Yesterday, Bill de Blasio (D) scored a huge press enorsment:
http://www.nytimes.com/...
The rise of Bill de Blasio, New York City’s public advocate, has been remarkable. In a clamorous primary campaign against better known, more seasoned candidates, he won the Democratic nomination without a runoff, by appealing directly and doggedly to struggling New Yorkers who see a city of lofty wealth rising out of their reach. With the election only 10 days away, Mr. de Blasio is polling so far ahead of the Republican, Joseph Lhota, that commentators have already anointed him leader of a national rebirth of left-wing populism.
Hold on. We’re electing a mayor here, someone to keep streets plowed and safe, budgets balanced, schools working well and constituents of five boroughs satisfied. Someone to sustain and build on the 12-year legacy of Michael Bloomberg, while realizing his own vision for New York. It’s a huge job, never mind the revolution.
Luckily, Mr. de Blasio is up for it.
During the Democratic primary scramble, the largest and most rancorous in decades, we gave our endorsement to Christine Quinn, citing her record as the City Council speaker. But it was Mr. de Blasio who proved far better at connecting with voters — and at being a persuasive advocate for his ideas. The ideas are good ones: Mr. de Blasio is right on public safety, and on the need to rein in the Police Department’s unconstitutional use of stop-and-frisk tactics and restore its frayed ties to the community. He is right about the crisis of affordable housing, and he has the most comprehensive plan to attack it. His goal of expanding access to preschool education is a noble priority for the city.
And he is giving a voice to the forgotten New Yorkers — the 46 percent living in or near poverty, the 50,000 living in homeless shelters, the millions living outside the zones of economic security and gentrified affluence. The city has had many successes in the Bloomberg years, but its rebirth is incomplete. - New York Times, 10/26/13
More below the fold.
That's not the only good news de Blasio's received lately:
http://www.nydailynews.com/...
Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio crushed Republican Joe Lhota in fund-raising during the first three weeks of October, campaign finance reports released Friday show.
De Blasio, who has aggressively courted big-dollar donors, collected $3.7 million from Oct. 1 to Oct. 21, while Lhota received $700,631.
A cool $1 million of de Blasio’s haul came from the fund-raiser Hillary Clinton headlined Monday night. - New York Daily News, 10/26/13de Blasio also has been hitting Joe Lhota (R) hard in his new attack ads:
http://www.nydailynews.com/...
A union-financed political action committee supporting Bill de Blasio for mayor launched a million-dollar ad blitz Friday attacking his chief rival, Republican Joe Lhota.
The PAC, New York Progress, went on the attack a day after de Blasio accused Republican fat-cats of trying to “hijack” the election by planning their own ad buy attacking his candidacy.
The ad by the pro-de Blasio PAC paints Lhota as an extreme Republican — parroting an attack that de Blasio has made in two debates.
“New York needs a mayor for the middle class — not a Tea Party ally like Republican Joe Lhota,” the ad says. - New York Daily News, 10/25/13
By the way, Lhota doesn't see what the big deal is about this while income inequality thing:
http://gothamist.com/...
On Morning Joe yesterday, Lhota acknowledged that income inequality is a real thing, but he doesn't understand what the big deal is: “I don’t think it’s a problem, it exists,” he said. According to MSNBC, he said you could “deal with it” by having a mayor who supports a growing economy that helps everyone get good jobs. “Bill de Blasio doesn’t have a job creation program, in fact I think he has a job destruction program, he wants to raise taxes in the city,” Lhota said. - Gothamist, 10/26/13
Recently, de Blasio has been out speaking with New Yorkers on the upcoming one year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy:
http://www.silive.com/...
A small group of Staten Islanders gathered to commemorate the approaching anniversary of Hurricane Sandy Saturday -- among them mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio, who said the city has to do better in helping storm victims.
"There were some good things that government did, and we all appreciated when the National Guard came, and there were some great examples of the government serving us well," de Blasio said at the Ocean Breeze Fishing Pier. "But a lot of us were frustrated at how long it took for help to arrive."
He praised groups like the South Beach Civic Association, which hosted the gathering, for stepping up in the meantime.
"Thank God there were so many people who just made things happen while we were waiting for government help," he said. - Staten Island Advance, 10/26/13
de Blasio also reminisced about his office helped out during the hurricane:
http://www.nydailynews.com/...
My office — from temporary space set up in Brooklyn — stepped in to help wherever we could. We mobilized 5,000 volunteers to canvass high-rises, residential neighborhoods and small business strips. We partnered with the civic and religious groups who saw the gap in the official response and helped stranded people fill prescriptions, get a hot meal or connect with FEMA.
We pressured City Hall to bring in the Visiting Nurse Service to go door-to-door to 3,000 apartments in Red Hook Houses to make sure elderly tenants who spent weeks without power or heat got the medical care they desperately needed.
New York City got a lot of things right after Sandy. Our police and firefighters put their lives on the line to hold communities together. Our Sanitation workers performed miracles on a daily basis to clear mountains of debris from the streets. Our charities and volunteers went above and beyond the call of duty.
But when it came to meeting New Yorkers where they lived, it was an ad-hoc effort that needed City Hall to step in and lead. When the next crisis strikes, we have to commit ourselves to bringing the full aid of our city and communities to the doorsteps of those in need — in every neighborhood, in every borough.
We can’t forget any New Yorker. - New York Daily News, 10/26/13
By the way, expect Chirlane McCray to play a decent role in City Hall:
http://www.nydailynews.com/...
McCray has had a prominent role in the campaign, delivering speeches and making her views known through Twitter, where she has more than 3,700 followers. A former ballet dancer and debutante who swam competitively in her youth, she works out at least five times a week.
Neither de Blasio nor McCray will say whether she would be the first First Lady with her own City Hall office.
She told The News that if her husband is elected, she would like to use her new platform as a “voice for the forgotten voices,” focusing in part on women and children in need.
“I hope ... whatever I do, I do it in such a way that makes a positive difference in people’s lives. Especially as a black woman (because) black women do not have as many positive images in the media as we should. I just hope that I can be someone that young girls can really look up to, take inspiration from.”
If the election goes as polls predict, one of the couple’s first decisions will be whether to trade in their modest Brooklyn house with one bathroom for historic Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side, overlooking the twinkling lights of the East River. McCray said she is torn.
“Dante loves Brooklyn and Brooklyn Tech, and his commute,” she said. “We haven’t had a family discussion yet, but when the day comes — if it’s appropriate — we will figure it out.” - New York Daily News, 10/27/13
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/