Could Doe Fund founder George McDonald (pictured above right) who has changed his voter registration from Democrat to Republican be Mayor Mike Bloomberg's (left) choice to replace him as mayor. Or could Bloomberg hope that City Council Speaker Christine Quinn wins the Democratic primary for mayor next year for a no loose situation for Bloomberg in the mayor's race.
The Doe Fund has been hailed for its
work with formerly homeless, incarcerated, and people recovering from addiction. McDonald and his family have also been
criticized in the past for collecting giant sized salaries and perks from the
non-profit's operations. Most recently the Doe Fund was given a contract by Mayor Bloomberg for a 200 bed housing unit in the old Muller Army Center in the Wakefield section of the Bronx. That housing unit is in addition to two other large similar housing units with in a two block radius, and has come under fire from the local community and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
After graduating from college McDonald begin a successful career in the clothing trade. He is quoted in an article as saying "There were great days, there was wine, women and song, and I had a lot of fun". The article continues that McDonald was stepping over homeless people in the doorway of the restaurant one
evening just after he and his friends had spent $200 on dinner.
McDonald started the Doe Fund in 1985, and by 2010, the group had generated over $650 million in revenues. McDonald believes that helping the homeless may be a simple matter, but
the causes of homelessness are complex. The persistence of racism is a
key factor, he believes, and it is a fact that blacks are incarcerated at a
rate far exceeding whites. When they are released from prison, they
often become homeless, and commit desperate crimes that land them back
in jail.
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