New York City - Miscegenous Mayor 'Comrade' Bill De Blasio in the news

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2015/04/20/de-blasio-sets-sights-on-presidential-draft-candidacy-vs-hillary/

De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick
By Fredric U. Dicker
April 20, 2015 | 12:19am

Despite repeated claims to the contrary, Mayor Bill de Blasio is positioning himself to be the leftist “progressive” alternative to Wall Street-friendly Hillary Rodham Clinton as the Democratic candidate for president, a national party operative told The Post.

De Blasio’s hope, the operative said, is a “Draft de Blasio’’ movement will develop among progressive activists over the next several months that will lead to the mayor being able to defeat Clinton in the primary elections next year in much the same way leftist Sen. George McGovern successfully challenged the initially front-running establishment Democratic candidate, Sen. Edmund Muskie, more than 40 years ago.

Standing ready to back de Blasio against Clinton, said the operative, is the state’s small but influential Working Families Party, which has strong ties to de Blasio and is funded by some of the nation’s most powerful labor unions.

Earlier this year, the New York-based WFP urged Massachusetts Senator and Wall Street-bashing “progressive’’ favorite Elizabeth Warren to challenge Clinton and run for president — but she has repeatedly said she won’t do so.

“With Warren saying she’s not running, de Blasio and his advisers are trying to position the mayor as the ‘draft’ candidate for the left in 2016. That’s why he refused to endorse Hillary last week,’’ contended the operative, who is involved in presidential politics.

The draft effort explains why de Blasio was accompanied last week on his “progressive” speech-making trip to Iowa by John Del Cecato, one of the nation’s most important Democratic communications strategists and the man responsible for the popular “Dante” TV spot that helped get de Blasio elected mayor, said the operative.

“Why would your ad maker be traveling with you in a non-campaign year? Why was he there with de Blasio in Iowa unless you’re trying for something bigger?’’ asked the operative.

For Del Cecato, an expert in Iowa politics and a longtime campaign adviser to President Obama, helping develop a draft effort for de Blasio may also be personal.

Del Cecato was described by the operative as “part of the faction of Obama advisers who still deeply dislike and deeply distrust Clinton’’ dating from the time the two faced off in the Democratic primaries in 2008.

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/04/21/de-blasios-progressive-plane-hopping-funded-by-slush-fund/

De Blasio’s progressive plane-hopping funded by slush fund
By Yoav Gonen
April 21, 2015 | 10:57pm

Mayor de Blasio’s trips across the country to promote his progressive agenda — and himself — are being financed through a nonprofit funded by groups with business before the city.

The only event listed on the mayor’s schedule Tuesday was a fund-raiser for that nonprofit, Campaign for One New York, which critics have characterized as a mayoral slush fund that circumvents the city’s strict campaign finance rules.

Last week’s trip to Iowa and Nebraska, where the mayor made two speeches that portrayed income inequality as a national crisis, was paid for largely by the group.

It has raised more than $2 million from unions, individuals and firms with city business, and is operated by Hizzoner’s former campaign firm, BerlinRosen.

Rather than staffers from City Hall, former campaign consultant John Del Cecato of AKPD — the firm behind the popular Dante de Blasio campaign ad in 2013 — accompanied the mayor to the Midwest.

“We’re very disappointed to see the mayor ramping up his unacceptable fund-raising activities,” said Susan Lerner, director of the government watchdog group Common Cause New York.

“If it is a city purpose, it should be billed as a city trip, and not fall on wealthy special-interest groups to pay for it,” she added. “Wealthy special interest groups want something from the mayor and want something from the city: There is no free lunch.”

City officials countered that the mayor was simply being frugal by not spending taxpayer dollars on the trip, and that the city’s ethics board approved the funding mechanism.

“The city could have paid for it, but instead chose not to use city funds,” said City Hall spokesman Phil Walzak.

