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- The crowded New York City mayoral race became heated on Wednesday.
- Democratic primary candidate Maya Wiley took aim at frontrunner Andrew Yang.
- Yang has increasingly been targeted directly by opponents in the crowded field.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley on Wednesday zeroed in on Andrew Yang in one of the most strongly-worded attacks in the primary campaign so far.
Wiley, who served as counsel to current Mayor Bill de Blasio and as an MSNBC legal analyst before entering the race, went after Yang on his proposal to only spend one third of the Big Apple's stimulus money this year.
"New York is not another startup where Andrew Yang can play with other people's money and fail up – what you do as mayor has life and death consequences for New Yorkers," Wiley said in a statement released by her campaign.
-Ben Max (@TweetBenMax) March 31, 2021
Yang, who is running on a universal basic income pilot program and the creation of a "People's Bank," argued that holding onto the funds would allow the next mayor to better implement their agenda.
Wiley countered that proposal by warning of severe layoffs among the city workforce that only the incoming stimulus money could stave off.
De Blasio, for his part, has not indicated that he plans to spend all of the more than $6 billion in 2021.
"It's structured to be released over time," he said of the city's stimulus funds, noting they cannot be spent all in one year under federal law. "We need to use the resources we have now to really get New York City back on its feet. That recovery has to happen very strongly in 2021 to set up a better 2022 and 2023."
Wiley also jumped on Yang's comments on Tuesday before her campaign released the longer statement, according to the New York Daily News.
"Unfortunately, Andrew Yang doesn't understand how government works, or how we can utilize our resources of government in order to solve problems," she said. "This is no time to say we're going to starve the hungry, or ignore the homeless, or fail to recognize how the investment actually helps us bring jobs back."
Yang has been the subject of increasing attacks from opponents in recent weeks, further cementing his frontrunner status in a race where the few public polls available have all had Yang sitting atop the field.
In her statement on Tuesday, Wiley segued from her critique to a plug for her $10 billion New Deal New York plan.
"As mayor, I'm prepared to make tough choices to ensure our city remains fiscally stable while protecting essential services for the families that depend on them," she said. "I also won't be afraid to spend when it helps our economy - my $10 billion New Deal New York will create 100,000 jobs."