Departing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) isn’t leaving the public eye anytime soon. He might be stepping down after two divisive terms in office but he has no intention of abandoning personal political ambitions, he revealed in an interview published Wednesday.
Speaking in a wide-ranging exchange with a reporter from Associated Press (AP), determined leftist de Blasio remained coy on his future plans when asked if he’s going to run for state governor, however he ruled nothing specifically out. He said:
I think I’ve put plenty of breadcrumbs out there on the trail. I’m going to stay in public service. As to electoral politics, I’ll give an update very, very soon.
A de Blasio run for higher office has long been talked about even as his legacy has been defined by strained relationships with both police and the police-reform activists who propelled him to office, public discord with the former governor, vaccine mandates, and spectacular gaffes bookended in withering headlines.
A bid for governor of New York in 2022 has been the subject of speculation by others which he has done nothing to play down.
Still, de Blasio says he is confident of a future ahead. AP reports he continued: “I want people to remember that we needed to fight inequality and we did. And it can be done. We were able to do that in very tangible, real ways. I think that opens the door for a lot more going forward, but it can be done.”
The mayor nodded to his awkward relationship with the media, something he said he’s been reflecting on a lot lately as he wound down his time in the mayor’s office.
A person holds up a protest sign as people gather at City Hall to protest vaccine mandates in New York City. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that as of August 16th proof of coronavirus vaccination will be required to attend indoor restaurants, gyms, and entertainment venues with enforcement of the mandate to begin on September 13th. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
His stumbles included being photographed eating a piece of pizza with a knife and fork just after he assumed office from Michael Bloomberg to showing up late to a memorial for plane crash victims and dropping a groundhog during a Groundhog Day celebration, as AP outlined. The groundhog died a week later.
“I think I could have communicated better. I think I could have understood better what the media needed to do to their jobs,” de Blasio said. “I tried to make adjustments over time. And it’s something I’m going to keep working on as a public service.”
The coronavirus has also helped to shape the public perception of the man.
The mayor frequently bragged about his coercive vaccine mandates in the city, going as far as requiring private sector employees to get a vaccine and extending the city’s vaccine passport program to apply to children as young as five.
Despite those strictures, New York City comprised 29 percent of new coronavirus cases on December 26, recent data shows.
He officially turns over the reins to Mayor-elect Eric Adams, a Democrat and former police captain, on Jan. 1.
AP contributed to this report
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