“The trip was paid for by the institutions hosting the events and the Campaign for One New York — as allowed by and approved by the Conflicts of Interest Board.”

The mayor has said his recent interest in promoting a national, progressive agenda stems from his belief that the city’s challenges with income inequality can only be resolved on a national scale.

Unlike city political campaign funds, the nonprofit — which is registered in New York as a 501(c)(4) — doesn’t have to worry about contribution limits, and only discloses donors twice a year.

That’s allowed groups to give massive amounts to help promote the mayor and his policies — including the United Federation of Teachers, which gave $350,000 to promote universal pre-K during its contract talks with the city early last year.

SEIU Local 1199 donated $250,000 earlier this year, and former Facebook president and billionaire entrepreneur Sean Parker gave $250,000 through the California firm Tektite in July.

A dozen other real estate and other firms, or their principals, that have business before the city have each donated more than $25,000 since de Blasio took office.

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/04/26/de-blasio-slams-walker-hes-dismantling-middle-class-life/

De Blasio slams Walker: He’s dismantling middle class life
By Laura Italiano
April 26, 2015 | 10:30am

Mayor de Blasio injected himself into the presidential race again Saturday, this time slamming Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a contender for the Republican nomination, in his back yard for stripping government workers of the right to collective bargaining.

Walker is “working to dismantle the foundation for middle class life,” de Blasio told the Wisconsin Democratic Party. De Blasio has denied rumors he is mulling a presidential run.

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/04/27/de-blasio-new-yorkers-are-too-mean-to-me-at-baseball-games/

De Blasio: New Yorkers are too mean to me at baseball games
By Chris Perez and Michael Gartland
April 27, 2015 | 1:35am

Hey Bill, there’s a reason it’s called a “Bronx cheer.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio whined to a crowd of hayseeds in the Midwest about how New Yorkers are too mean to him at baseball games — and said he was jealous of how well his Milwaukee counterpart is greeted by fans.

“I had the pleasure of taking in a Brewers game with Mayor Tom Barrett last night,” de Blasio told a group at a speech Saturday in Milwaukee. “I was struck by how many people kept coming up to the mayor to thank him for his service.”

“I go to quite a few baseball games in my city of New York, and I gotta admit — the reception isn’t always that cordial,” he added. “People recognize me, all right. But oftentimes our exchanges are limited to a few choice words . . . or even a particular finger!”

New York fans at the Subway Series on Sunday night said they aren’t going to pretend to be nice — and if de Blasio wants to get treated better, he’d better earn it.

“He’s the worst,” said Diane McGrath, 48, a city worker, who has rooted for the Yankees for 30 years.

“What kind of reaction does he expect to get? He disrespects this city, disrespects the cops in this city, gets booed at their funerals, and seriously expects to get treated nice when he comes to the baseball games?” she said. “Get out of here. New Yorkers don’t forget.”

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/06/latest-poll-shows-lukewarm-support-for-de-blasio/

Latest poll shows ‘lukewarm’ support for de Blasio
By Aaron Short
May 6, 2015 | 2:08am

Voters are uneasy with the direction Mayor de Blasio is taking the city, according to a new poll.

Only 45 percent of New York voters think the city is moving in the right direction, while 49 percent believe it’s going the wrong way, a Wall Street Journal-NBC 4 New York- Marist poll of de Blasio’s performance has found.

It’s the first time since de Blasio took office as mayor in January 2014 that fewer than 50 percent of voters reported they think the city is on the right track, according to a Journal report on the poll.

An even worse number for the mayor: 57 percent of people in the city think quality of life has gotten worse or stayed the same over the past year, de Blasio’s first as mayor. And those who said it stayed the same did not think that was a good thing, the Journal reported.

Only about 20 percent of people think quality of life in the city has improved.

The only good news for the mayor was that, despite all the criticism of his performance, his overall approval rating edged up five points over the past year, from 39 percent to 44 percent.

