Let's try this again because the first version, once approved and commented on multiple times, was edited out.
Do the de Blasios have financial issues?
Is Yale costing too much for Dante, and rehab too much for Chiara?
Is the market-level rent for the two Park Slope properties the de Blasios own not enough?
I believe in the next 3.75 years Bill de Blasio may not be on a government payroll for the first time in a generation. Should he go to the ex-Goldman Sachs deputy mayor on his staff - Alicia Glen - and ask about retirement strategies.
1
I thought nepotism is now allowed under Trump?
2
Would most New Yorkers welcome their doctor's spouse tagging along during examinations at the office despite only a superficial familiarity at best with medicine? How about your surgeon's spouse observing in the operating room - and wanting to get paid for it? DeBlasio gets away with this behavior because we let him. He should be impeached.
6
We should not fret for poor underpaid and overworked Chirlane...surely one of these developers who bought million dollar HPD property will give her a paying job..
"Since 2014, when Mayor Bill de Blasio took office, more than 200 city-owned lots have been sold to developers for the low, low price of one dollar, according to 596 Acres, a nonprofit organization which advocates for the transformation of vacant lots into community green spaces and spaces for civic engagement.
Recently, the group created a new online advocacy tool, One Dollar Lots, a map of all city properties sold for a buck since De Blasio’s election. 596 Acres’ director of advocacy and partnerships, Stephanie J. Alvarado, says the group was not surprised by its findings, which show that “public land is being privatized for profit everywhere.”
https://ny.curbed.com/2018/3/13/17115052/new-york-city-owned-land-lots-i...
8
One has admire the irony, reading the rationalizations excusing the Mayor for the same behaviors as POTUS. Say what you will, public decisions should be made publicly, not in the kitchen or bedroom. The involvement of family members in policy will always reduce transparency and input from a variety of sources - to me the major reason nepotism does not serve the public, either in the city or the country.
10
If Ms. McCray wants the responsibilities for the running of the city, doesn't it also stand to reason that she should take responsibility and blame when things don't go as planned?
8
Then they fall back on racism and/or sexism.
7
Why should the public or the paper normalize de Blasio's self-serving shortcomings?
He was endorsed by 16% of possible voters, spends too much time off the job, has engaged in bribery, put tens of millions of budgeted dollars under Chirlane's direction (she has no asset management qualifications), is too narrowly focused and incurious, and is dedicated to entering the center stage of American politics? That's my short list. Thank you Clyde Haberman, cutesy asides included.
11
First of all, no one elected her. If she wants a paying job, let her go out and get one, but not a city job. Only someone as corrupt as DeBlasio would even make such a statement. Second, DeBlasio is such a poor mayor, I wonder why he is collecting a paycheck.
13
Of course it's nepotism of the worst kind. But it's a commonplace.
Just check out how many spouses of city council members and legislators have jobs with government they got only because of nepotism.
I have no objection to her getting a job as a token seller in the subway or a crossing guard.
11
Don't cry for her, Newyorkcity...
8
Warren Wilhelm in action!
2
Obviously, a blind spot for de Blasio...
BUT WHY is this being published right now, and on the home page? And WHY is the Times so intent on harping on this SAME issue over and over again? Could it possibly have anything to do with what increasingly looks like an ongoing vendetta by the Times against de Blasio?
And one that's increasingly notorious among many of your long-time readers too!
This attack mode undercuts your reputed "objectivity" on NYC news coverage (and other issues too) -- and undermines the well-earned reputation of the Times for fairness and objectivity! Once you've abandoned THAT, WHY should we pay attention to you? (Hint: it ain't for the Styles Section!) Or pay to read?
A large swath of your readers are fed up with this bulling, blatantly partisan "New Times" tack and incredibly disenchanted!
3
"...in their, er, his administration..."
Shouldn't these cutesy discourse markers be better left, like, to, you know, People magazine - or what is it? Or whatever... I know, right?
In an editorial no less. The Gray Lady weeps. She's become a Valley Girl against her will.
2
This must be a NY thing: Trump and now de Blasio?
2
" It’s called nepotism..."
I would venture a guess that Mr. Haberman has taken a close look at The NY Times masthead in the past couple of months and right there in front of his eyes is a glaring example of nepotism
A new Mr. Sulzberger has taken over the role of "Publisher" from his father, Mr. Sulzberger, who in turn took over the role from has father, another Mr. Sulzberger.
Let us remember that The Times is a publicly traded company and this type of family hand me down should be frowned on.
But alas, it's do as I say and not as I do on Eighth Avenue.
3
Not exactly. Enough of the stock (Class B shares) is owned by the Sulzberger and Ochs families to allow them to legitimately control the business.
4
plus, it's a "private" business, not your local government. if shareholders don't want nepotism, they can vote out any board members who condone such practice... oh, wait, given that the "shareholders" in the state of my already have done so through explicit laws, I think this should be a settled matter.
What a private company does is not the same as what elected officials do!
What arrogance.
6
Much Ado About Nothing
1
Ms. McCray doesn't get paid but she has a large staff, city car and security detail all funded by taxpayers that far exceed any previous mayor's wife.
22
The most recent mayoral partners were too busy with their private sector jobs to demand city staff, cars, security, etc.
2
It seems that in Nashville being the mayors stud IS a paying job.
4
He should probably appoint his kids to important but newly-invented positions and start golfing all the time.
To be fair, I'd take Ms. McCray's civil service over Ivanka's any day.
1
I don't understand? If you're capable and are doing work, shouldn't you get paid?
Everyone deserves to be paid for they time. If there are exceptions to this rule then it creates more avenues for privilege to out compete talent. We carve out roles in society that less privileged people could never attain.
