NYC Mayor de Blasio files paperwork for a potential run for N.Y. governor
Dave Goldiner, Chris Sommerfeldt, Denis Slattery
Mayor de Blasio appears to be setting his sights on Albany.
The term-limited mayor of New York City, who mounted a failed presidential bid just two years ago, is laying the groundwork for a possible run for governor.
Although he stopped short of announcing his candidacy Tuesday, de Blasio agreed that the paperwork he filed creating a committee to address statewide political issues suggests he’s preparing to join what is shaping up to be a crowded field of Democrats eyeing the governor’s mansion.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (Theodore Parisienne/)
“Draw your own conclusions,” Hizzoner said with a grin during an appearance on CNN.
The outgoing mayor later played coy with reporters, but said he doesn’t believe his political career is over.
“I’m not getting into time lines,” he said as he cast his vote in Tuesday’s election at the Park Slope Library in Brooklyn. “What I know is I want to continue in public service.
“I’m going to be part of this discussion about the future of the city, the future of the state, I guarantee it, in all due time,” he added.
De Blasio went on to tout what he considers his successes as mayor, including establishing universal prekindergarten, adding affordable housing and police reforms.
He also took credit for the city’s handling of the COVID crisis, despite his current vaccine mandate drama, arguing that his leadership made New York one of the safest places in the country amid the pandemic.
“We’re fighting COVID like never before. We’re literally showing the nature of how it’s done — 92% of our workforce vaccinated, that’s amazing. That’s what I’m focused on,” he said.
Front page for Nov. 2, 2021: Blaz rips anti-vax Bravest with phantom ills. Commish vows action, sez units shorthanded. Mayor de Blasio said Monday - as FDNY sickout surged in apparent protest of vaccine mandate - there will be "consequences" for firefighters "claiming to be sick who are not."
Front page for Nov. 2, 2021: Blaz rips anti-vax Bravest with phantom ills. Commish vows action, sez units shorthanded. Mayor de Blasio said Monday - as FDNY sickout surged in apparent protest of vaccine mandate - there will be "consequences" for firefighters "claiming to be sick who are not."
De Blasio slammed the hundreds of FDNY firefighters who have called in sick in protest against the city’s vaccine mandate, accusing them of defying the will of New Yorkers.
“If you’re not sick, get to work,” he said during his CNN appearance. “Protect your fellow New Yorkers, be there for your fellow firefighters. Stop playing this game.”
Hizzoner said his decision to require shots for city workers is a crucial example of his willingness to take charge in tough times.
Municipal workers protest New York City's vaccine mandate in Manhattan, New York.
Municipal workers protest New York City's vaccine mandate in Manhattan, New York. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/)
Despite opposition from some cops and firefighters, he said the policy has the overwhelming support of the New Yorkers who pay their salaries.
“I say this to every mayor in America, every governor, every CEO of a company in America: Put vaccine mandates into effect. It works,” de Blasio said. “This is what is going to make us safe. You got to do it so that we can actually end the COVID era.”
But the defiance from municipal workers is just the latest pushback de Blasio has faced during his tumultuous tenure at City Hall. Despite policy gains, he is more often remembered for his 11-mile daily commute to a Brooklyn gym.
If de Blasio does throw his hat in the ring for June’s Democratic primary, it would set up a titanic battle against political heavyweights Gov. Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom have already announced their candidacies.
Other candidates are said to be waiting in the wings, and even scandal-plagued former Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasn’t ruled out a comeback effort.
Hochul became the first woman to lead the state after Cuomo resigned in August amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment detailed in a report issued by James’ office.
New York Gov. Hochul (left) and New York CIty Mayor de Blasio (right)
New York Gov. Hochul (left) and New York CIty Mayor de Blasio (right) (Jeff Bachner/)
Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing and has roughly $18 million left in his campaign account. Hochul has been courting deep-pocketed donors in recent weeks.