That’s a much better rating than former Mayor Mike Bloomberg had at the same point in his administration. In May of 2003, he was only polling at a 32 percent approval rating.

“His overall approval rating is lukewarm but inching up,” Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, said of de Blasio.

One area in which de Blasio has been hammered is his handling of matters involving the NYPD, especially after his soft reaction to unrest in the city after the police-arrest death of Eric Garner last year.

According to the poll, only 37 percent of voters approve of the way de Blasio has handled police-community relations, compared with 57 percent who disapprove.

The poll also shows that de Blasio has the support of black New Yorkers, 66 percent of whom think he deserves to be re-elected. Only 28 percent of whites would like to see him stay in office eight years.

Meanwhile, one of the mayor’s particularly bad habits got rapped: According to the poll, 55 percent of voters think his constant lateness is irresponsible.

De Blasio complained in an e-mail to his staff on Tuesday that they should coordinate with his police detail after he arrived late at an event Monday, according to a New York Times report.

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/06/city-workforce-grows-by-more-than-6000-employees/

City workforce grows by more than 6,000 employees
By Yoav Gonen
May 6, 2015 | 12:09am

The more the merrier.

The city government workforce is bulking up to pre-recession levels — growing by more than 6,000 employees to 308,997 in the fiscal year that starts on July 1, documents show.

Among the agencies expected to see the largest increases are the Department of Education, with 1,671 new workers; the Correction Department, with 534 more staffers; the FDNY, with 463 more; and child welfare, which is set to add 445 workers.

In February, Mayor de Blasio released a preliminary budget for fiscal 2016 with $77.7 billion in spending. His executive budget is due Thursday.

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/07/de-blasio-proposes-mansion-tax-on-homes-over-1-7-million/

De Blasio proposes ‘mansion tax’ on homes over $1.7 million
By Joe Tacopino
May 7, 2015 | 1:49am

Mayor de Blasio is proposing a “mansion tax” on homes that cost more than $1.7 million, as part as a vast program that would increase affordable housing across the city.

The tax would generate more than $200 million and help build or maintain more than 200,000 affordable living spaces over the next decade, according to The New York Times.

The ambitious plan, which would need approval from Albany, would also urge developers to devote 25 to 30 percent of new projects to working-class families in return for a tax break, the Times said.

Although he would face a tough fight with state legislators, De Blasio is optimistic because Gov. Cuomo recently signaled support for the idea.

“No more tax breaks without building affordable housing in return,” de Blasio told the paper.

“This can’t be a city of just penthouses and luxury condos. We are turning the page, and making sure the same pressures that have pushed New Yorkers out of their neighborhoods are harnessed to build the next generation of affordable housing.”

The mayor believes his program could create more than 60,000 affordable homes in the next decade.

His plan stems from the “Five-Borough Ten-Year” mission to solve the crisis of affordable housing in New York City, but also builds on meetings the administration had with builders, developers, housing activists and urban
planners, the Times said.

De Blasio has garnered support from the Real Estate Board of New York, a lobbying organization with significant political influence.

“We’re going to support it, including the mansion tax,” Steven Spinola, president of the board, told The Times. “We’re not happy about everything, but we think it will lead to building more affordable housing.”

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/06/city-bans-unfair-credit-screenings-of-job-seekers/

City bans ‘unfair’ credit screenings of job seekers
By Michael Gartland
May 6, 2015 | 10:24pm

Employers in the city soon won’t be able to use credit checks to screen job applicants.

Under a bill signed into law Wednesday by Mayor de Blasio, businesses will be banned from using credit reports, bankruptcies and liens to disqualify people from employment.

The law, which was sponsored by Councilman Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn), takes effect in 120 days.

Advocates have pressed politicians for the prohibition because they say law-abiding applicants can’t get jobs after being saddled with student loans or medical bills that have ruined their credit.

“Credit checks for employment unfairly lock New Yorkers out of jobs. There is no link that can be shown between credit history and job performance, and now New York City law reflects that fact,” Lander said.

