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| Bill de Blasio |
Bill de Blasio (born Warren Wilhelm; May 8, 1961) is a New York City elected official, holding the citywide office of New York City Public Advocate, which serves as an ombudsman between the electorate and the city government. He formerly served as a New York City Council member representing the 39th District in Brooklyn (Borough Park, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, Kensington, Park Slope, and Windsor Terrace). De Blasio announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party nomination for mayor of New York City on January 27, 2013.[2]
Contents
Early life and education :
Bill de Blasio was born Warren Wilhelm. His family always called him "Bill" and he legally changed his last name to his mother's maiden name. In an April 2012 interview, de Blasio explained: "[My dad] was an officer in the Pacific in the army, [and] in an extraordinary number of very, very difficult, horrible battles, including Okinawa…And I think honestly, as we now know about veterans who return, [he] was going through physically and mentally a lot… He was an alcoholic, and my mother and father broke up very early on in the time I came along, and I was brought up by my mother’s family — that’s the bottom line — the de Blasio family. I started by putting the name into my diploma, and then I hyphenated it legally when I finished NYU, and then, more and more, I realized that was the right identity."[3] He was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1]
De Blasio received a B.A. from New York University, and a Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. [4]
De Blasio served as part of the Urban Fellows Program for the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice.[5]
Early political career (1989–2000) :
De Blasio's introduction to City politics came during David Dinkins' 1989 mayoral campaign, for which he was a volunteer coordinator.[6] Following the campaign, de Blasio served as an aide in City Hall.[7]
In 1997, he was appointed to serve as the Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for New York and New Jersey under the administration of President Bill Clinton. As the tri-state region’s highest-ranking HUD official, de Blasio increased federal funding for affordable and senior-citizen housing.[8] In 1999, he was elected a member of Community School Board 15.[9] He was tapped to serve as campaign manager for Hillary Rodham Clinton's successful United States Senate bid in 2000.[9]
New York City Council (2001–2009)
Elections :
In 2001, de Blasio decided to run for the New York City Council's 39th district which includes the Brooklyn neighborhoods of: Borough Park, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, Kensington, Park Slope, and Windsor Terrace. He won the crowded primary election 32% of the vote.[10] In the general election, he defeated Republican Robert A. Bell 71%–17%.[11] In 2003, he won re-election to a second term with 72% of the vote.[12] In 2005, he won re-election to a third term with 83% of the vote.[13]
Tenure :
On the City Council, de Blasio passed legislation to prevent landlord discrimination against tenants who hold federal housing subsidy vouchers, and helped pass the HIV/AIDS Housing Services law, improving housing services for low income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS.[14] [15] As head of the City Council’s General Welfare Committee, de Blasio helped pass the Gender-Based Discrimination Protection law to protect transgender New Yorkers, and passed the Domestic Partnership Recognition Law to ensure that same sex couples in a legal partnership could enjoy the same legal benefits as heterosexual couples in New York City.[16] During his tenure, the General Welfare Committee also passed the Benefits Translation for Immigrants Law, which helped non-English speakers access free language assistance services when accessing government programs.[17]
Committee assignments :
- Education[18]
- Environmental Protection[19]
- Finance[20]
- General Welfare (Chair)[21]
- Technology in Government[22]
2009 election for Public Advocate
Main article : New York City Public Advocate election, 2009
In November 2008, he announced his candidacy for Public Advocate, entering a crowded field of candidates vying for the Democratic nomination which included former Public Advocate Mark J. Green. The New York Times endorsed de Blasio in an editorial published during the primary, praising his efforts to improve public schools and “[help] many less-fortunate New Yorkers with food stamps, housing, and children's health” as a Councilmember. The editorial went on to declare de Blasio the best candidate for the job “because he has shown that he can work well with Mayor Bloomberg when it makes sense to do so while vehemently and eloquently opposing him when justified”.[23] His candidacy was endorsed by then Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, former Mayor Ed Koch, former Governor Mario Cuomo, and Reverend Al Sharpton.
