For Andrew Yang, when it comes to a city's financial well-being, it's all about the talent.
But where exactly that talent should go is up for debate depending on when he speaks.
Since announcing his mayoral run in January, Yang has emphasized the importance of retaining and reinvigorating New York City's base of talented workers. But before his run, he and an organization he founded offered a much different message - that talented workers should relocate away from "coastal hubs" like the Big Apple in favor of smaller cities.
© Luiz C. RibeiroNew York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang
New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang (Luiz C. Ribeiro/)
Yang is the founder of Venture for America, which was created "because so many high-potential recent college grads were heading to only a handful of cities, like New York or San Francisco."
"Not many were seeking opportunities in places like Cleveland, New Orleans, or Pittsburgh," the non-profit's website says. "We're trying to change that."
The non-profit offers fellowships in 13 cities, which also include Charlotte, St. Louis and Tulsa. Its initial goal was to create 100,000 jobs, but it's fallen short.
Exactly how short is an open question, though. According to the last annual report issued by the non-profit in 2016, its "fellow-founded" companies created only 90 full-time jobs that year. According to a 2019 article in Vox, VFA created fewer than 4,000 jobs as of 2019. Currently, VFA's website claims that more than 1,000 fellows "have launched their careers" with VFA.
The non-profit was founded in 2010 when New York City's unemployment rate hovered at just under 10%. In the years after, Yang himself has made statements that tracked closely with Venture for America's stated mission.
In his 2014 book, "Smart People Should Build Things," the entrepreneur and former presidential candidate observes that "current talent flows have a pronounced regional bias," which makes cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles "magnets for the preponderance of top university graduates."
In a May 2017 interview with The Signal, Yang offered up a similar perspective.
"We're going to need more and more vitality and opportunity in places that are not New York or San Francisco," he said at the time.
Yang stepped away from his role as VFA's CEO in 2017. He remained on as a board member immediately after that, but is no longer affiliated with the non-profit, which did not immediately respond to calls.
The group continues the mission Yang helped launch, though - drawing talent away from cities like New York.
But over the last three months, Yang's message has changed. Yang - who has so far been the frontrunner for the entirety of this year's mayor's race - is now offering himself up to voters as a New York City booster, someone intent on keeping and attracting talented workers to the five boroughs, instead of directing them elsewhere.
"What we have to do is rebuild the value proposition that makes New York City the destination for business, for culture, for commerce, for families, for schools," Yang said on CNBC's Squawk Box several days after announcing his run. "New York City has had the talent advantage for years and decades, and that's what we have to preserve, and in some cases recover."
When asked Tuesday about his shift in rhetoric, Yang defended it, saying that the city's focus now needs to be on continuing to make it "a place where people want to come to build a career."
"New York City can't take any of that for granted right now," he told the Daily News. "We're going to have to compete in a way that we have not had to for quite some time."
Now, he said, the Big Apple essentially falls into the same category as the cities Venture for America has focused so much of its energy on.
"Right now, unfortunately, people are questioning whether New York City is going to be a destination in the same way," he said.
Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, which represents many of the city's elite businesses, defended Yang's shift and said boosting business outside the city doesn't mean one can't do it here as well.
"I don't see it as mutually contradictory," she said.
Others aren't so sure.
Ed Ott, a retired labor leader and CUNY lecturer, criticized Yang for not offering enough specifics on what exactly "talent" means and for floating plans like bringing a casino on Governors Island.
"One week, he's calling for casinos in the city when every casino in the state is losing money," Ott said. "'We gotta bring talent to the city?' I don't even know what that means. We've got a lot of talent in the city that's not working ... Let's employ the talent we have."
Yang's rivals in the mayor's race also questioned his shift.
© Provided by New York Daily NewsBrooklyn Borough President and New York City mayoral candidate Eric Adams
Brooklyn Borough President and New York City mayoral candidate Eric Adams (Luiz C. Ribeiro/)
Evan Thies, a spokesman for Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, pointed to Yang decamping from the city during the pandemic to a second home in New Paltz as consistent with his shift in rhetoric on where talented professionals should go.
"Die-hard New Yorkers stayed here to keep this city running so that we can attract new businesses and jobs while Mr. Yang abandoned New Yorkers after telling entrepreneurs to invest elsewhere," he said.
© Provided by New York Daily NewsNew York City mayoral candidate Shaun Donovan
New York City mayoral candidate Shaun Donovan (Bebeto Matthews/)
Shaun Donovan, another mayoral hopeful and President Barack Obama's former housing secretary, also took a shot at Yang, saying that "candidates should be judged on their results."
"As Andrew's VFA demonstrates, it's easy to deliver big promises, but it's hard to deliver big results," he said. "I am concerned that history is repeating itself in this campaign."