He called the new law the toughest of its kind in the nation.

But it still provides exemptions.

Law-enforcement personnel, employees who have to be bonded and financial-service workers will all still be subject to credit vetting.

Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, which represents some of the city’s largest employers, described the law as striking “an important balance” that will still enable “employers to conduct credit checks for the most sensitive job openings while reducing chances that a poor credit history will unfairly disqualify job candidates.”

Still, Wylde said the partnership would be monitoring the law’s implementation to assess its “costs and consequences.”

Only three council members voted against the measure: Steven Matteo (R-SI, Mark Weprin (D-Queens) and Eric Ulrich (R-Queens).

“We cannot dictate to businesses what information is important in choosing their own employees when it could have a bearing on their suitability for the job they are seeking,” Matteo said.

“This bill, while well-intentioned, was simply too much government interference.”

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/06/new-york-city-jails-see-significant-rise-in-violence/

New York City jails see ‘significant’ rise in violence
By Michael Gartland
May 6, 2015 | 10:28pm

Elizabeth Crowley
Photo: William Farrington


Violent incidents in the city’s jails have increased despite reforms enacted by the de Blasio administration, according to figures released Wednesday by a Queens lawmaker.

City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, who heads the committee overseeing the Correction Department, said the number of assaults on jail staffers increased from 240 between October and December 2014 to 263 between January and March 2015. Serious injuries climbed from 73 to 86 in the same periods.

The total number of incidents rose 2 percent, to 2,617.

“These are significant jumps,” she said at a City Hall hearing.

She praised Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte for a decrease in violence among 16- and 17-year-old inmates, but asked why the dip wasn’t widespread.

Ponte blamed the spike on “the type of inmates we have” and tight prisoners’ quarters, which he said are being revamped.

Legislators also want the city to provide inmates with a “bill of rights” spelling out basic jail regulations. Ponte said he backed that idea.

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/09/job-placements-drop-30-percent-after-de-blasios-living-wage-commitment/

Job placements drop 30 percent after de Blasio’s ‘living wage’ commitment
By Yoav Gonen
May 9, 2015 | 1:10am

Job placements through the city’s employment centers plummeted by nearly 30 percent after the de Blasio administration stopped dealing with employers who pay less than a “living wage” for part-time work, new data show.

About 28,300 applicants were placed into jobs in 2014, compared to 39,800 in 2013 — the final year of the Bloomberg administration.

The sharp drop came after the city began requiring participating employers to offer either full-time work or pay at least $10 an hour as of April 2014. The “living wage” requirement was bumped up again last month to $11.50 per hour.

Some experts question that strategy, wondering what happens to the thousands who didn’t get jobs.

“Should the city not serve those folks who can only get minimum-wage jobs at this point?” asked Professor Ester Fuchs of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, who serves on the city’s Workforce Investment Board.

“The bottom line is they’re placing less people in employment while the number of jobs in the city is increasing,” she said. “It flies in the face of the mayor’s ideological commitment to helping the people at the bottom.”

City officials say the decrease in hires at 17 Workforce1 career centers stems from a deliberate focus on quality over quantity.

The new restrictions initially bumped up the average wage for city-placed hires from $10.71 an hour in 2013 to $11.35 an hour last year, they said. In the first three months of 2015, the average wage increased again to $13.23 per hour, officials added.

“Wages are up, but jobs are down — to be truly meaningful, we want growth on both fronts,” said City Councilman Dan Garodnick (D-Manhattan), chair of the Committee on Economic Development.

Additionally, the percentage of full-time job placements also climbed, from 43 percent in 2013 to 56 percent last year.

“Every New Yorker deserves to earn a wage that can sustain a family,” said Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer of the Department of Small Business Services, which oversees the jobs centers.

“We expect to continue to see this upward progression as we deepen engagement with employers, equip New Yorkers with in-demand skills and connect more people to good jobs in key growth sectors.”