1
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. As a former front man for the Clinton's he learned from the best. They did it with a smile, he does it with a snarl. Some people are conceited, he's just convinced. Question any of a sadly long list of bizarre moves by this empty suit and quickly get labeled a racist/fascist/sexist - well you know.
11
If his wife is such a superstar, why doesn't she go get her own job?
15
If advise from Chirlane McGray are so valuable, how come she has not give her advise in other towns or to the governor?
Obviously is nepotismo: job by association with an office holder; nothing more.
4
I'm SICK and tired of family members playing government along with their elected relatives. SICK and tired.
13
People like the DeBlasios make it so easy for Republicans to point to Democrats and say - see all the nepotism, incompetence and self-dealing on the Democrats side? And then voters lose their outrage.
Ms McCray may be a wonderful leader. But I don’t recall seeing her name on my ballot. Come on, Democrats - you can do better than this.
13
Are Trump's children paid? Was Hillary paid? Was Eleanor Roosevelt paid? What's the precedent for this?
7
Yes, no and no.
There is no direct precedent for this in the New York mayor's office.
6
Clyde your big problem is failure to reckon with sexism. Sexism is the real reason why political wives who work for their husbands never got paid. Now you can scream nepotism all you want. But there is a tension here that you boneheadly fail to grapple with. So this piece made you feel good? But in the #me too era it’s insufficiently thoughtful. I give marks to the mayor for thinking about the issue.
2
Some political wives (and partners, as with Bloomberg) were too busy with private sector careers to have anything to do with the office of the Mayor. One problem with Chirlane McCray is she was described in the first mayoral campaign literature as "a poet" and I don't recall reading anything else about compensable skills.
She has led a mayoral campaign for better mental health care, where I assume her "skills" came largely from both her and her husband's previous dysfunctional families, as well as their daughter's drug issues. (It is my experience that people with a lot of this in their background often consider themselves "experts" on mental health, sometimes becoming social workers so they can go around rearranging other people's lives).
1
They are positioning her to run for mayor when his term is up.
9
This has nearly convinced me to back Cory Booker in 2020. Because exactly what we need is a single, child-free potus just to take the issue off the table. If he marries before then though, all bets are off.
2
There is a point to be made here by the mayor. Many First Ladies are quite active and should be compensated for their hard work. Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama come readily to mind. There is even a pay equity argument to be made here. Of course civil service laws must be debated.
3
This is not a gender issue. First, who was elected? de Blasio, not McCray. Second, should elected officials bring in unelected family to make decisions? On balance, no, we should not be making exceptions for nepotism.
11
Amazing that Mayor de Blasio doesn't understand the meaning of nepotism! That he could ask for his wife to collect a salary as First Lady of Manhattan is laughable. Ms. Chirlayne McCray has a full time job as wife of New York's Mayor, mom of their children, and doesn't deserve any further perks or emoluments just because she is Bill's counselor, adviser and pillow-talker. Surely she doesn't need any more money? And don't call her Shirley! Then again, she lives in Manhattan, and that's expensive nowadays. But having the run and glory of Gracie Mansion and its elegant lawns and wrought iron fences basking on the East River in a fine East End Avenue neighborhood is a plus. Can you even imagine the squawk that would go up in France if Emmanuel Macron asked for a salary for his wife's counseling as her job? Or if heaven forfend the Trump asked for salaries for his Nepots? Spare us, Mayor Bill!
4
I think CHirlane would be insulted by the suggestion that she is "First Lady of Manhattan." I get the impression she thinks all people in the Upper East Side neighborhood where she currently lives at taxpayer expense are former slave owners. First Lady of Prospect Park maybe, but never First Lady of Manhattan.
1
It smacks of nepotism Mayor DiBlasio needs to think about Ivanka and Jared's presence in the White House. They have no business being there and neither does Shirlaine.
Does Mayor DiBlasio think we should be a hereditary monarchy?? Uh oh, there are a lot of Trumps who could claim the throne. Or would he prefer to be the founder of the NYC mayoral monarchy?
4
What better illustration is there of the Mayor’s arrogance and hubris?
11
Mayor de Blasio is a mini-Trump--lazy, sanctimonious. smug, lacking in accomplishments despite his party controlling everything--and way too concerned about enriching his family.
6
There is a lot of hypocrisy in these comments complaining that Charlene McCray has a staff. Here is some reporting on this from the NY Daily news:
"At the midpoint of Rudy Giuliani’s mayoralty, his wife Donna Hanover had a taxpayer-funded staff of four people — a press secretary who earned $47,00, a chief of staff who earned $53,580, an executive assistant who earned $36,199 and an assistant who earned $29,850, according to a Daily News report in 1997.
Joyce Dinkins, former Mayor David Dinkins’ wife, also had a small staff. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a bachelor, had no office of First Lady."
As usual, the hypocrites are happy to invent a scandal hinting of corruption when Mayor de Blasio does what his predecessors have done. It reminds me of the same people attacking Hillary Clinton for using private e-mails servers when Colin Powell, Karl Rove and others before her - and members of the Trump administration after her - use private e-mail.
7
A staff and a full security detail? Isn't that a benefit?!
5
How is this any different from Trump's White House? Erase Ivanka's name, insert Chirlane's.
14
Talk to me when the Trumps are off the employee roster in the White House.
1
No, now. It is wrong on the face of it -- either persons, either party, either anything.
6
Are you implying that the NYT shouldn't weigh in on this issue (in its home town) because our president has poor judgment in DC?
I urge you to consider the merits of the editoral's content.
3
No, APM. Poor writing on my part. My apologies. My comment had nothing negative in content vs the Times. It was merely a sarcastic response to a story of this nature in an era where the Trump Family runs the country like their personal candy store.
I didn't address the merits of the opinion at all.
Nepotism at Gracie Mansion and at the White House. Both wrong.
21
Nepotism seems to know no party boundary.
