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By Beth Stibal |

Michael Bloomberg Takes Dixville Notch, But New Audio Could Damage Black Vote

Billionaire Mike Bloomberg is the primary winner in Dixville Notch, one of three tiny New Hampshire towns that vote at midnight. The former New York mayor isn’t even on the ballot in New Hampshire but won by getting three of the five residents’ write-in votes, two from Democrats and one from a Republican. One of the voters told new reporters that he voted for Bloomberg because the candidate called him up and asked for his support. But new audio from 2015 of Bloomberg telling cops to target minorities is making the rounds on social media.

In an audio clip of a 2015 speech, the billionaire gave to the Aspen Institute, Bloomberg acknowledged that “stop and frisk,” targeted minority “kids” who cops must throw “up against the wall” to disarm. The Aspen Times reported at the time that Bloomberg representatives asked the Institute not to distribute footage of his appearance. “Ninety-five percent of murders- murderers and murder victims fit one M.O. You can just take a description, Xerox it, and pass it out to all the cops,” he said. “They are male, minorities, 16-25. That’s true in New York, that’s true in virtually every city (inaudible). And that’s where the real crime is. You’ve got to get the guns out of the hands of people that are getting killed.” Bloomberg also said urban crime-fighting required cities to “spend the money” and “put a lot of cops in the streets,” particularly in “minority neighborhoods,” where he said the crime is. He also acknowledged the “unintended consequences” of the policy. “So one of the unintended consequences is people say, ‘Oh my God, you are arresting kids for marijuana that are all minorities.’ Yes, that’s true. Why? Because we put all the cops in minority neighborhoods,” Bloomberg is heard saying on the recording. “Yes, that’s true. Why do we do it? Because that’s where all the crime is. And the way you get the guns out of the kids’ hands is to throw them up against the wall and frisk them… And then they start… ‘Oh I don’t want to get caught.’ So they don’t bring the gun. They still have a gun, but they leave it at home.”

The two other Dixville Notch votes went to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.