The city earmarked $20 million in federal funds toward the Workforce1 program, which was launched by former Mayor Mike Bloomberg early in his first term.

Mayor de Blasio announced an overhaul of the initiative in November — including efforts to require firms that do business with the city to give priority to applicants from the jobs centers.

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/09/de-blasios-progressive-movement-falls-short-in-britain/

De Blasio’s ‘progressive’ movement falls short in Britain
By Bob Fredericks and Yoav Gonen
May 9, 2015 | 12:09am

There was another loser in Britain’s elections — Mayor de Blasio.

The British Labor Party’s humiliating defeat Friday came eight months after Hizzoner guaranteed them that they would win if they ran a progressive campaign like his own.

“Your agenda is a blueprint of what a fairer, more prosperous, stronger United Kingdom will look like. That is not only why you must win, it is why you will win!” he said in a Sept. 24 keynote speech at the left-leaning party’s conference in Manchester.

The Conservative Party swept to power in the parliamentary elections, winning a majority that returns Prime Minister David Cameron to office.

It was Labor’s worst loss in three decades, despite de Blasio saying in his keynote that “the people of the UK are ready for bold, progressive change.”

The mayor also invoked his “tale of two cities,” saying it applied to London as well as New York, while praising Labor leader Ed Miliband, who resigned his post after Friday’s loss.

“Now I’ve said that growing inequality is the crisis of our time in New York City. It’s true here, as well,” de Blasio had said.

He also threw in a dose of class warfare, bashing Conservatives for creating a “cost-of-living crisis” in the UK.

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/09/newt-g...blasio-and-his-liberal-contract-with-america/

Newt Gingrich blasts de Blasio and his ‘Liberal Contract with America’
By Newt Gingrich
May 9, 2015 | 5:00pm

New York Mayor de Blasio plans to release a “Liberal Contract with America.” He said he was inspired by the 1994 Contract with America, of which I was the lead architect, and which led to the first House Republican majority in 40 years.

I’m flattered, Mr. Mayor. But allow me to offer a few cautionary thoughts.

De Blasio is clearly trying to pressure the Democrats to move to the left. But that is the exact opposite of the Contract with America model. The purpose of the Contract was not to pick a fight within the Republican Party. It was to define a center-right majority with a platform that commanded the broad support of the American people.

Before he writes his Contract with America from the Left, Mayor de Blasio should call Ed Miliband, who resigned as leader of the British Labour Party after the party was wiped out in elections last week.

The stunning and totally unexpected victory for Prime Minister David Cameron and the Conservatives holds lessons for both Democrats and Republicans.

The historic collapse of the Labour Party and its dramatic underperformance is a warning for those who believe a “true” left-wing agenda is the key to electoral victory.

The historic collapse of the Labour Party … is a warning for those who believe a ‘true’ left-wing agenda is the key to electoral victory.

From Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s first victory in 1979, the Conservatives dominated British politics for 18 years until Tony Blair deliberately and methodically moved the Labour Party to the center and won the election in 1997. Blair was so decisive in remodeling the formerly hard-left party that historian Paul Johnson called him Thatcher’s adopted son and said he understood her policies better than her Conservative successor John Major.

The Labour Party governed from the center under Blair :no2: and was amazingly popular. After a decade in office, Blair was succeeded by Gordon Brown in 2007, who moved the party back toward the left. Hammered by the economic crisis in 2010, the Labour Party suffered its biggest loss in 79 years and Brown resigned.

Yet the lesson Labour learned from this defeat was the de Blasio lesson. Ed Miliband became leader and moved Labour toward its militant left, redistributionist, big-government base.

The result is that Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron has governed a center-right coalition that the British people decisively reaffirmed this week.

Mayor de Blasio has to come to grips with some powerful realities that will increasingly dominate American politics and government. None of them come from the left.

British Conservatives emphasized their concerns for “working Britons.” In the United States, Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican, won reelection last year on similar themes.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan won big in a blue state by emphasizing high taxes and the needs of working Marylanders.