12
How, time and again, does NYC get such crummy mayors?
In arguably 'the greatest city in the world,' ... over and over with the mediocre to outright corrupt at at the helm.
5
I often ask myself the same question. As you point out, a lot has to do with corruption. When I moved here from California 30+ years ago I registered as an independent for the first time in my life because all I could see in BOTH major parties was serious corruption that I didn't think would go away anytime soon, and it hasn't.
A lot of this is institutionalized and also reflected in public workforce and the way the business of the city and its agencies (agencies of the state too) is carried out. A recent NYT article on problems with public transit here showed that major public transit projects here (like recent 2d Av subway) cost 5 times as much and take longer than comparable projects in other major cities like London and Paris.
1
Usually, the spouse and/or children of the elected powerful end up with some cushy high paying meaningless position in the private sector...nudge-nudge wink-wink.
3
Here I was worrying about union corruption.
Everywhere. Universities for sure. Royal families in labs now common. Leads to excellent working conditions for the peons.
Next thing ya know the garbage truck drivers will insist their husband load the thing for them.
3
How different is this than a Trump-Ivanka relationship?
3
Chirlane McCray was not elected. She should not be paid. She should not be making policy or hiring decisions. Pure and simple. Next time, let her put her name on the ballot.
18
Two for the price of one. Such a deal.
2
Why can't Charlene apply for a job elsewhere? What is her skill set?
4
It’s not the ink law he doesn’t understand.
1
Could be if the family needs a little more cash in their coffers she get a real job. After putting his wife on the payroll would his children be next? Really not too much space between our mayor and the former resident of Trump Tower's.
4
How many men married to women senators or representatives hang around their wives offices. These women spouses need the own jobs.
3
It would be nice if De Blasio (I call him De Blah-sio) would focus on real issues that relate to us, not to his own family. He's an embarrassment.
7
Can we all please remember that when Mr. de Blasio had control of some of the city's purse, years ago, one of the first things he did was to ask Maimonides Hospital to create a job for his wife.
Maimonides obliged, and Chirlane McCray was ensconced in a six-figure job, created for her by an institution that was hoping for city funds and favors.
This is what the de Blasios do.
Bill de Blasio is corrupt to the core, and it's only with the help of good lawyers and loopholes in the law that he skirts jail time.
12
Before that I beieve she was "a poet." At least that is what the campaign materials for his first mayoral run said.
1
I’m disgusted that our taxes are used to pay for a staff for the mayor’s wife. First we had the disaster with her previous chief of staff - Rachel Noerdlinger - who was paid an obscene $170,000 per year. Further: Noerdlinger violated city employee residency rules by living in NJ (for which she conveniently received a waiver from de Blasio), and she didn’t disclose that she lived with an ex-con until that fact was discovered. Additionally, her house had a federal tax lien and she had a humongous ($7000!) unpaid E-ZPass bill. Yes, she was quite an upstanding citizen and certainly worthy of her job….now we have Roxanne John having gotten a salary increase to $200,000 per year to add “chief of staff” to her duties, and McCray's deputy chief of staff is paid $125,000. To round out taxpayers’ outlay, McCray has a staff of five. I have a news flash for de Blasio; his wife wasn’t elected to any political position. He can cry a river about his warped perception of unfairness, but he’s WAY off base.
I’m a lifelong/staunch Democrat, and the only time I've ever voted for a Republican was when Joseph Lhota ran against de Blasio (this year I didn’t vote for either mayoral candidate, which was also a “first” for me).
12
RE: She tends to share center stage when her husband has something of consequence to announce, like the appointment last week of Richard Carranza as schools chancellor. Mr. de Blasio thanked her for her efforts in the selection before thanking his first deputy mayor, Dean Fuleihan.
If Mrs. de Blasio had a hand in selecting that crackpot, Richard Carranza, she surely DOES NOT deserve a paycheck.
4
And did you see the photo of that? He had incoming chancellor on his right, WIFE on left, and current and generally highly regarded chancellor down at the end of the table!!! And don't forget that unfortunate first choice for chancellor , who withdrew and sounds totally nutty, was Chirlane's choice.
A better story might have been written about Chuck Schumer's wife Iris Weinshall and her amazing career while married to the Senator.
Chief Operating Officer of The New York Public Library, former vice chancellor at the City University of New York and a former commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation.
Did she get these jobs because she is an expert on libraries, higher education and transportation or because she is the wife of a United States Senator?
5
If she wants, she can run for elective office. Until then, she goes unpaid. In any event, we elected a person to a job he obviously cannot perform on his own. If a woman relied on a man to do her job it would be as pathetic as Mr. DeBlasio's reliance on Ms. McCray to do his.
6
Talk about tone deaf. In this day and age when we see nepotism at its worst in the form of Jared and Ivanka, it’s ludicrous for our mayor to publicly express that his wife should receive a paycheck in her role of First Lady of NYC. Privately they can lament the fact that she’s working for free all they want. Want to get paid for your professional worth? Then get a job in the private sector and stop the public bellyaching. As citizens we have enough fatigue with the hourly shenanigans our president is putting us through. Sorry Mayor De Blasio, you and your wife will get no sympathy here.
55
" if someone is working full time and is a professional with a whole lot of background and applying themselves, I don’t understand why they can’t get paid.”
So why doesn't she go get a paid job where she can demonstrate her "background" and "apply" herself? What was the last paid job she had? All I know is she was working for Mayor Dinkins as a press assistant or something way back when when she met lover boy. What kind of paid jobs has she had since then? Does she have a resume?
I don't know exactly what his (and maybe her) issues are, but I think he relies on her an awful lot, possibly more than is normal between two very close people and possibly to compensate for some shortcomings/problems of his. It almost reminds me of an unhealthy reliance on one's mother as an adult.
