst mayor ever in New York City.  While reasons appear plentiful both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic began earlier in 2020, his most recent actions will do nothing to change anyone’s mind about his abject incompetence.  His request for $5 billion from the state has offended members of his own party and  angered both the New York State and New York City comptrollers, especially since he refuses to cut the city’s budget.  If he slashed just 2 percent, he would save $1 trillion.  There are other reasonable and easy solutions to resolve NYC’s budget crisis like having city workers pay insurance premiums, since 90 percent of them currently get free healthcare.  City employees make 75 percent more than the median wages for private sector workers, making it sensible to freeze their paychecks for two years.  Instead, Mayor De Blasio is ignoring practical cuts, begging for more money, and driving New York City residents out in droves.

CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Mayor De Blasio continues to show the nation why he has earned the title of the New York City’s worst mayor.  He consistently fails to put the best interests of the taxpayers first and does nothing to stop the city from turning into a fiscal disaster.  His disdain for hard-working NYC residents was made clear when he defied his own coronavirus rules and went to his gym.  His response has been unfocused, confusing, and sometimes downright wrong.  It is hard to think of anything good to say, other than he cannot run for mayor again in 2021, giving New York City taxpayers some hope for the future.  For refusing to reform the city’s budget while begging for more money, Bill De Blasio can put his award for “Porker of the Month” right next to the plaque for “New York City’s Worst Mayor.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.  For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.