Mayor de Blasio wants higher taxes and bigger governments.

Polls indicate Americans want more take-home pay and smaller government.

Mayor de Blasio wants to blame the rest of America for the Baltimore disaster. Most Americans know that the Baltimore mayor telling the police to let people have “space to destroy” is the real disaster.

Mayor de Blasio wants government to take more from some Americans to give it to others.

Most Americans want government to quit killing jobs and opportunity. They want to join in creating wealth, not in redistributing it.

It’s impossible for Mayor de Blasio to create a document in the mold of the Contract with America — ideas supported by large majorities of Americans — if it is based on far-left ideas.

In addition, the 1994 Contract with America was a very specific document committing to specific steps we promised to take.

House Republicans had already written implementing legislation for every pledge.

As President Obama taught us with the stimulus and ObamaCare, the Left can’t write its bills out in the open because the American people would repudiate them as soon as they understand them.

I look forward to Mayor de Blasio’s effort to practice the self-destruction and self-delusion of the British Labour Party, and I would be delighted to debate the merits of our conservative Contract with America compared to his Contract from the Left.

Perhaps we could charge admission for the debate and give the money to our favorite charity or nonprofit. My charity would be the American Museum of Natural History in New York — so Mayor de Blasio could help raise money for his own city by accepting the challenge.

 

[Smedley Butler]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

I believe there's a 50/50 % chance that he will be in a high place one day and have sudden uncontrollable urge to jump with out warning.

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/11/former-nyc-fire-police-commissioner-blasts-de-blasio/

Former NYC fire, police commissioner blasts de Blasio
By Aaron Short
May 11, 2015 | 9:30am

Howard Safir
Photo: AP


Former Fire and Police Commissioner Howard Safir blasted Mayor de Blasio on Sunday for refusing to fund 1,000 new cops.

“I think Mayor de Blasio is totally wrong,” Safir told John Catismatidis on the supermarket mogul’s 970 AM radio show. “There’s even more duties required of the NYPD than before. Not providing additional cops is just not right.”

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has urged de Blasio to pay for the additional police, but the mayor did not include the request in his $78.3 billion budget this week.

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/11/with-crime-on-the-rise-jet-setting-de-blasio-hitting-the-road-again/

Violent crime soars, de Blasio splits town
By Aaron Short, Yoav Gonen and Michael Gartland
May 11, 2015 | 11:52pm

He’s on the road again.

As violent crime soars in the Big Apple, Mayor Bill de Blasio has far more pressing matters to deal with — touting his progressive agenda in two more out-of-state locales.

Hizzoner will be heading off Tuesday for his 11th trip outside New York in the last 12 months to address national or international issues.

After speaking in three Midwestern states last month on income inequality, de Blasio is headed to DC to unveil details of his progressive agenda.

On Wednesday, he is set to lobby with other officials for increased federal transportation funding before jetting to California to speak at two universities and raise funds for his City Hall nonprofit, the Campaign for One New York.

He’s set to spend another day in California Friday hanging out with daughter Charbroiled, a junior at Santa Clara University.

“He should stay in town a little bit more and concentrate on what’s going on in the city of New York,” said state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Queens). “Don’t worry about national politics; worry about taking care of the city of New York first.”

And de Blasio’s fellow Democrats worry that his far-left version of Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America” — to be presented with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and celebutard actors Susan Sarandon and Steve Buscemi on Tuesday — could deepen the political divide.

“It is so polarizing,” said one Capitol Hill Democratic aide. “It makes the minimum wage and these things harder to do when you have guys like de Blasio rolling into town and make them political left-right issues.”

Even as the mayor will be touting causes on behalf of the nation’s poor, he’ll be hobnobbing with some of its richest.