I would like to see her stand on her own two feet and go out and get a real job. These two are really starting to creep me out, even though voted for him (but only the 1st time), and would prefer to see them do something to demonstrate more normal behavior. Also, if she is so enormously talented, she ought to be able to get a job in private sector that would permit them to stop having to rent out their Brooklyn house while they live in Gracie Mansion and he could go back to walking to the gym and stop being driven from UES to Prospect Park on taxpayer's dime every morning.
6
In my view, this is kind of cringe-worthy. I can see the guy going home at night and discussing the day's business with his spouse and perhaps leaning on her for advice. That's as far as it should go. You mean to tell me he cannot find another non-relative adviser in the city to help him manage it? It makes me think he's kind of weak. New York City doesn't need weakness at the top.
35
A wise and informative wife is never ever a weakness. She is an asset to him and those who depend on him, and that was the only point he was making.
The two of them are starting to creep me out. It's like they have their own little drama going that they insist on projecting on the rest of us. I remember when they wanted to go to Iowa to campaign for Hillary. Hillary's people said "thanks, but no thanks" and they went anyway! Same with his running all around the country apparently thinking he's building support for a Presidential run (and it seems more and more likely he wants CHirlane to replace his as Mayor - go figure!)
I wonder about his mental /emotional state. He seems more and more pasty and stressed out looking to me, despite all his workouts at the Prospect Park Y. Wonder if she is a sort of modern day Mrs. Woodrow Wilson helping out a disabled politician.
1
Who is Theresa May's spouse and what does he do? Jeremy Corbin's, Angela Merkel's. Who knows? And this is how it should be. Even looking to my own state - i have no idea who my Governor's spouse is, my Mayor's, my Senators' or House reps'.
Remember Howard Dean's poor hardworking M.D. wife, who got dragged up in front of the mobs? What needs to go is not only employing one's unelected spouse while in office, but our own expectations that they should have duties while remaining uncompensated.
6
This is the problem with the Democrats. They cry foul when Trump does something like this, and they have one of their team do the same. Don't they know that what's good for the goose is also good for the gander. The optics are anywhere from terrible to horrendous.
5
So why does she have her own taxpayer provided SUV and taxpayer provided driver?
6
Bill, it's a slippery slope!
We need you to do a full-scale re-think. In these days of a Romanov White House that starkly features all the ills of nepotism and despotism, we need you to be NYC's Mr. Clean.
3
Another instance where women who do work alongside their husbands are asked to do work for free just for the honor of it. Michelle Obama is a perfect example. All the work she did, with a full office behind her, and no compensation. No other professional would be asked to work under those conditions.
2
God forbid a woman is paid for her WORK. I suppose if we start to pay one woman, than we risk the whole system will come crumbling down when we realize that America runs on women's (and in particular women of color's) devalued, underpaid and unpaid labor. Nepotism aside, perhaps instead of talking about how the mayor's wife shouldn't be paid, we should save our breath for a conversation about how women should be adequately compensated for their thankless labor - much of which, deemed 'domestic,' is unpaid.
6
I think the wife of a chief executive can’t win. We criticize people like First Lady Melania Trump if they take a very backseat role and don’t put themselves front and center, and then women like Ms. McCray and Hilary Clinton are seen as having too much say. Either way the position is unpaid, yet the wives are expected to do a job. If it’s too ribbon cutting or “soft” issues like child literacy or visiting senior centers, she is lazy, ungrateful or not using her intelligence, education, etc. However, if she is interested in policy and has a seat at the table, she is power hungry, stepping above her station, pushy, etc. Nor is she expected to keep whatever her paying career was before her spouse was elected due to conflicts of interests. In some ways how she is received is in direct relation to how her husband is viewed, hence criticism of Mrs. Trump not moving to D.C. right away or of Ms. McCray’s role as the Mayors wife. Either way the wife ( and almost always the wife) is going to be criticized.
27
The wife of a public official could, of course, actually run for office herself or get a job in her own field. It’s not as if the two options you’ve suggested are the only ones, and that a woman has to be tied to her husband’s career....
4
I voted de Blasio. I defend him to friends and family. But this is wrong and it has to stop.
4
The position that women are in when they are the wife of someone important is horrible. They are expected to entertain at high levels, maintain protocol and possibly run a staff, and look good at all times. But they are not compensated.
This role is so important that senior military and diplomatic posts are virtually unavailable to single or divorced people, or those whose wives are an embarrassment in some way.
Spouses of government officials should be paid and their roles defined.
3
I disagree with this op ed. First ladies, from the White House to the State Houses to Gracie Mansion, have ALWAYS been expected to plau a role in their husbands' administrations, often sacrificing their own careers -- I think of Lady Bird Johnson's anti-littering campaigns when I was a child, for an example. This is nothing new. What is new is that someone has the courage to say that their work deserves to be paid. Maybe it's because we're FINALLY moving into an era where occasionally we're dealing with a female office holder and a first gentleman spouse.
2
Mayor, It's not explicitly about YOUR spouses background, talents, or efforts, it's a general rule that protects the people from abuse - hypothetical abuse (or is it really, if we look south to DC) - that can occur when a lesser person in power foists their family on us and so we can't trust that unbiased assessments of the quality and fairness of their work is applied. This is the sacrifice you and your spouse made for you to do what you do - next time, let her run so that you can feel the frustration.
6
This piece reminds me of how much this mayor repels me even though I am a lifelong Democrat who agrees with many of his policies. Autocratic tendencies are no more appealing on the left than on the right.
7
Let's recall all the naysayers who insisted that NYC would be a hot mess after one term of de Blasio.
Instead we have one of the lowest crime rates in history -- while not sacrificing the civil rights of people just because of the color of their skin.
I remember hearing nothing but dire warnings from de Blasio haters that crime would go sky high if we didn't continue racist policing tactics.
