Former Assembly member and Rev. Michael Blake is hot on the campaign trail in a crowded race for mayor of New York City. He recently held a series of events with the endorsement of his good friend, Tony and Grammy award-winning actor and singer Leslie Odom Jr.
“I’m getting back in the game cause I refused to sit on the sidelines,” said Blake. “And as the only candidate [with] White House experience, state house experience, and local experience, I have a unique vision of what the city can be. And if we really want to change the game, we gotta change the mayor.”
Blake is the founder & CEO of Atlas Strategy Group Inc. and the Kairos Democracy Project. He also served as the aide to former President Barack Obama, where he created the White House Urban Entrepreneurship series and co-led the Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprises initiative as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and as an assemblymember in the Bronx.
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He held a campaign fundraiser at the Gentlemen’s Factory (GF), a social club designed for Black male professionals, in Bed-Stuy with a stunning live performance from Odom on Friday, March 7. The event was attended by a select group of supporters and colleagues of Blake’s.
He said he chose the location specifically because the GF is “Black excellence at its core.”
Tony & Grammy Award-winning actor and singer Leslie Odom Jr. (left) and former Assemblymember Michael Blake (right). Credit: PHOTO CREDIT: Ariama C. Long. 
Former Assemblymember Michael Blake (left) at the Gentlemen’s Factory in Bed-Stuy on Friday, March 7. Credit: PHOTO CREDIT: Ariama C. Long. 
Tony & Grammy Award-winning actor and singer Leslie Odom Jr. performed at a campaign event for Blake in Bed-Stuy on Friday, March 7. Credit: PHOTO CREDIT: Ariama C. Long.
“Michael Blake has always been a champion for advocating for Black men and boys in New York State and in New York City through the My Brother’s Keeper initiative. He was one of the anchors in bringing it to New York and putting the funding behind it,” said GF founder Jeff Lindor. “He’s someone who I think would be a great leader for the city.”
“I trust Mike Blake,” said Odom. “I’m enriched because I know you and I’m in full support of your vision and what you’re building. I think New York would be better for having you as Mayor.”
So far Blake has raised $146,084 in private donations, according to the latest New York City Campaign Finance Board (NYCCFB) filing. The next round of city matching funds payouts will be made public on March 17.
Blake spoke about his platform and launched innovative campaign tools to reach his base during the event. His Project 2026 NYC plan includes the “true cost of living” based off a local median income scale, creating affordable housing like the Mitchell-Lama program, creating a guaranteed income for all New Yorkers, supporting universal childcare, eliminating using credit scores for rents and home ownership, taxing vacant second property or investments for the ultra-rich, fighting against federal government cuts to services and programs for the city, free City University of New York (CUNY) tuition, protecting reproductive rights; and banning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in schools, places of worship, and community centers.
He is also firmly against Mayor Eric Adams or former Gov. Andrew Cuomo getting reelected.
“We should not be in a city where we have a mayor who literally is on a leash for Donald Trump, wondering at any moment what they will allow him to do,” said Blake. “We have an indicted Mayor for breaking the law for an illegal campaign donation scheme. Full stop. That is not what we need in New York City. We also don’t need a former governor who harassed 13 women and had tens of thousands of people that were impacted with COVID and 13,000 people who died in nursing homes because of Andrew Cuomo. He should sit down. He resigned because he knew he did wrong. For him to try to show back up is unacceptable.”
He added that City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who just announced she was running for mayor this past weekend, was exemplary in her position on the council but maintained that he provides a “different vision” for the city.
To close out the night, Blake did a Q&A session with Odom about his music and film career, being an original cast member in the Broadway musical Hamilton, and political musings. Odom then performed “Loved” off his album “When a Crooner Dies,” “Wait for It” from Hamilton the musical, and “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke.
“I think the idea for America is a good one and it’s worth fighting for. We fall short all the time, but I’m an artist, I’m a citizen. So I believe my art is a part of those times,” said Odom, “I certainly take as much as everybody else from the community. I eat and breathe and, you know, my kids go to public school. I partake and that’s just the way that I can offer but I’m a contributor to the ‘American Experiment’ like everybody else. I wanna do my part.”