Does he speak Norwegian?
He can lead the clown circus!
At this point, anyone announcing a run is just looking for a job in Biden's Cabinet in return for an endorsement.
2
Bring back stop and frisk
2
The only vote I ever took that I truly regret is in the NYC Democratic Mayoralty primary six years ago when I voted for DiBlasio over Christine Quinn. When Quinn was president of the city council and supported Bloomberg’s effort to have a third term I pledged that I would never vote for her again for any political office. I believe in term limits and felt that Bloomberg should have been held to two terms. I kept my pledge, voted for DeBlasio and against Quinn and have regretted that vote ever since. I think Quinn would have made a fine Mayor. I think DeBlasio is a self-centered egotist and sit in wait for him to exit the stage.
8
@John, yes, what I saw as the problem with Quinn's office was they approached problems brought to them (I add IMHO) to get the list down to manageable size, by looking for the reasons not to deal with a matter and I guess the ones that could not be crossed out were the ones they out their (very real) effort into. The other way is to ask questions and understand why this issue has meaning that was worth Speaker Quinn's time. The "choosing what to do by eliminating as much as humanly possible" approach I guess is a valid approach when dealing with widgets, but it's telling the person who has a very real problem your problem is insignificant based on the info you gave us, rather than explaining what will let us get your problem to the Speaker herself. So we ended up with time and fanfare spent on some of the strangest things, though they got articles.
Michael Bloomberg was a poor kid who studied hard in school and made his money on his own. He ran New York City well, was far-sighted in his concern about (and planning for) climate change, and personally paid for some programs anonymously.
That parasite Bill de Blasio whose wealth comes from tying on the political nosebag and getting well-paying jobs for his wife has squandered Bloomberg's careful handling of city resources.
We are in trouble.
3
I’ve never met a de Blasio supporter that wasn’t either a rent stabilized tenant or a public school teacher. I’m guessing those few supporters posting here fit one or both categories. For the rest of us he’s a total failure.
9
"Can His Record Sway ‘Everyday People’?"
Betteridge's law of headlines: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no."
http://betteridgeslaw.com/
“The reason why journalists use that style of headline is that they know the story is probably bull, and don’t actually have the sources and facts to back it up, but still want to run it." – Ian Betteridge
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
6
What accomplishments? Failed vision zero? Lack of solution to traffic? Crumbling subway system? Basically lawless thugs who jump turnstiles, ride illegal motorcycles, drink, gamble and deal with impunity at street corners thanks to his policies of defanging the police? Please! America can do so much better than De Blasio.
10
@C In NY Ending stop and frisk, raising the minimum wage to $15/hour, mandatory sick leave, signing the right to counsel law for poor tenants, universal pre-k, keeping rent stabilization rent increases low, de-criminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, pedestrian deaths at a record low, reducing the speed limit to 25, expanding bike ride share programs. And de-fanging the police? Perhaps his greatest accomplishment. And so much better than Bloomberg and racist authoritarian Giuliani. I don't love him-to me he isn't progressive enough-but he is by far the best mayor in my lifetime. I still think he shouldn't run for President.
The end of stop and frisk is what is slowly taking NY back to the Dinkins era. There are now people dealing drugs with impunity from street corners, stealing Citibikes without fear of retribution, stealing, assulting. And the more they act with impunity the more people will join them
9
The courts outlawed stop and frisk. It would have ended no matter who was mayor.
1
I am neither a Deblasio lover nor a hater. I voted for him in both elections. He has accomplished some good things-Universal Pre-K, increasing the minimum wage, approving the right to counsel for indigent tenants, keeping rent stabilized rents in check, ending stop and frisk. He has also disappointed by allowing too much development, not creating enough affordable housing, not being aggressive enough when it comes to making public housing habitable and not improving the homeless situation. However he is far superior to his predecessors, Bloomberg, who was indifferent to the poor and Giuliani, who was a divisive authoritarian racist. Having said that, he is not presidential material and should not be running for President. At this point Democrats seem to be suffering from "I'm god's gift" syndrome, and/or using the campaign to get national attention for some campaign don the road. I predict he will flame out quickly and never poll more than 2-3%.
1
Will De Blasio finish 23rd among all Democratic candidates or 22nd, ahead of Bernie?
2
@Gian Piero Bernie's gonna win, like he would have in 2016 had he been the nominee.
1
And had he won the primaries he would have been the nominee. But he didn’t. Not even close.
3
Late again Billy.
5
I had some doubts about how sincere Bill de Blasio's progressive politics were, but now as I watch what amounts to unprecedented attacks on him by the mainstream media, I am sure he is the genuine item. Can you imagine, someone paid two people to actually go to Iowa to falsely protest his performance on NYCHA, and the media keeps repeatedly reporting on this? e.g. They are planning to go. They are going. They are boarding a plane... and so on. This tactic is as ludicrous is as vicious is the attacks by the media.