We also have a universal pre-k program that serves 68,000 4-year olds. Can you imagine the scale of that -- 68,000! Each year, more 4 year old children are served in pre-k than in the entire Boston K-12 public school system.
Mayor de Blasio made a comment about his wife receiving a salary. So what? Can you imagine the critics if his wife was hired anywhere that paid her a decent salary? The haters would go crazy saying that they were just trying to bribe the Mayor by offering his wife a paid job.
It doesn't bother me that Mayor de Blasio is completely up front about his wife acting as an unpaid but trusted advisor to him. He is honest about that -- not hiding it. And frankly, I would trust the unpaid advice of Chirlane McCray before the paid advice of Cathie Black, whom Mayor Bloomberg hired and paid quite handsomely at $250k over 8 years ago.
10
"Lowest crime rate" is the result of cops refusing to report certain crimes as crimes. The rates the same, if not higher, only the cops have been told by their superiors to suppress actual reports. It's a numbers game.
3
Could you name a couple of things he's done for middle class seniors -- say those making 50 - 80k a year before taxes, feeling squeezed by "stabilized" rents in the $2500-$3000 a month range and unable to get mortgages to buy?
This looks and sounds far more like the relationship between Bill and Hillary Clinton than anything in the Trump administration. We all know how fraught and problematical that relationship turned out to be -- but it had far more to do with Bill's lack of self-control in certain important matters than with the collaborative relationship between two bright, ambitious, highly qualified spouses with a common vision.
The job of "First Lady" is a complex and thankless one, and Ms. McCray is not the first highly qualified professional to be stuck with puzzling out how to fit it in with her own career goals, and to contribute usefully and ethically to her husband's political vision, which she undoubtedly helped to forge. Nor will she be the last.
10
It's the life they chose. Many dual career couples face choices all the time that require compromise and sacrifice. No sympathy for them.
2
Di Blasio is no favorite of mine but Bloomberg turned the city into a place where middle class and poor families were displaced by rich people. We have many of them seeking refuge here in Binghamton, NY.
I came here 15 years ago to buy my house and live in peace running away from the high housing prices in NYC and it seems the poor and the displaced are being sent here by Social Services in NYC and yes that is a fact, I have spoken to some of them. NYC is dumping its poor and homeless on the other counties of the state and let the homeowners continue to see rising real estate taxes while the rich take over the city.
I am waiting for the day and it is not too far away when only people making at least $250,000 a year can afford to live in NYC.
7
If the city charter does not allow her to receive any benefit, why does NYC pay for a large staff for her? (I have no objection to the security detail.)
35
This is not a simple issue. Especially, since there are so many more equally well educated couples. Last year, we saw an election in France, where the conservative candidate and his wife were mis en examen, because it was claimed that going back to 1982, she was on his (or his "suppleant's) payroll, but she did not work. (A woman from Wales with a degree in law.) Somehow, until his "indictment," he managed to have a stellar career. What was the Clinton Foundation about? Mr. de Blasio could easily have placed his wife in some job at a foundation that was beholden to the City, but he chose instead to rely on her political advice in City Hall. In the case of France, arguably a corrupt judicial system, changed an election. I think Mr. de Blasio is raising a legitimate issue.
3
If the mayor's spouse has a civil service job then there isn't any reason for them to give it up, after the election. Such a person would have to be especially careful not to mix their roles and to stay within their earned title and status.
2
We have really missed the fact that human beings for thousands of years, lived a hand to mouth existence, trying to keep both danger, and hunger at bay. Females have since the beginning of time, bore many children way before there was safety, as many died in childbirth, and women had often 14 pregnancies, and either lived through them, or didn't. Small tribes of people either helped each other, or destroyed each other. Now, it is about being noticed, and being paid for everything one does, but with mostly debt, it is becoming more about borrowed money. There is something to be said for the old days, where one's worth was imbedded in their soul, now that is no longer the case. Besides, who decides what anyone person is worth? Many people suffer with a chronic, degenerative disease their whole life. Those people are the ones who should deserve compensation if we want to go down that path. Entitlement is the new norm, not so much in how I personally live, or what those that I know live. However, at almost 70, I am not a fan of what is currently trending, which is false equivalency.
1
If the spouse of a politician is expected to spend time and effort supporting the office, the execution of tasks or attending events, then perhaps 2018 is the year we start compensating them for it.
5
Better: 2018 could be the year we stop expecting spouses to perform more than a very minimal ceremonial role -- if even that.
17
"Is expected" by whom? Ms. McCray was not elected by anyone to do anything. She's an unpaid volunteer.
2
I think his spouse craves the limelight and power and enjoys the influence she has .
1
I was under the impression that the position of a 'First Lady/Gentleman' was purely ceremonial and not involving the decision making roles of the spouse. So why is the Mayor not being asked questions on the involvement of the First Lady in taking decisions for the Government.
Yes, in most cases spouses/partners talk to each other about their issues and take counsel from each other. It is very rare, though, that a spouse/partner who is not vested with the appropriate authority to be playing a role in the actual decision making in any organisation chart, leave alone Government ones or in elected positions. This is termed 'unconstitutional authority' and not nepotism!
18
I spent a long time as an Army officer and the amount of things required of a Commanding officer’s spouse was pretty staggering. So
Much so that a commander and spoke of a command in terms of ‘we’ and not just him (for it’s more often a him). Politicians wives (okay, Ill humor everyone and say spouses) operatein much the same way. It may SEEM like a choice that the wife do all the ceremonial, entertaining, campaigning and yes, speaking work that they do, but doesn’t it also seem like what is expected? Isn’t it expected that wives have a role? Perhaps, in this case the lines have been overstepped, but I think that there is an unpaid work done all the time by women/spouses of politicians and other prominent leaders. And for a smart and capable woman to just stand by and conform to a roll seems unfair and outdated. I think we need to address the gender paradigms that pigeon hole women.
