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Quick Facts
Who: Bill de Blasio
State: New York
Current position: Mayor of New York City
Campaign Website: BilldeBlasio.com
Background: Bill de Blasio served on the New York City Council from 2002 to 2009. He then served as the city's public advocate from 2010 to 2013. He was elected mayor of New York in 2013 and assumed office on January 1, 2014.
2020 Campaign & Endorsements
Date Announced: May 16, 2019
Fundraising: N/A
Campaign Leadership: Jon Paul Lupo
Key Endorsements:
Political Positions
- Health care: De Blasio supports singer payer health care and Medicare for All.
- Immigration: He supports sanctuary city policies and has vowed to fight the Trump administration's plans to strip them of federal funding. He has opposed ICE crackdowns, before calling for the agency to be abolished. He has even unveiled his plans to provide health care coverage for illegal immigrants.
- Environment: The mayor recently rolled out his Green New Deal-like plan for New York, but it was a rather rocky affair. He also opposes natural gas pipelines and wants the U.S. back in the Paris Climate Accords.
- Economy: The mayor has advocated for a $15 minimum wage in New York and has more than once proposed tax hikes on the wealthy.
- Gun Control: In 2016, De Blasio helped launch a "gun violence prevention division" called Project Fast Track. It increased the NYPD’s capacity to investigate shootings, gangs and illegal guns, according to NYC.gov.
- Abortion: De Blasio supports abortion rights and was on board with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's infamous comments that pro-life New Yorkers are not welcome in the state. He's rallied behind Planned Parenthood when the organization's funding was threatened and opposed the Trump administration's gag rule on Title X.
Criticism/Controversies
- Even New Yorkers don't like him: In a Quinnipiac University poll released in April, 76 percent of likely New York voters said they didn't want the mayor to run for president.
- NYPD: In 2014. De Blasio made some remarks to suggest that the police were responsible for the "distrust" in their communities. In response, police officers literally turned their backs on him at a slain officer's funeral. When the mayor announced his 2020 run, an NYPD union called it "laughable."
- Tension with the governor: De Blasio has been at odds with Gov. Andrew Cuomo for years over education, taxes, and several other hot button issues. According to Vice, they "hate each other."
- Groundhog massacre: On Groundhog Day in 2014, Mayor De Blasio accidentally dropped the beloved Staten Island Zoo's forecasting groundhog, "Chuck." He fell six feet to the ground and died a week later from internal injuries. New Yorkers have never forgotten.
This piece is part of our Election 2020 series. See below for more information on the most talked about Democrats challenging President Trump.