You would think that Bill de Blasio had leaked documents that embarrassingly showed how the CIA or NSA were still committing more of their usual crimes.
1
let's just hope this becomes the shortest presidential run ever.
5
I think De Blasio should be president. Why should New Yorkers be the only ones to suffer
14
The only "working people" Bill + Chirlane have ever tried to help are lower income minorities. Great, but there's a lot of us white working (as in royally working ourselves to death every single week) middle class folk that support the city too - he's done nothing for us. He cant be that clueless - theyre just doing it to get a book $ deal $ er something.
12
He’s not really progressive, more anti-elitist. A progressive would embrace education reform, think creatively about problems like the homeless. He does none of that. Instead he makes a fetish of shunning things like the Met Ball and working out on the broken down machines at the Park Slope Y.
Basically a lazy guy, whose ethos flies in the face of what NYC has been about since its founding in the 1600 - a spirited place of ambition.
This only works because Bloomberg handed him a very well running and economically powerful city - quite an a accomplishment given the challenges of 2001 and 2008.
28
I haven’t heard one positive remark about deBlasio’s candidacy, and my social circle skews pretty far left. He’s viewed as an out of touch ninny.
But aside from what my friends and I think, how far will he get once the knowledge of his questionable fund raising practices leave provincial NYC. There are people in jail for bribery, a fate which he narrowly missed because of legal technicalities.
Oh, then there’s the missing money his wife somehow lost.
Poles apart, but similar in so many ways, deBlasio and Trump. They’re hubristic jerks who think they can skirt rules if it fits their goals.
18
The Mayor gives a good speech. Good example: De Blasio’s inauguration of the new Whitney where he compared architect Renzo Piano to a super hero. Unfortunately, De Blasio is a dreadful Mayor because while he can talk the talk, he cannot walk the walk.
Case in point, De Blasio’s shameful record when it come to low- and moderate- priced housing in the city of my birth 71 years ago.
I have seen mayors come and go— Mayors like John Lindsay whose Presidential ambitions reached the point where his pretentious were thwarted by reality. As Mayor, Lindsay neglected to plow the Borough of Queens after a severe snow storm.
For me, De Blasio’s clearest failure is the shameful way he and his administrator provides shelter for the homeless. The summer before last by misadventure I found myself spending two nights in a homeless shelter in Brooklyn.
As a paraplegic for the past 25 years, I continually find myself pleasantly surprised by the courtesy total strangers exhibit toward me. In the homeless shelter, for example, my fellow residents went out of their way to help. Smart phones were nearly ubiquitous in the homeless shelter. Access to an electrical outlet, sadly, was severely limited.
Because of their courtesy, my room mates made sure my phone and mobility device was fully charged. By comparison, City employees and the subcontractor who ran the shelter made us feel like criminals and outcasts.
http://www.joelsolkoff.com/two-days-homeless-shelter-brooklyn/
10
I doubt that anyone will notice the absence of an absent major if ew will run ( and loose)...
The worst major New York has ever had. Controversial, incapable, unfits to run a laundry shop either.
10
@Silvys
He's far from the worst. Every heard of Tammany Hall?
3
As civilly as I can say this, this man should not waste his time or our temper. He is viewed as a dolt. Which doesn’t necessarily rule him out when compared to most of the other Democratic candidates, but he is a super dolt.
11
DeBlasio's record is why we locals hear he wants to run, and all we can say is 'are you kidding me?'
10
If all these gainfully employed senators and mayors running for the democrat nomination possessed so much as a thimbleful of integrity, they would resign from the office which they will now spend a year and a half ignoring... while still pocketing a tax-payer supplied salary of $174,000 (senators) or $225,000 (deBlasio) per year.
Imagine missing much of your job then offering the excuse: " Well, I'm looking for another job."
Tax payers should not subsidize a bush-league politician's delusions of grandeur.
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
22
A few reasons why we should all join the mainstream media, ignore the facts, and be fiercely against Bill de Blasio:
1. He favored public schools over charter schools. How can we make big profits off the need of people to get education if he has his way?
2. He gave the unions much better deals than Bloomberg. Where are you Mike when we need you to keep working people in line? Who knows now many other people might get the idea they should be paid more?
3. We now have a $15 minimum wage. See what happens when you give unions a fair deal.
4. He ended stop and frisk which was not only racist but unconstitutional in over 99% of the cases. No mainstream media outlet ever revealed that you cannot frisk a person unless you have a “reasonable suspicion they are armed.” What would have happened had the 4th Amendment been taken seriously and people even felt the Constitution mattered? Or what it looks like when someone is really against racism, and not just using it to get away from economic issues?