Thursday’s fundraiser in San Francisco for the Campaign for One New York will be hosted by billionaire angel investor Ron Conway, top Pinterest official Chris Dixon, Salesforce.com VP Burke Norton and Sean Parker, the billionaire founder of Napster.

“I’ve got to use the tools we have here to address income inequality and a host of other issues,” de Blasio said Monday.

“But I also have to participate in changing the national debate and changing the reality in Washington in a way that will support the people of New York City.”

While prior mayors have stumped nationally, few have done so this early into their first terms, experts say.

“His poll numbers aren’t good enough to suggest that he has the capital that he can burn with New Yorkers,” said Richard Flanagan, a political science professor at the College of Staten Island. “He risks alienating constituents back home.”

 

[Smedley Butler]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

Has the king of whiggers mayor deflakio who is also brain rinsed as he was raised up as a child with communist anti White saturated soaking wet anti Western edumacation bs gone to that **** hole gangster land donning his little cap showing allegiance to enemy aliens at a wall that was actually a wall of a Roman Army headquarter's etc. ?

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/12/broken-windows-founder-blasts-policies-opportunistic-critics/

‘Broken Windows’ founder blasts policies’ ‘opportunistic’ critics
By Joe Tacopino and Shawn Cohen
May 12, 2015 | 12:57am

Broken windows theorist George Kelling speaks during the Manhattan Institute's 15th annual Alexander Hamilton Award dinner.
Photo: Byron Smith


The father of “broken windows” policing blasted “opportunistic critics” of the program who he claims are “deliberately misrepresenting” his ideas in pursuit of their own political agenda.

Renowned criminologist George Kelling said that his landmark policing strategy transformed the “previously hopeless New York city” into “one of the safest cities in the world” during a speech at the Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner Monday night at Cipriani in Midtown.

Kelling also warned that the current move to decriminalize low-level crimes would be a mistake and cited the transit police’s move to be lax about fare-beating in the 80s.

“The result was a disaster,” Kelling said, “with 250,000 people a day not paying their fare and chaos reigning around the turnstyles.”

The scholar was introduced by Police Commissioner Bill Bratton who said a “tidal wave” threatens to undo all the accomplishments achieved using Kelling’s policing tactic.

While he acknowledged that race problems exist in some police departments, Kelling said that broken windows policing was not to blame and said that a “necessary compact between citizens and police is fundamental to policing a democracy.”

George Kelling, left, chats with former Police Chief Ray Kelly

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/13/de-blasio-pushes-progressive-agenda-in-washington-dc/

De Blasio pushes ‘progressive agenda’ in Washington DC
By Geoff Earle
May 13, 2015 | 1:45am

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks about the "Progressive Agenda" on Capitol Hill.
Photo: AP


WASHINGTON — Mayor de Blasio spent Tuesday in DC promoting a new “progressive agenda,” leaving behind messy local issues like random hammer attacks in Union Square to surround himself with liberal Democratic lawmakers who get repeatedly outvoted in the Republican House.

“Something different is happening. It’s a movement from the grassroots. :no2: It’s an urgent call for change,” said de Blasio, as he rolled out a 13-point agenda that included a $15 national minimum wage, paid sick leave and tax reform.

De Blasio has been stymied at home on many of the issues he was championing for the nation. New York’s minimum wage is still $8.75, although he did push through universal pre-K.

De Blasio acted as emcee for the announcement, trying to guide an unruly collection of lawmakers, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, union leaders and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

Sharpton said he came because the movement was being led “by someone that all sides of the debate can trust.” But he noted police misconduct “is not on the list.”

Critics questioned if his national speaking engagements should take precedence over his duties at City Hall.

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/12/de-blasio-gets-lowest-approval-rating-of-his-mayoral-career/

De Blasio gets lowest approval rating of his mayoral career
By Yoav Gonen
May 12, 2015 | 6:05pm

He’s aiming to become a national spokesman for the left, but a new poll suggests Mayor de Blasio might want to pay more attention to the folks who elected him in New York City

De Blasio received the lowest job approval ratings of his mayoral career in a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday, with 44 percent of voters giving him a thumbs up compared to 40 percent who thought he was doing a lousy job.

