One of the Top Contenders in NYC Mayor’s Race Has Deep RI Roots
GoLocalProv News Team
One of the Top Contenders in NYC Mayor’s Race Has Deep RI Roots
Wiley, a former top staffer to outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio and until recently on-air contributor on MSNBC, is the daughter of prominent Rhode Island community organizer George Wiley.
"We're changing how we do things here in New York," wrote Wiley on her Facebook page. "We're showing the world that everyone -- no matter how much money you make, what language you speak, what you look like -- you can live in the greatest city in the world. With dignity."
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Wiley’s father George was a graduate of the University of Rhode Island and a national civil-rights leader. Her aunt is education and athletic trailblazer Bev Wiley.
Maya Wiley's father's tragic death was reported in the New York Times in 1973:
“Rough seas [made] the Maryland marine police call an early halt today to search operations for Dr. George A. Wiley, the former head of the National Welfare Rights Organization who is missing and presumed drowned in the Chesapeake Bay.
The authorities said that Dr. Wiley, national coordinator for the Movement for Economic Justice, fell off his boat while sailing in the bay yesterday.
Dr. Wiley's two children, who were also aboard the 23‐foot pleasure craft, tried to throw him a line but tides and wind pulled him away, according to investigating officers."
The anti-poverty agency writes, “Born in 1931, George Wiley grew up in Warwick, RI, graduated from the University of Rhode Island, and later went on to receive a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Cornell University. In 1964 he left academia to work with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and later founded the National Welfare Rights Organization. His tragic death in an accident in 1973 left a legacy of achievement and an agenda that was not yet complete.”
Maya Wiley has pointed to her Rhode Island roots in the past.
In 2019, Wiley Tweeted at Rhode Island native Viola Davis after Davis' appearance on Morning Joe.
"Your mother fought as a welfare reform activist in Rhode Island! My father grew up there & founded National Welfare Rights.org. Now I’m wondering if they ever met!" Tweeted Wiley.
About Campaign
Wiley, who officially announced her candidacy on October 7, said she is not a “conventional candidate.”
As the New York Times wrote, “Ms. Wiley will have to explain how she is different from Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat in his second and final term, who is not well liked among voters.”
On Thursday, Citigroup executive Ray McGuire announced his bid -- and the field continues to grow.
As Forbes magazine reported:
"McGuire joins a crowd of Democratic contenders including Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, city Comptroller Scott Stringer, former de Blasio legal counsel Maya Wiley, former de Blasio Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, ex-Obama cabinet member Shaun Donovan, nonprofit leader Dianne Morales, and Ret. Brigadier General Loree Sutton."