State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs endorsed Hochul early last month, saying he was hoping to avoid a fractious primary. That seems unlikely as others, including city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Queens, Nassau, Suffolk), are also considering entering the race.
New York Gov. Hochul, right, Mayor de Blasio, center, and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards walk together after a news conference near a home where people were killed when their basement apartment was flooded in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Sept. 2, 2021.
New York Gov. Hochul, right, Mayor de Blasio, center, and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards walk together after a news conference near a home where people were killed when their basement apartment was flooded in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Sept. 2, 2021. (Mary Altaffer/)
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Suffolk), former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and Andrew Giuliani, the son of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, are vying for the Republican nod.
Hochul holds a sizable early lead on the Dem front, according to polling conducted last month. A Marist survey found the incumbent held a double-digit lead over both James and Williams.
Hochul also came out on top with 39% in a Siena College poll that placed de Blasio dead last behind James and Williams at 6%.
Bill de Blasio poses in the New York headquarters of Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate committee Friday, Dec. 3, 1999. A veteran New York political operative, de Blasio was hired on Friday by first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to manage her campaign for next year's New York Senate race. (AP Photo/Lynsey Addario) Original Filename: MRS_CLIN.JPG
City Council member Bill de Blasio (c.) is taken into custody while protesting the closing of Engine Company 204 on May 25, 2003 in the Brooklyn, New York. City officials have justified the closings by saying population shifts have made the firehouses unnecessary. de Blasio was a City Council member from 2002 to 2009 before succesfully running for Public Advocate.
Councilmember Bill de Blasio arrives for a press conference at 37th St. in Brooklyn on May 2, 2007 in Brooklyn to further discuss the street's lack of a sidewalk.
City Council member Bill de Blasio speaks during a press conference with community leaders while a woman with a stroller navigates the undrained sewage at 37th St. between 14th Ave. and 15th Ave. on May 2, 2007 in Brooklyn. The street was, at the time. without a sidewalk or a drainage system, leaving pedestrians to walk amongst the heavy traffic.
A lawsuit was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on October 22, 2008 by City Council members Letitia James (l.) and Bill De Blasio (r.) to block tomorrow's proposed City Council vote that could alter the current term limits for elected officials, including then-Mayor Bloomberg.
Mayor de Blasio turned his attention to running for Public Advocate in 2009. Here, Reverend Al Sharpton endorses de Blasio for Public Advocate on the steps of City Hall on July 6, 2009.
Bill de Blasio (r.), Democratic hopeful for the office of the New York City Public Advocate, speaks from the podium as opponent Mark Green looks on during a debate at the WNYC studios in New York on September 8, 2009.
City Councilman Bill de Blasio, the Democratic candidate for Public Advocate, emerges from the voting booth after casting his ballot in the general election at Camp Friendship in Park Slope on November 3, 2009.
Bill de Blasio (r.) is sworn in as New York City public advocate by Congressman Jerrold Nadler during a ceremony on the steps of City Hall on Jan. 1, 2010 in New York. Wife and First Lady of New York City Charlane (2-r), son Dante (c.) and daughter Chiara look on.
NYC Public Advocate Bill De Blasio hands out flyers at the Christopher Street subway station alerting commuters to "Help Keep Our Subways Safe" and tell the MTA and State Leaders to stop cutting station agents and start fixing over 2,000 broken station security cameras on April 5, 2010.
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and wife Chirlane McCray joins the Sikh Cultural Society in Queens to condemn the then-recent alleged hate crime against Sikh professor Dr. Prabhjot Singh.
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio holds a press conference on February 12, 2012 outside of Tweed Courthouse calling on the Teacher's Union and Mayor Michael Bloomberg to reach a deal on teacher evaluations.
New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio marches in the Queens County St. Patrick's Day Parade in the Rockaway, Queens on March 2, 2013. As mayor in 2014, de Blasio said he will skip the nation’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in Manhattan because participants are not allowed to carry signs or banners that identify as gay.
