Bill de Blasio (D) had a few things to say to big business on Friday:
http://www.nytimes.com/...
In a speech before a prominent civic group, Mr. de Blasio, the Democratic nominee for mayor, denounced giveaways to the real estate industry, pledged to re-energize labor unions and declared that the city’s “affordability crisis” was as urgent and serious a problem as the turmoil faced after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“We cannot expect prosperity to trickle down from the top,” he said during the speech in Midtown Manhattan, adding, “We cannot resign ourselves to the mind-set that says rising inequality is a necessary byproduct of urban success.”
He was met with a standing ovation from an overflow crowd of wealthy business leaders — the same group that a year ago had responded to a similar speech by Mr. de Blasio with chilly disregard.
It was the surest sign yet of a thaw in the relationship between Mr. de Blasio, the fiery campaigner who took direct aim at the wealth of the Bloomberg years, and the business elite, who had viewed him warily until he secured the Democratic nomination just weeks ago.
Now, détente is in the air. In a whirlwind tour this week, Mr. de Blasio sat down with leaders in finance, real estate and technology — including Lloyd C. Blankfein and Philippe P. Dauman, the chief executives of Goldman Sachs and Viacom — to tell them face to face that his brand of liberalism is unapologetic but pragmatic, and can accommodate the value of business in a global city.
In meetings, Mr. de Blasio has not minced words, telling corporate leaders that he is a “Democrat with a capital ‘D’ ” and acknowledging that he subscribes to a deeply felt, left-leaning ideology. But the message, attendees say, has been clear: “We may not agree, but we want to work together.”
It is a fine line to walk for Mr. de Blasio, a proud liberal firebrand who is nonetheless aware that he must woo audiences far from his base as he starts to ponder how to govern a complex city. - New York City, 10/4/13
Well said. The New York Times did some recent polling on the Mayor's race. de Blasio continues to hold a huge lead over Joe Lhota (R), 68%-19%. Their polling also shows that voters trust de Blasio way more on the issues:
http://www.nytimes.com/...
But what's weird is despite de Blasio having huge support and trust from New Yorkers, they're not on board for all of his ideas:
http://www.nytimes.com/...
New York City voters want to keep Raymond W. Kelly as police commissioner. They want more charter schools. And nearly half of them support the Police Department’s use of the stop-and-frisk tactic.
But the city’s voters, by an enormous margin, are planning to support Bill de Blasio for mayor next month, despite the fact that Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, opposes each of those positions, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released on Friday.
The poll found a huge challenge facing Joseph J. Lhota, the Republican nominee, as he seeks to persuade voters in an overwhelmingly Democratic city to choose him. With the election just a month away, on Nov. 5, Mr. de Blasio held a commanding lead of 68 percent to 19 percent among likely voters.
More than 4 in 10 likely voters said they had no opinion of Mr. Lhota, while only about a quarter did not have an opinion of Mr. de Blasio, currently the city’s public advocate. And 58 percent had a favorable opinion of Mr. de Blasio, compared with 22 percent who viewed Mr. Lhota favorably.
Mr. Lhota is seeking to change the dynamic. He began broadcasting his first general election television advertisement on Wednesday, pointing out that he supports same-sex marriage, abortion rights and the legalization of marijuana, but that, unlike Mr. de Blasio, he does not plan to raise taxes.
Mr. de Blasio, seeking to thwart any advantage Mr. Lhota might gain from being on the airwaves alone, immediately introduced his own ad, showing a clip from his victory speech on the night of the primary.
The race is not over: the two men have agreed to televised debates on three successive Tuesdays this month, and those exchanges, as well as the television ads, will introduce the candidates to New Yorkers who have not yet tuned in. - New York Times, 10/4/13
Weird. On Team Red, their's some tension between Joe Lhota (R) and his former rival:
http://politicker.com/...
Former Republican rivals Joe Lhota and John Catsimatidis are still at odds nearly a month after Mr. Lhota won the mayoral primary, this time squabbling over endorsements.
While the losing Democrats have enthusiastically rallied around their mayoral candidate, Bill de Blasio, Mr. Catsimatidis has been missing in action, failing to formally endorse Mr. Lhota via statement or formal rally.
“I’ve asked John twice to endorse me. Twice he has said he’s not ready yet,” Mr. Lhota said this morning during an appearance on the Curtis Sliwa radio show. “The ball’s in his court. If he wants to endorse me, let him do it. If he doesn’t want to endorse me, life goes on. I can’t wait for John Catsimatidis.”
Mr. Lhota had been asked by Mr. Sliwa whether Republicans could expect the same coming-together as the Democrats have enjoyed in recent weeks. “It’s peace, love and happiness with the Democrats,” described Mr. Sliwa. “It’s unity, unity, unity amongst the Democrats.”
In fact, Mr. Catsimatidis recently told the Daily News that he would be voting for Mr. Lhota–but seemed to hedge his bets when asked whether he would officially endorse or campaign with Mr. Lhota. - Politicker, 10/4/13
The election is Tuesday, November 5th. If you would like to donate or get involved with de Blasio's campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.billdeblasio.com/