That was a 5 percent drop from January, when the mayor a 49 percent positive rating and 40 percent negative one.

And nearly half of those surveyed —46 percent — said the mayor’s jaunts around the country were distracting him from his duties at City Hall. Forty-two percent had no problem with the trips.

“Is Mayor Bill de Blasio distracted from his day job by his role as a national liberal spokesman? New Yorkers lean yes: Some wish he’d concentrate on City Hall and almost as many applaud his outspokenness,” said pollster Maurice Carroll.

“The Mayor’s job approval hits a new low and he’s lost a lot of ground on his handling of crime and the schools, two key areas for any mayor.”

The results of the May 6 to 11 poll come on the first day of Hizzoner’s 4-day national tour that starts in Washington DC — where he’s unveiling a 13-point progressive agenda — and finishes in California, where he’s speaking at two colleges and hosting a fundraiser.

They also come after a particularly violent weekend and after a 4-week stretch that saw both shootings and the murder rate climb.

The poll found a dramatic shift in opinion since January of the Mayor’s handling of crime — with positive views dropping from 50 percent to 42 percent, and negative views rising from 41 percent to 49 percent.

The poll surveyed 969 New York City voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

Wiley Norvell, a mayoral spokesman, shrugged off the results.

“Polls go up and polls go down, but one thing that is certain and constant is Mayor de Blasio’s commitment to combating income inequality in New York City. It’s why he fought for paid sick-leave protections, living-wage increases, and universal pre-kindergarten for every New York family,” he said

 

[The Bobster]

Re: De Blasio in secret bid to be Dems’ 2016 pick

http://nypost.com/2015/05/13/de-blasio-traveling-farther-and-farther-away-from-new-york/

De Blasio traveling farther and farther away from New York
By Geoff Earle
May 13, 2015 | 10:08pm

WASHINGTON — Just like “Where’s Waldo,” you need a map to figure out where Mayor de Blasio is this week.

On Wednesday, he was in front to the US Capitol, leading 30 mayors in a press conference to push Congress to pass a bill to extend expiring transportation legislation.

On a brisk day, the mayor was nearly 15 minutes late for his own event, which left a group of about a dozen small-town mayors fidgeting until he and a few other latecomers arrived.

“It’s a painful coincidence that we stand here just hours after this crash,” he said, referring to the Amtrak disaster.

Asked about being out of town while some of his constituents were caught in the derailment — and on a day police shot a hammer-wielding madman in Midtown — de Blasio responded: “We feel obligated to go where we can make an impact for our people.”

“We’re out of town because this is where the resources are,” he added.

Earlier, de Blasio took his pitch to the TV studio, appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show.

Wednesday evening, the traveling mayor took his progressive campaign to the left coast and hopped a flight to California.

On Thursday he’ll be in Berkeley to deliver a speech at the University of California before heading to San Jose for another address at Santa Clara University.

That night, a fund-raiser will be held in San Francisco with well-heeled benefactors to his controversial “Campaign for One New York” foundation.

That was to be followed by a San Francisco treat: some downtime Friday with daughter Chiara, who goes to school at Santa Clara U.

In DC, de Blasio and fellow mayors strode the Capitol hallways and met with powerful lawmakers, including Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and minority leader Nancy Pelosi, plus top Republican committee chairmen.

The mayor also fielded questions on a brief meeting he had with President Obama. He said he expressed his concern that the issue of income inequality “is deepening.”

De Blasio began his out-of-town jaunt in DC Tuesday to roll out a new “Progressive Agenda,” which includes an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour and mandated paid family leave.

Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel appeared with the mayor, but told The Post afterward de Blasio wasn’t the leader of the progressive movement.

“Hell no. I don’t think we have a leader, that’s why we’re progressive,” Rangel said.