New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio Counts on White House Bid Being a Marathon

Candidate: Bill De Blasio

State of Residence: New York

Campaign Website: https://billdeblasio.com

Short Bio: A proud husband and father, Bill met his wife Chirlane McCray at City Hall when he first began his work in public service as a junior staffer for David Dinkins, New York City’s first African American mayor. They raised their children Dante and Chiara in Brooklyn where Bill coached Dante’s little league team and served on the local school board.

During his two terms as mayor, Bill created universal pre-K for all 70,000 four-year-olds in New York City, expanded the paid sick leave law to cover thousands more workers, and raised the minimum wage for all city employees and contractors.

He ended the era of stop and frisk and pursued reforms to bring the NYPD and the communities they serve closer together. At the same time, he drove crime to record-low levels.

Bill also expanded the number of affordable apartments and took on the landlord lobby. Under his watch, rents were frozen for two years straight.

Bill served as public advocate for the City of New York from 2010 to 2013, where he stopped thousands of teacher layoffs, saved good neighborhood schools, fought for fair compensation for first responders, debuted the city’s “Worst Landlords Watchlist” and advocated on behalf of New York City’s most vulnerable children.

Prior to his election as public advocate, Bill was elected to New York’s City Council in 2002. During his eight years in the council, Bill focused his efforts on improving public education, engaging parents, expanding affordable housing and protecting New York’s middle-class and working families. Bill won millions in new investments in early childhood education and wrote the landmark tenants’ rights legislation to protect affordable housing and end landlord discrimination for everyday New Yorkers.

Before joining the city council, de Blasio served as regional director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and as campaign manager for Hillary Clinton’s historic campaign for U.S. Senate.

Bill graduated from New York University and studied at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. [Official Website]

Fun Fact: Despite being Mayor of New York City, Bill De Blasio roots for the Boston Red Sox, the despised rival of the New York Yankees. [New York Intelligencer]

On the Issues

Health Care: A national single-payer healthcare plan. De Blasio believes everyone should be guaranteed the right to health care, including undocumented immigrants. He has repeatedly called for a national single-payer healthcare plan. De Blasio also signed a paid sick leave and safe leave plan into law, one of his signature accomplishments as mayor. [PBS]

Jobs/Economy/Taxes: Put working people first. In his presidential announcement video, de Blasio said “there’s plenty of money in this country, it’s just in the wrong hands.” As mayor, de Blasio has made income inequality a top issue. He raised the minimum wage of city workers to $15 an hour, which he claims paved the way for the minimum wage hike in the state of New York. The mayor also called for a millionaire’s tax in New York. On trade, de Blasio is against NAFTA and criticized the Trans Pacific Partnership, a large trade pact many Democrats backed under former President Barack Obama. [PBS]