On September 15, 2009, de Blasio came in first in the Democratic primary, garnering 33% of the vote.[24] He won the run-off primary election on September 29, 2009 defeating Mark Green 62%–38%.[25] On November 3, 2009, he defeated Republican Alex Zablocki 78%–18%.[26][27]
New York City Public Advocate (2010–Present)
De Blasio was inaugurated as New York City's third Public Advocate on January 1, 2010. In his inauguration speech, he challenged the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, specifically criticising Mayor Bloomberg's homelessness and education policies.[28]
Education
As Public Advocate, de Blasio has repeatedly offered sharp criticism of Mayor Bloomberg’s education policies. He opposed Bloomberg’s appointment of Cathie Black as DOE Chancellor. In March 2010, he spoke against an MTA proposal to eliminate free MetroCards for students, arguing the measure would take a significant toll on school attendance.[29] Three months later, he voiced opposition to the mayor's proposed budget containing more than $34 million in cuts to childcare services.[30]
In June 2011, de Blasio outlined a plan to improve the process of school co-location, by which multiple schools are housed in one building. His study found community input was often ignored by the Mayor's Department of Education, resulting in top-down decisions made without sufficient regard for negative impact. He outlined eight solutions to improve the process and incorporate community opinion into the decision-making process.[31] The same month, he also criticized a proposal by the Bloomberg administration to fire more than 4,600 teachers to balance the city's budget, organizing parents and communities against the proposed cuts, and staging a last minute call-a-thon. Bloomberg restored the funding, agreeing to find savings elsewhere in the budget.[32]
During his mayoral campaign, de Blasio has outlined a plan to raise taxes on residents earning over $500,000 a year in order to pay for universal pre-Kindergarten programs and to expand after-school programs at middle schools.[33][34] He also plans to invest $150 million annually into the City University of New York in order to lower tuition and to improve degree programs.[34]
Housing
In June 2010, de Blasio voiced his opposition to a New York City Housing Authority decision to cut the number of Section 8 vouchers issued to low-income New Yorkers. The cut was announced after the NYCHA discovered it could not pay for approximately 2,600 vouchers that had already been issued. The Housing Authority reversed its decision a month later.[35] Two months later, he launched an online “NYC's Worst Landlords Watchlist” to track landlords who failed to repair dangerous living conditions. The list drew widespread media coverage, and highlighted hundreds of landlords across the city. "We want these landlords to feel like they're being watched", de Blasio told the Daily News. "We need to shine a light on these folks to shame them into action."[36]
Corporate Spending in Elections
De Blasio has been a vocal opponent of Citizens United, the January 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision which overturned portions of the 2002 McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act. He argued that “corporations should not be allowed to buy elections”, and launched a national campaign of elected officials to reverse the effects of the court decision.[37]
2013 election for Mayor
Main article: New York City mayoral election, 2013
On January 27, 2013, de Blasio announced his candidacy for Mayor of New York City in the fall election. [38]
The Democratic primary consists of 9 candidates including big names such as Council Speaker Christine Quinn, former U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner and, former New York City Comptroller and nominee for Mayor in 2009 Bill Thompson.[39][40] Early polls following the entrance of Weiner into the race in April showed De Blasio in fourth or fifth place.[41]
De Blasio with his wife, Chirlane (left) and children, Chiara and Dante
Despite this poor starting position, de Blasio was able to gain the endorsements of many major Democratic clubs such as the Barack Obama Democratic Club of Upper Manhattan as well as New York City's largest trade union, SEIU Local 1199. Celebrities such as Alec Baldwin and Sarah Jessica Parker have also given endorsements.[42][43] Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean and U.S. Congresswoman Yvette Clarke have also thrown in their endorsements.[44] By August, Harry Belafonte and Susan Sarandon had endorsed de Blasio.[45]
De Blasio gained media attention during the campaign when he and a dozen others, including City Councilman Stephen Levin, were arrested for protesting the closing of Long Island College Hospital.[46] Fellow Democratic mayoral hopefuls Anthony Weiner and City Comptroller John Liu were also at the protest but stayed in the background to avoid arrest. De Blasio and Levin were released a few hours later with a disorderly conduct summons.[47]
Over time, de Blasio began to move up in the polls and a mid-August poll showed him taking the Democratic lead for the first time.[48] and reached 43 percent in a Quinnipiac poll released September 3.[49]
Personal life :
De Blasio is of Italian-American and mixed European ethnic heritage. He and his wife, activist and poet Chirlane McCray, met while both were working for the Dinkins administration. They live in Park Slope, Brooklyn with their two children, Dante and Chiara.[50] Both children attend public schools.[51]
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