12
Only in the USA, I'm afraid. There have been two recent female Prime Ministers in the UK. Both were married. Their husbands remained unknown, without even informal roles in government business. Mr Blair had his wife in the news, but more for her major money-making while he was PM. (She was/is an excellent lawyer, and there was no evidence that this was a way to get money to buy her husband's favours.) She wasn't quite as lucky in her activities as Mrs Clinton in Arkansas.
Does anybody here know what Mrs Merkel's family does?
2
Why should we assume that First Ladies will provide their labor for free? In many ways, they're not able to work freely and yet also expected to give their support to their husband's office. It's a nepotism catch 22. I don't think it'd be fair for her to command top dollar, but neither should the demands on her time or the restrictions on her ability to work go without compensation.
11
By whom is Ms. McCray "expected" to do anything? If she announced she was taking an administrative or teaching job at a private college or university for example, would anyone really care? Would New York City be deprived or damaged?
3
But she is free to work at any job that doesn't relate to NYC government.
2
When Virginia governor Bob McDonnell was charged with corruption, his wife also was charged. Evidence showed that she had taken money and gifts from a third party with business before McDonnell. His charges were based on gratuities from this man and so were hers. But she was not a state official. She received no pay in her role as first lady of the state. She should have been free to take anything she wanted from anybody willing to give it. Is there something wrong with a system that held her accountable because of her spousal role but paid her nothing? It's an interesting question.
11
So when I was a public servant I should have been able to have my wife advise me on contracts which is her expertise and have her be paid for her efforts without having the position ratified as necessary nor subject to an open transparent application process to chose the best applicant?
I would have been fired for attempting such blatant nepotism=no rule for the rulers many for the ruled - life continues.
13
It is sexism, it is discrimination, and it is anachronistic to bar a person from employment based on who they are married to. The City Charter was written at a time when women didn't work for pay at all, and wives were expected to be advisors, schedulers, typists, editors, and personal chefs, all for free. If a wife or husband or daughter or other relative of an elected official qualifies for a position that otherwise would be paid, they should be paid. If the position does not exist and the person is perfoming a bona fide service, the position should be created. It is not the mayor using the influence of his position if his top aide happens to be his wife.
3
Agreed. NYC would benefit from the Gucci Grace this article merely alludes to.
Then don't run for mayor and you both can work.
Simple.
1
Ever hear of nepotism prohibition laws?
3
Well, de Blasio, with his 2018 salary-kick, makes $225,000. And he’s given free housing for the duration of his mayoralty (Gracie Mansion). But he hobnobs daily with some of the richest people in the country, and Mike Bloomberg, whom he succeeded, week-ended in Bermuda in his own demi-palatial manse.
Unlike most New York politicians, there could have been benefits to de Blasio becoming fabulously wealthy BEFORE assuming office.
Like Bill Clinton while gov. of Arkansas, he could be feeling a bit “hard up” – Bill sent Hillary to work at the Rose Law Firm, de Blasio might consider doing the same with Chirlane. She’d probably be great at teaching firefighters how to climb tall structures.
But all this snark about the lady’s relevance to the de Blasio administration leaves me a little cold. The Clintons billed themselves as a team in 1992, and HRC certainly had a ton to do with THAT administration. Why not the de Blasio’s?
But start having that book ghosted to be ready in less than three years, Chirlane: you two will need some transition money before the moolah starts coming in from the talking-head circuit.
10
Richard,
As you know very well, I am no fan of either Clinton. That said, Hillary Clinton is an attorney in her own right, with degrees from this nation's best schools, and she is most definitely her own person. Absolutely no one "sent" her to work.
This comment drips with sexism and is pretty low, even for you.
31
Rima:
You haven't begun to plumb my depths.
5
Re this exchange: Far more entertaining than the inane NYT exchanges that Gail Collins has been forced to do with David Brooks and Arthur Brooks. The Times should hire the two of you.
But why do I feel that Richard’s next line might be programmed along the lines of that old Saturday Night Live chestnut, “Jane, you ignorant slut?”
8
Not only should the mayor's wife not be getting a salary, she should not be involved in hiring decisions, nor should she be put in charge of various city initiatives, as she has been. I'm a life-long New Yorker and I'm here to testify that there's no such job as "first lady" of New York. Ms. McCray is free to seek a paying job for which she is qualified outside of City Hall (so long as there is no conflict of interest). And the mayor is certainly free to consult her, as any husband might, when they're at home together. But Ms. McCray should not be playing any formal role in city government. I think her involvement is outrageous and highly inappropriate. How is this different from Ivanka Trump?
104
Lest we forget, there was Bill Clinton, running for the White House in 1992 with the slogan "Two for the price of one." "Two" as in Bill and Hillary. Clinton then put his wife in charge of the group on health care reform. How charming. Who on the group is going to speak up against something from the head of the group when the head is the wife of the country's chief executive. Hillary then produced a 3,000 page health bill that no one but Betsy McCaughey could wade through. Result: A GOP House in 1994 and Betsy McCaughey on her way, Lord help us, to becoming New York State's Lieutenant Governor.
It's called leverage. Gennifer Flowers (Gennifer with a G) had popped up at the time of the 1992 New Hampshire primary to tell the world about her affair with Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. Hillary then appeared with Bill on 60 Minutes on CBS, with both of them lying through their teeth that there had been no affair (Bill later admitted under oath that he and Gennifer, with a G, were indeed paramours, as Ms. Flowers had claimed). Hillary's price, once Bill became president, was a woman attorney general, eventually Janet Reno, and Bill's putting his wife in charge of health care reform.