5. He didn’t endorse Hillary right away in 2016 but waited. What would happen if all Democrats waited to see who should actually be the nominee instead of settling for another darling of Wall Street (like Biden)?
6. Worst of all de Blasio showed that a somewhat progressive mayor could actually run the biggest city in America successfully, even as the mainstream media magnified every mistake he ever made and created a few?
1
@Timshel
I do not see how he has a future (But they said that about Trump, didn't they?). His poorly conceived proposal to change the admissions method for the Specialized High Schools is not a check in the plus column.
Substantively bad, the announcement was handled ineptly, a real punch in the nose of the Asian Community. His Chancellor calls people who question the proposal "racists." What is such a person doing at the helm of the largest public school system in the world?
9
In nyc the charters are non profit and produce really good outcomes. Public school teachers feel no shame at denying thousands of students those benefits, based on the desire to protect their sinecure of a fat salary, fatter pension and no accountability.
Re the “better to unions than Bloomberg” argument, I’m assuming you refer to the fact that the teachers were working without a contract for the last few years of the Bloomberg administration. Which was not because of Bloomberg’s intransigence but instead a refusal on the part of the teachers union to bargain in good faith, offer productivity gains in return for salary gains. Like most people do. Yes, de Blasio fixed that right away - he essentially bought the votes of the teachers. I recently heard one brag over a Seder supper how much her pension had increased as a result of that retroactive raise.
7
@GC
I think very highly of NYC public school teachers and am amazed by what they have to contend with. This story by someone who taught in three different schools and quit after a student threatened her only confirmed my impression.
https://quillette.com/2019/02/10/public-educations-dirty-secret/
4
Where to begin? Despite his rhetoric, Mr. de Blasio can know nothing about working people, ordinary people.
When has he ever held a real job?
Always feeding from the political nosebag.
As comptroller, he twisted the arm of Maimonides Hospital to create a six-figure job for his wife in return for added city funds.
Poor world.
Say what you will about rich men financing their campaigns, you and I are paying for de Blasio's self-serving junket.
9
@B.
DeBlasio was never Comptroller.
You are right. It was the other position that allowed him to "control" city funds and where they went.
There's little or no doubt that Bill de Blasio can sway 'Everyday People' -- but it just might not be in the direction he wants them to go.
17
I’m an “every day” person and he does not sway me. He’s all for big real estate interests.
1
The entire quote from the officer talking about Eric Garner should be stated:
“Not a big deal. We were effecting a lawful arrest.”
I'm sorry Mr. Garner died, but resisting arrest - even an unlawful one - can have dire consequences.
3
C'mon: Eric Garner was accused of selling loose cigarettes in his neighborhood.
It's not like he was a murder suspect wildly shooting at pursuing police officers from the passenger side of a car while speeding down an L.A. freeway. A murder suspect who, btw, was not only not killed, but also was rushed to the hospital to undergo emergency surgery. (He has since died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.)
Mr. Garner's death by chokehold was a crime.
6
@Ken
Resisting arrest -- especially if you're a Black man -- can have dire consequences.
1
@Ken
I'm often sympathetic to the police. I don't think Michael Brown was a martyr. I believe that Sandra Bland created some of her problems in her response to the officer and what unnerves me is that many people online think that was a proper way to respond.
But didn't Garner say something like 11 times that he couldn't breathe? He was on the ground, surrounded by officers. How was he a threat? Use some judgment. And to treat someone like that for the nefarious crime of selling loosies? Please.
7
I don't live in New York City, but I have an open message from Mayor de Blasio as a Democrat. you should not run and I will not vote for you, nor will I encourage anyone else to do so.
People in your own City don't want you to run, according to polls, and there are so many Democratic candidates, you should put your own ego aside and work to support one of the major candidates who is hopefully going to defeat "the Trump".
There are already too many "also rans" that it's not only ridiculous, but it will further fracture the party and possibly get Mr. Trump re-elected.
18
I enthusiastically supported the Mayor in his first run. Unfortunately, "the tale of two cities" campaign slogan and theme has not translated into policies or programs to diminish the ever widening income/social/educational gaps in NYC. Pre-K does not cover it all. So many more issues in this City. I will not be supporting his run for the presidency. I don't hate him as one has said, I simply haven't seen the skills, intellect, transparency or gravitas needed for this job. And, yes, anyone would be better than the current occupant. Surely the next occupant will not only need to clean up this mess, but move us forward to a better country and world as well.
17
Voters around the world have shown that in elected leaders, they do not put a lot of importance into past performance records. In fact, they prefer leaders with no record, no reason to vote against he or she. If the individual is TV celebrity, so much the better. Trump is an example, as is the new president of the Ukraine, an actor/comedian with no record of public service.
Being a nationalist is evidently now considered to be a positive. If you are the same race as the majority of the voters, and favor regulations that favor that group, you are immediately considered to be a strong candidate.