A still from the Bill de Blasio's New York City mayoral campaign advert, released on June 10, 2013. The family-centered video featured de Blasio at his Park Slope home with wife Chirlane McCray and their son Dante.
Mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio (r.) kisses his wife Chirlane McCray after casting his primary vote at the Park Slope Public Library in Brooklyn, New York on September 10, 2013.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (r.), along with Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina (l.) and First Lady Chirlane McCray (c.) reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", visits Pre-K classes at Home Sweet Home Children's School in Queens on the first day of NYC public schools on September 4, 2014 in Queens. de Blasio is toured universal pre-kindergarten programs throughout the city after implementing the program ten day prior.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio distributes toys to children at the Women in Need (WIN) shelter in the East New York section of Brooklyn on December 23, 2015.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signs Intros. 799-B, 1376-A and 1783 to provide commercial rent tax relief for certain small business owners and study the impact of the commercial rent tax at Santa Fe, an Upper West Side restaurant on December 22, 2017.
Throughout his time as mayor, de Blasio has appeared on NY1's "Mondays with the Mayor" weekly interview segment with anchor Errol Louis.
Mayor Bill de Blasio visits Staten Island with numerous city commissioners and officials to sit down with the Borough president Bill Oddo on April 10, 2017. Here, the two break bread over cannolis.
Mayor Bill de Blasio meets tenant Juliette Joseph who recently moved into a newly built affordable apartment Brooklyn on October 24, 2017. A goal of the mayor's has been to build 200,000 units of affordable housing in New York during his time in office, a move that's been praised and criticized; a frequent argument for the latter has been that the move will promote gentrification.
Mayor Bill de Blasio was joined by community leaders and city officials to discuss the improved driving and pedestrian traffic on Queens Boulevard, long nicknamed the "boulevard of death" in Elmhurst on May 17 2017. Vision Zero has been de Blasio's initiative to cut down the city's number of traffice-related accidents and deaths.
(L-R) New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio shake hands during a press conference to discuss Amazon's decision to bring a new corporate location to New York on November 13, 2018. While de Blasio was initially for the company setting up shop in Queens, he ultimately sided with residents and their distain.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio hosts a press conference with New York City Comptroller Stringer, New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, climate activists Bill McKibben, Naomi Klein and Naomi Ages to announce City actions to help address climate change on January 10, 2018.
Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during a press conference at PS 130 to announce meatless Mondays at all NYC schools on March 11, 2019.
Mayor Bill de Blasio rides the R Subway train to City Hall from Park Slope to inform riders of of new plan to fund the MTA on February 27, 2019.
Mayor Bill de Blasio rides the Subway to City Hall from the Franklin Avenue stop in Brooklyn inform riders of a new plan to fund the MTA on March 7, 2019.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is interviewed by George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America on May 16, 2019, after declaring his candidacy to run for the President of the United States on a Youtube video on Thursday morning.
Mayor Bill de Blasio arrives with his wife Chirlane McCray for an interview on "Good Morning America" on May 16, 2019 to discuss his presidential run in the 2020 race.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he would be ending his presidential campaign on Sept. 20, 2019. "I feel like I have contributed all I can to this primary election," de Blasio stated on Friday. "It’s clearly not my time, so I’m going to end my presidential campaign." The mayor never polled above one percent during his campaign, which he announced on May 16, and couldn’t participate in September’s Democratic debate due to not meeting fundraising goals or increasing his poll numbers.
De Blasio, who embarked on a failed four-month-long White House bid in 2019, brushed off his apparent unpopularity with New York voters and said he sees a place for himself in the conversation about who should run the state.
“I think you’ve got a situation where people want to have a really robust debate on the future because we know a lot of things have gone wrong in Albany and we know a lot has to be different,” he said during a morning news conference. “So, I look forward to being a part of that discussion.”
