Steve Bellone to host Mike Bloomberg campaign kickoff in Bay Shore

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone will host one of 150 kickoff events on Saturday for Michael Bloomberg’s Democratic presidential campaign, promoting the former New York mayor as the candidate who can defeat Republican President Donald Trump.

The event, slated for 10 a.m. at A+ Technologies in Bay Shore, features a roundtable discussion with small business owners and leaders from Long Island. There will be similar events at other sites around New York.

“As someone who started his business from scratch, Mike Bloomberg understands just how important small businesses are to our economy,” Bellone, a Democrat who endorsed Bloomberg last month, said in a statement.

“We’re hosting this roundtable to offer people a chance to learn more about Mike’s plans to invest in infrastructure, job training, and help communities left behind by this federal administration,” Bellone said.

The Bloomberg campaign is holding events across 27 states, saying “Day One will mark the full national impact of his unified campaign.”

Bloomberg himself will take a bus tour in Texas, with stops in San Antonio, Austin and Dallas.

Bloomberg, in a statement announcing the kickoff, said: “We are bringing together voters from every corner of our nation to defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America. President Trump has inflamed hatred and division, betrayed his constitutional oath, weakened our standing in the world, and endangered our country. If he wins another term in office, we may never recover from the damage.”

Trump has said Bloomberg was a “disaster” as mayor and cannot win the Democratic nomination.

Bloomberg, who served as New York City mayor from 2002-13, launched his self-funded presidential in November. He touts his success in business and government, and a pragmatic style as attributes that can sway swing states back to the Democrats.

With an estimated net worth of $55 billion, Bloomberg is building a social media operation that rivals Trump’s, experts have said. In less than a month, he spent more than $100 million on TV and internet advertising, blanketing Facebook, Google and YouTube.

Bloomberg has campaign staff working in 30 states. He recently added three high-profile veteran operatives in California, which has the most delegates in the presidential primary process.

Bloomberg also has unveiled some economic proposals. He says he will focus on creating jobs in communities “left behind” by Trump, targeting research and development money for municipalities, raising the minimum wage and sending hundreds of thousands of American workers into apprenticeship programs.

“The reason I’m releasing this plan is one of the reasons I’m in the race: I know that our economy is working fine for people like me — and people like Donald Trump,” Bloomberg said this month. “But it is badly broken for the vast majority of Americans.”

Because Bloomberg is not accepting political donations, he can’t meet the criteria established to participate in the next Democratic candidates’ debate, set for Tuesday in Des Moines, Iowa.

Those who have qualified are former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, ex-hedge fund manager Tom Steyer and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

The Iowa caucuses are Feb. 3, and the New Hampshire primary is Feb. 11.

With wire reports