I don't know, or am in a position to know, if underneath it all Charlotte McCray has some form of leverage over her husband Bill akin to that of Hillary Clinton over her husband Bill, not necessarily related to sex. I would not be surprised if we eventually learned that such leverage exists.
4
De Blasio is having difficulty recognizing the difference between pillow talk and policy talk---the former is valuable in keeping narcissistic tendencies under control, the latter is dangerous for unleashing those very same tendencies.
12
Thank you for this editorial. While not quite Javanka level nepotism yet, the Democrats are horribly out of touch with voter's thinking on this issue, if not the law. The line of criticism against Hillary, that despite being bright and capable, her career in politics was entirely of her husband's making, and so she rose and fell with him and was considered accurately by many to be a weaker candidate than many others because of that. The Governor of New York is the son of the former Governor of New York. The Governor of California is the son of the former Governor of California. Pelosi, the scion of a DC area political family, both her father and her brother were Mayor of Baltimore) who carpet bagged the Bay Area after marrying California Real Estate Money. Senator Gillibrand is the daughter of an Albany family appointed by Governor Patterson, son of A Harlem Dynasty, Joe Biden tried to save his Senate Seat for his Son who didn't want it, Harry Reid tried to pass his on to his son. Honestly is this the U.S. of A or Versailles? It seems to operate more and more by the same rules. The Republicans may be worse but as with Sexual Harassment, Racism and other important social issues in the past, the Democrats need to get their house in order on their Dynasties and the Nepotism inherent in it, so they can rightly criticize the Trump administration from a position of strength. It's the 21st Century, not the 18th.
35
Democrats are not out of touch with the public's thinking on this issue. One Democrat -- Bill DeBlasio -- is.
3
I moved here in 2010 and people were so anti Bloomberg, to the point of craziness. I knew many Nyer's before I moved here and the prevailing sentiment was that Bloomberg allowed their city to be turned into a millionaires playground, the anger was palpable.
I am a dyed in the wool Democrat. I have never voted for a Republican. Yet I couldn't bring myself to vote for De Blasio. It was an instinct thing. I looked at Bloomberg differently than most, not having lived here through his terms, so was not caught up in the hysteria. De Blasio just didn't look like the best candidate & I think this anti-Bloomberg hysteria swept De Blasio to victory.
I still don't really like him, as a politician. I think his 'alleged' feud with Cuomo is bad bad bad for the city. I don't like seeing our mayor traveling around making speeches when the subways are crumbling.
I'm glad I trusted my instinct and articles like this remind me why.
51
Clyde, thank you for saying what needed to be said. She may be a terrific spouse, but their disrespect for boundaries is as much about her hubris as his.
45
Mayor de Blasio, from afar, if all the reports of your spousal impact on city business is true, it seems that you have now permanently stained the legacy that you have been working to build and given your heretofore vanquished opposition all the ammunition that they need for your destruction at a crucial time for many positive forces that were working for and with you. Unfortunately, these events are too problematic to be walked back.
The item remaining for saving grace is to solidly confirm that you get the message, that you realize the Charter is there for a solid reason and that you are separating household ceremonial functions from official city business. If you need a great right hand person man or woman Friday, Notify the people and elected officials that you have a new job opening, family members are automatically disqualified.
12
Spot on. We elect a person, not a couple. The fact that modern First Ladies have staffs of 30 or more is equally absurd.
66
Haberman is absolutely correct. And I'd add to "the possibility that many in the city are turned off by his broad streak of sanctimony" the fact that at least one person who is not in the city is also turned off. Ms. McCray is a volunteer. Volunteers don't get paid. If being the mayor's wife is a job, anyone should be able to apply.
31
Both the previous mayors had spouses who were paid for work -- but for their jobs in the private sector. Why doesn't Ms McCray make a resume and go get a job somewhere outside the private sector.
7
Her last big job, at Maimonides Hospital, was bought for her by her husband Bill when he strong-armed Maimonides to create it especially for her, out of thin air. Six figures. Probably not that hard either.
3
Besides keeping him company, she has no business knowing the city's business just in case she passes it on to her sister or aunt! But the Mayer has used her as a medal or trophy, all his married life.About time this non-sense stops.
13
Jesse Ventura lobbied get his wife on the payroll when he was Governor of Minnesota and had his nose out of joint when he didn't get his way. No, the work isn't paid--but the access, influence and contacts are priceless.
14
If she is so talented, she should get a job in some other city. Hasn't De Blasio gotten himself investigated enough already. If a woman is elected as next Mayor, let's not pay her husband either.
15
See Trump for the equivalence. Geese and ganders, all of the same flock.
7
I dunno. We're in a new era, where it's finally not right to expect the unpaid service of the spouse to be a part of a political or corporate job. We've avoided the issue in the past both because it was less "not right" and because in NYC mayors' wives didn't tend to have relevant work experience. No one complained much if they represented the mayor's office by serving tea, reading to school children, or visiting the poor or ill.
I also believe there are plenty of people who find the de Blasio-McCray household and attitudes less patrician, and less apologetic about not sriving to be moreso, than they'd wish.
8
No it isn't, as she is investing time and effort in work on city projects and has to be available for travel and official functions. The same goes for FLOTUS - constantly scrutinized for every outfit, comma and dot, without getting compensation. Enough unpaid work being done by women. March is women's history month. Unpaid work is unfair and not equitable in the 21st Century. If there is a job description for the Mayor's wife, and she is expected to be in such place at such time with a speech, a program, a set of initiatives, then it is a job, and accroding to the labor department there is a minimum wage requirement.
Undervalued, and on top of that, unpaid and criticized.
18
Did you read the article? Did you notice that "the City Charter forbids public servants to use their position “to obtain any financial gain... for the public servant or any person or firm associated with the public servant.” Does the law matter? If so, sorry, no pay for the mayor's wife. Yes, it is that simple.
