May the dream of a safer, smarter, more prosperous New York come true for everyone in the five boroughs under the leadership of Bill de Blasio, elected Tuesday as mayor of the world’s most important city.
De Blasio’s landslide was beyond impressive. Pick your superlative: stupendous, mammoth, spectacular, gravity-defying, whatever.
All the more astonishing, stunning, staggering, is that less than four months ago, Public Advocate Bill de Who was fourth in the Democratic primary polls with a tiny sliver of the vote.
As voters got to know de Blasio, they sized him up as the man of the hour. He drew support from all quarters, with the message that he cared about workaday New Yorkers, while an enthusiastic personality gave credibility to his cry from the heart.
So, at a time when the public has been looking forward to a change in direction, meaning the end of the Bloomberg era, de Blasio will stride toward Inauguration Day powerfully positioned to do great things.
No doubt, he can claim a mandate on the central themes of his campaign: to trim stop, question and frisk; to move away from Mayor Bloomberg’s aggressive education reforms; and to establish universal pre-kindergarten financed by a tax on the wealthy.
The first two de Blasio can deliver on his own. The pre-k scheme requires approval of the Legislature and Gov. Cuomo, whose resistance to raising taxes will be tested by the election returns. As for reducing income inequality, a key de Blasio promise, the City Council will rush through his sick pay and living wage bills. Then what?
De Blasio’s masterful “tale of two cities” campaign — rich vs. poor, privileged vs. underprivileged — gives way now to planning to be the mayor of the one city united behind him.
There has never been a question about de Blasio’s genuinely held good intentions.
When he cited the fact that 46% of New Yorkers live below the poverty line or not far above it, when he decried the loss of middle-class jobs, when he complained about the city’s lack of affordability, he clearly envisioned stepping in to do what a mayor can to help.
But, throughout the campaign, de Blasio left largely unresolved how he would lift economic fortunes, as well as how he would tackle so many other mayoral duties, including driving down crime and driving up public school performance.
Clarity is fast-approaching and inescapable.
Over the next two months, this executive with no executive experience will build an administration. De Blasio’s choices for key posts — police commissioner and schools chancellor, most importantly — will chart what he actually intends to deliver.
On security, de Blasio has no room for error.
Public safety is the linchpin of New York’s future. He will be charged with protecting life and property as well as the NYPD has done under the superb direction of Ray Kelly, if not better.
Having ruled out keeping Kelly because of objections to the stop, question, frisk program, de Blasio must name a law enforcement professional who has the smarts to develop similarly aggressive crime- and terror-fighting strategies. No small order.
De Blasio would be wise to appoint a commissioner who also has the guts to call for appealing the discredited court ruling that branded stop, question, frisk unconstitutional — even as de Blasio reins in the program. A worthy police commander would demand relief from federal monitoring on the grounds that the unnecessary oversight will only distract from the central crime-fighting mission and create a gulf between the mayor and the Finest.
The new chancellor, too, will come on board under political limitations, because, for instance, de Blasio has ruled out closing failing schools.
That said, he must select a schools chief who is committed to meeting the standards of the new Common Core curriculum, who will hold teachers and principals accountable for improving achievement and who can win over parents on the need for standardized testing. Fuzzy-wuzzy will not do.
In the 56-day countdown to his swearing in, de Blasio must also lay the groundwork for negotiations with labor leaders — who have high expectations for $7.8 billion in back pay — and for drawing a bare-bones budget.
And, gee, this is the mayor-elect’s honeymoon.
May it be a grand one, and may Bill de Blasio fully vindicate the faith New Yorkers have so fully placed in him.
M ay the dream of a safer, smarter, more prosperous New York come true for everyone in the five boroughs under the leadership of Bill de Blasio, elected Tuesday as mayor of the world’s most important city.
De Blasio’s landslide was beyond impressive. Pick your superlative: stupendous, mammoth, spectacular, gravity-defying, whatever.
All the more astonishing, stunning, staggering, is that less than four months ago, Public Advocate Bill de Who was fourth in the Democratic primary polls with a tiny sliver of the vote.
As voters got to know de Blasio, they sized him up as the man of the hour. He drew support from all quarters, with the message that he cared about workaday New Yorkers, while an enthusiastic personality gave credibility to his cry from the heart.
So, at a time when the public has been looking forward to a change in direction, meaning the end of the Bloomberg era, de Blasio will stride toward Inauguration Day powerfully positioned to do great things.
No doubt, he can claim a mandate on the central themes of his campaign: to trim stop, question and frisk; to move away from Mayor Bloomberg’s aggressive education reforms; and to establish universal pre-kindergarten financed by a tax on the wealthy.
The first two de Blasio can deliver on his own. The pre-k scheme requires the Legislature and Gov. Cuomo, whose resistance to raising taxes will be tested by the election returns. As for reducing income inequality, a key de Blasio promise, the City Council will rush through his sick pay and living wage bills. Then what?
De Blasio’s masterful “tale of two cities” campaign — rich vs. poor, privileged vs. underprivileged — gives way now to planning to be the mayor of the one city united behind him.
Tuesday night, he said: “New York is the brightest embodiment of the idea behind American greatness . . . If you have brains and heart and guts and faith, this city more than any other in the world will offer you a real chance at a better life.” Amen.
There has never been a question about de Blasio’s genuinely held good intentions.
When he cited the fact that 46% of New Yorkers live below the poverty line or not far above it, when he decried the loss of middle-class jobs, when he complained about the city’s lack of affordability, he clearly envisioned stepping in to do what a mayor can to help.
But, throughout the campaign, de Blasio left largely unresolved how he would lift economic fortunes, as well as how he would tackle so many other mayoral duties, including driving down crime and driving up public school performance.
Clarity is fast-approaching and inescapable.
Over the next two months, this executive with no executive experience will build an administration. De Blasio’s choices for key posts — police commissioner and schools chancellor, most importantly — will chart what he actually intends to deliver.
On security, de Blasio has no room for error. Public safety is the linchpin of New York’s future. He will be charged with protecting life and property as well as the NYPD has done under the superb direction of Ray Kelly, if not better.
Having ruled out keeping Kelly because of objections to the stop, question, frisk program, de Blasio must name a law enforcement professional who has the smarts to develop similarly aggressive crime- and terror-fighting strategies. No small order.
De Blasio would be wise to appoint a commissioner who also has the guts to call for appealing the discredited court ruling that branded stop, question, frisk unconstitutional — even as de Blasio reins in the program. A worthy police commander would demand relief from federal monitoring on the grounds that the unnecessary oversight will only distract from the central crime-fighting mission and create a gulf between the mayor and the Finest.
The new chancellor, too, will come on board under political limitations, because, for instance, de Blasio has ruled out closing failing schools.
That said, he must select a schools chief who is committed to meeting the standards of the new Common Core curriculum, who will hold teachers and principals accountable for improving achievement and who can win over parents on the need for standardized testing. Fuzzy-wuzzy will not do.
In the 56-day countdown to his swearing in, de Blasio must also lay the groundwork for negotiations with labor leaders — who have high expectations for $7.8 billion in back pay — and for drawing a bare-bones budget.
And, gee, this is the mayor-elect’s honeymoon.
May it be a grand one, and may Bill de Blasio fully vindicate the faith New Yorkers have so fully placed in him.
