Who some see as the Democratic frontrunner in the race to become New York City’s next mayor, Andrew Yang, was grilled during a mayoral debate on his lack of governmental experience.

During the virtual debate, Yang attempted to deflect on his record of not voting in local elections and asserting that he contributed to the success of the Senate runoff elections in Georgia.

NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang holds a campaign sign at a press conference at Tweed Courthouse in Manhattan on May 11, 2021 in New York City. Yang was joined by a parent of public school children at a press conference where he called for full-time, in-person learning in classrooms for all students and teachers by the start of the next school year in September. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

When challenged by former NYPD police captain Eric Adams who viewed his comments as “disrespectful” to Black women who contributed, Yang added that he gave credit to activists involved, but said he contributed to the fundraising. “It’s OK for other people to contribute to their success.”

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Whoever succeeds in the Democratic primary on June 22 will progress to the mayoral election and this was the first of three debates to be held before the vote.

Homelessness, racial inequality, the nationwide demand for police reform, and the ripple effects of the COVID pandemic are just some of the issues to be tackled by the future mayor of New York and some believe Yang may not be equipped to handle it.

Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Votes Matter, appeared on BNC News to share his criticism of Yang’s previous comments crediting himself for the wins in the Georgia State runoff race in January. Albright says it’s an effort to “minimize Black turnout.”

“You’re not really sure about whether to just be comical or whether you should be angry about it, and that’s kind of the way I felt when I heard Andrew Yang’s remark,” Albright said.

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“This has real consequences cause what it does is, you don’t accurately acknowledge who it is that risked their lives and came out in large numbers historically. It shapes your thinking of future elections, it shapes your investment in communities for future elections and it can lead to some strategies that’s basically have been part of what’s got us in the trouble that we’ve been in in the last four years.”

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