38
She should get a job elsewhere. She is obviously qualified and last I checked there are tens of thousands of other companies she could work for. If the Mayor was a true leader he would lead by example - that means eliminate anything could be construed being improper. Not complicated.
30
I totally agree with GY. It's not about whether Chirlene McCray is to be paid for "being the Mayor's wife." And the mayor isnt using his position to obtain financial gain for her -- she would earn her pay like any other advisor. Some of the commentary here seems less motivated by principle than personal opinion about McCray and/or deBlasio.
The voters hired him, not her. That's really what it comes down to. Honestly, it's inappropriate how involved she is, regardless of her qualifications.
130
"The voters elected [de Blasio] is only technically true as only 22% of registered voter bothered to cast his or her vote. Of that disgraceful number, de Blasio won 66%—or approximately three quarters of a million New Yorkers.
The man is not only highly unpopular, he is deeply disliked, and his presence at City Hall and in Gracie Mansion is a terrible indictment of the City.
4
No, she simply should not and cannot be paid. Isn't he lucky to have her, being all he knows she is. He is a public servant, and she MUST be as well. If its compensation she is after for her "expertise" which I don't necessarily doubt she has, she should look for a job outside the sphere of government, at least while her husband is Mayor of NYC.
46
And here I was thinking that Trump was quite a character. What is it about NY water that makes people from the city act like these two leaders?
44
de Blasio is a jerk.
134
New York City is booming. The city has a budget surplus. Crime is way down. The population is increasing. The unemployment rate is just somewhat above the national average. The schools are doing somewhat better. The subways are under state control and homelessness and lack of housing for poor people are national problems. What more do you want?
1
Why?
1
You forgot to mention the most important reason why a first spouse should not receive compensation nor have any power: he or she was not elected by the voters. Period. The only people who should be making decisions for 8 million New Yorkers are (a) ELECTED officials and (b) appointees whose experience or expertise qualified them for a specific position. No one should earns power just by virtue of who he or she is married to.
160
Should advisors and other people who assist the mayor and are not elected, get paid?
So who earns power just by virtue of who he or she is married to?
3
advisers can get hired and paid by the administration. hiring your family is called nepotism. if you think that's a good thing, take a look at any indicators of prosperity in places with high degrees of nepotism.
4
You could not have said it better!
HE ran and was elected...SHE wasn't.
Very qualified stay at home parents with Master's Degrees who who work all day tending to their household and to their kids DO NOT GET PAID!
2
My son lives in NYC and has nothing good to say about the Mayor. He is mayor by default and not by choice, and yet he thinks, by his trips, that he has broader appeal. The reality is he will be two and out, just another political has-been. Can't happen soon enough for most New Yorkers.
95
I actually live here--my experience is not second hand--and although he's a lackluster mayor, he's most definitely our mayor by choice as we vote in NYC and voted for DeBlasio for a second term. And for the record, he'll have two terms because that is the limit. As you're not a New Yorker, it's best not to speak for New Yorkers.
67
Bloomberg pulled off 3 terms even though the term limit was two terms. . . but I don't think your current mayor has the chops to pull it off. Or Bloomberg's deep pockets.
7
OK so I will speak as a New Yorker. He was elected by a small number of voters both time--most Democrats stayed home. So there is no mandate despite his delusions of progressive grandeur. His wife received zero votes so she has no right to have a voice in decision making. If there is a need for an advisor it should be filled after a competitive search for the most competent person. I don't like this mayor and suspect most New Yorkers feel the same. That said, and in all fairness, as annoying as he is, the city has not deteriorated as many had predicted.
22
deBlasio has been a huge disappointment and his desire to give his spouse a salary is the least of it. There are laws on the books that bar him from engaging in nepotism. Meanwhile, discriminatory policing goes on against minorities in New York City. One would have thought that changing this would have been uppermost on his list of things to achieve. Like the mayor some used to call Hizzoner, deBlasio has given in to certain comforts of his office.
Like many disappointing public figures, deBlasio turned out not to be very faithful when it comes to being a progressive...
---
www.rimaregas.com
56
Who says it's nepotism?
George Washington, for one...
https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/165664
2
He can not possibly tell if she is competent and/or has anyting to contribute to the adminstration.
1
Ms. McCray is free to go and get a full time paying job utilizing her skills and professional credentials outside of NYC government. If she is making a decision to work with her husband without defined compensation that is her choice. Michelle Obama did not get a salary when she became first lady and she had to give up a very lucrative career. I believe the job she had before Obama was elected paid more per year than his presidential salary. Public service requires sacrifices up front that are typically more than recompensed once that pubic service ends at the higher levels of government.
Doesn't de Blasio have enough problems with questionable pay for play accusations against his administration without his wife getting a pay check?
242
It's my understanding Michelle Obama lost her law license....not that she gave it up..
If a woman like Michelle Obama is expected to give up her career to be First Lady, and is then expected to do full time appearances, etc. she should be paid a salary. Period. Otherwise, she should not be expected to end her career. So sexist and disgusting. Ditto for Mayor De Blasio's wife. If she is working for the the city of New York and doing significant public appearances then she should be paid. The only reason it has been acceptable to NOT pay First Ladies a salary for so long is that most politicians are men and it is the wives who give up their careers. Pretty sure very few husbands give up their jobs for their politician wives!
8
The claim that Michelle Obama “lost” her law license has been repeatedly debunked (it seems to have circulated in the first place as a way for Republicans to try to discredit the Obamas). What happened was that she requested to have her license put on “inactive” status after she got a job where she wasn’t technically acting as a lawyer any more but rather as an administrator, and thus had no desire to pay the yearly fee. For more details on this, just do a web search and check out any fact-checking site...
(I wish the NYT had the funds to pay moderators on its comment threads to do fact-checking!)
1