By Hank Russell
The New York State Democratic Committee took Nassau County Executive and GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman to task for pushing for a “small minimum wage,” which they say hurts New York workers.
Blakeman recently appeared on Newsmax TV to discuss New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposal to increase the minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030. At the beginning of this year, the state increased the minimum wage in New York City from $16.50 to $17 an hour.
“Mayor Mamdani believes that all New Yorkers need to make a living wage,” Mamdani’s spokesperson told The Ticker. “As the administration reviews this specific legislation, the mayor remains committed to tackling the cost-of-living crisis using every tool at the city’s disposal.”
“It’s just a bad idea,” Blakeman said of Mamdani’s proposal. “The markets should dictate what the small salaries are, with a small minimum wage so that we don’t have workers who are being taken advantage of, but at the same time, we need to have a free market in New York State.”
Santiago Vidal Calvo, a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute, told Fox News Digital that “champagne socialists” such as Mamdani are unaware of the “unintended consequences” of the minimum wage.
“So many of these champagne socialists go and believe that increasing the minimum wage is going to solve everybody’s problems, because people are going to earn more and prices are going to stay the same,” he said. “That’s not going to happen. That’s why many socialist countries have failed around the world.”
But NYS Democrats spokesperson Addison Dick said Blakeman’s opposition to increasing the minimum wage, combined with his support of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, has made it more expensive for families, workers and businesses.
“Bruce Blakeman is attacking New York workers by railing against the minimum wage as he works hand in hand with Donald Trump to make life more expensive for working families,” Dick said. “Blakeman is already jacking up costs by being the top supporter of Trump’s cost-raising tariffs – New Yorkers reject his ‘100% MAGA’ agenda because they want a fighter like Governor Hochul who is putting money back in their pockets and uplifting hard workers across the state.”
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the Blakeman campaign.
“Kathy Hochul is shortchanging workers every day as her tax hikes and 36 utility rate increases leave families with less in their pockets every month,” Blakeman said. “When I’m governor, I’ll make New York affordable so the working class can actually get ahead, not fall behind.”