I have lost a lot of respect for the voters. Evidently they watch too much TV, then seem to believe that art imitates life, or simply confuse the two. More of the public needs to vote, instead of allowing silly people with agendas to make these decisions for the rest of us. Mayor de Blasio is simply joining a popularity contest, no better or worse then other participants, all trying not to be voted off of the island. It is a game to them.
8
Mayor DeBlasio has a much better approval rating among New Yorkers than Trump has EVER had as President. Certain long term (and very expensive) NYC problems such as the MTA and NYCHA need substantial State or Federal input to foster genuine improvement.
DeBlasio’s achievements in childhood education, raising the minimum wage, protecting our immigrant communities, improving graduation rates, holding down rent stabilized increases with his appointee, bettering community police relations, and lowering crime rates cannot be disputed. Except by right-wingers who have been trying to smear DeBlasio from day one - remember the Hammer and Sickle on the cover of Murdoch's New York Post on election day?
If America is looking for a fresh face,
if it’s looking for an alternative to the current con-man clown who thinks he’s king, if it’s looking for an articulate spokesman with progressive ideas, experience & vision ---then don’t rule out Bill DeBlasio.
Especially at this stage of the game .
For both Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter were relative unknowns, and America picked them as alternatives to the existing administrations.
Besides being part of an attractive inter-racial family, DeBlasio can frame himself as as younger version of popular populist Bernie Sanders, and his win would not mean the loss of a Democratic senate seat
If a fawning stiff like Mike Pence can be Vice-President, then Bill DeBlasio certainly can fill that role graciously as a possible consolation prize.
5
@Stan Chaz "Mayor DeBlasio has a much better approval rating among New Yorkers than Trump has EVER had as President," actually most things do including empty subway cars during rush hour, and sunburns. I really would not use that as the point of departure for your argument.
5
@Stan Chaz
actually to the metro-NY area DiBlasio is a very well known quantity - an incompetent hypocrite.
He claims to be all about "green" and yet needs to take a motorcade of SUVs every day to Brooklyn just to go to the gym. No wonder he doesn't care about the MTA - he never uses it.
He claimed he would champion affordable housing and yet he earns high-end market rents on the two homes he owns in Brooklyn. And let's not even begin to discuss the real estate giveaways he gave in pay for play (Rivington house as a primary example).
He claimed he would improve the schools and yet after spending almost a billion dollars there are still many failing schools and test scores and graduation rates show no improvement and reports of violence in the schools are way up.
He claimed he would be tough on crime but the only reason statistics are down is that he decriminalized so many actions (marijuana, public indecency, peeing on the streets). Ask a typical New Yorker if s/he thinks the streets are clean and safe and whether the homeless population is under control and those people are getting the help they need.
If he is the best hope the Democrats have then all is lost.
7
The latest Quinnipiac poll reflects that only 18% of New Yorkers think Mayor de Blasio should run for President. His own constituents don’t believe he’s qualified; but it’s not a mystery why he’s still running. He’s a career politician- he can’t do anything else; the pundits believe he’s hoping for a Cabinet position. He’s been a pay to play Mayor - with several incidents of illegal fundraising and campaign contributions. He appointed a NYCHA manager who resigned for lying under oath about lead paint testing in NYC public housing - housing which has continued to deteriorate under his Administration. With record debt and record unfunded pension liability, he’s bankrupted the city with his spending programs. One last item, the City Comptroller issued a report reflecting 100+ NYC high schools whose graduation rates have plummeted to under 50% and have decreased every year Mayor de Blasio’s been in office. It’s also no surprise why New Yorkers don’t think he’s qualified or fit to be President.
26
JMS
A few reasons why we should all join the mainstream media, ignore the facts, and be fiercely against Bill de Blasio:
1. He favored public schools over charter schools. How can we make big profits off the need of people to get education if he has his way?
2. He gave the unions much better deals than Bloomberg. Where are you Mike when we need you to keep working people in line? Who knows now many other people might get the idea they should be paid more?
3. We now have a $15 minimum wage. See what happens when you give unions a fair deal.
4. He ended stop and frisk which was not only racist but unconstitutional in over 99% of the cases. No mainstream media outlet ever revealed that you cannot frisk a person unless you have a “reasonable suspicion they are armed.” What would have happened had the 4th Amendment been taken seriously and people even felt the Constitution mattered? Or what it looks like when someone is really against racism, and not just using it to get away from economic issues?
5. He didn’t endorse Hillary right away in 2016 but waited. What would happen if all Democrats waited to see who should actually be the nominee instead of settling for another darling of Wall Street (like Biden)?
6. Worst of all de Blasio showed that a somewhat progressive mayor could actually run the biggest city in America successfully, even as the mainstream media magnified every mistake he ever made and created a few?