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Home , Bill de Blasio, David Dinkins, Mayor of New York City

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Life in Brief Quick Summary Born: May 8, 1961 Activist organizer who spearheaded progressive causes and campaigns before becoming Mayor Hometown: Cambridge, of • Inherited a progressive identity from his Current Residence: , New York City parents, who were denounced during McCarthyism Religion: Spiritual but not religious • Distributed aid in while working for a nonprofit during the Sandinista era, which he Education: says reinforced his beliefs in government’s duty • BA, to protect the poor • MIA, • Rose through NYC politics as a skilled campaigner, earning respect from the Clintons Family: • Vocal leader on NYC City Council and its • Wife: Chirlane McCray, community activist General Welfare Committee; strongly pushed • 2 children, boy and girl housing, education, and equality legislation • Makes incremental progress on longstanding Work History: issues through deals but has used executive • , 2014-present orders to make fast progress on priority issues • Public Advocate of New York City, 2010-14 (e.g., pledging NYC to agreements) • Member of the from the • Uses his ascendency to Mayor as a stump to 39th District, 2002-10 push a progressive agenda about inequality • Campaign Manager, , 2000 and fairness in speeches and on TV • Regional Director of the U.S. Department of • Made an unsuccessful bid for President in Housing and Urban Development, 1997-2000 2020; later endorsed • Campaign Manager, (D-NY) Approach and Motivations and , 1994-96 • Aide, NYC Mayor , 1988-93 Former provocateur who evolved into a • Political Organizer, Quixote Center, 1987-88 dealmaker upon entering politics • Motivated by his parents to work for justice and Past and Present Board and Advisory Roles transparency through proactive government • Past Head of the New York City Council's solutions attuned to the needs of communities General Welfare Committee • Developed a proclivity for direct action at an • School Board for District 15 , 1999 early age; involved in political movements since high school, publicly celebrated the Cuban Electoral Overview revolution, and has been arrested multiple th • Won primary for NYC Council’s 39 district in times, including protesting US 2001 with 32%, easily won the general election • Adopted a more diplomatic approach upon and two reelections with more than 71% entering politics; known as a shrewd dealmaker • Handily won 2009 election for Public Advocate • Persistent in trying to find common ground with Won a landslide general election and reelection ; despite not seeing eye to eye, for Mayor in 2013 and 2017 (72% and 65%) the politicians typically come back to the table

PEOPLE RESEARCH SERVICE 1

BILL DE BLASIO MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY

Policy Positions and Areas of Focus Core Communities

Fierce advocate for welfare policies that Profound connections to liberals in New York promote equality and ease burdens on families and beyond

Inequality: Fighting structural inequities with Prominent New York Democrats: Cognoscente policy reform of the New York political scene for more than • Raised NYC’s to $15 per hour thirty years and instituted required paid sick leave • Worked in City Hall for David Dinkins – the last • Created ID card system helping undocumented Democratic Mayor before de Blasio – before immigrants to access financial services campaigning for former Rep. Charles Rangel • Organized “The Progressive Agenda to Combat • Friends with actress/ and Inequality,” a forum for liberal leaders to craft , a New Yorker and former policy urging tax fairness, worker protections Governor of and chair of the DNC • Worked with Harold Ickes on Hillary Clinton’s Housing: Promotes policies to make housing 2000 Senate campaign, who credited him with more affordable for the underprivileged guiding Clinton through NYC politics • Pushed legislation on the NYC City Council to • Testy ties to Andrew Cuomo, who has criticized prevent discrimination against tenants holding de Blasio’s policies and made decisions federal subsidy vouchers and to help New affecting NYC without consulting him Yorkers with HIV/AIDS access housing services • As Public Advocate, he launched the “NYC’s New York Working Class: Active engagement Worst Landlords Watchlist,” putting pressure on with constituent groups landlords with mounting violations and helping • Commended by citizens of the for tenants to organize repairs, access building info HUD outreach and work there in the late 90’s • As Mayor, he proposed and passed Mandatory • Was active in the community until becoming Inclusionary Housing & Zoning for Quality and Mayor; elected to Brooklyn School Board and Affordability, putting forceful incentives in place coached Little League for developers to build low-cost housing • Endorsed by the and • Negotiated a 2019 agreement with HUD to other labor groups in NYC address health and safety hazards at NYCHA properties; policy creates requirements to Leftwing Activists: Major ties to groups remediate lead, mold, heating, and other issues supporting leftist causes in Central America • Focused on Latin American politics in graduate Education: Champion of government initiatives school and helped oversee aid efforts in that increase access to early education Nicaragua; supported the Sandinista movement • Top Mayoral priority was universal pre-K; in two • Heavily involved with the Nicaragua Solidarity years, enrollment tripled and his programs Network as an activist and volunteer fundraiser serve over half of NYC’s homeless children • Helped forge an alliance between New York • Lowered tuition and hired more teachers to and Nicaraguan labor unions address overcrowding of CUNY universities • Remained sympathetic to leftwing activism through $150M annual investment throughout the 1990s until becoming further • Opposes charter schools and prevented some embroiled in NYC politics from using space in public school buildings

PEOPLE RESEARCH SERVICE 2

BILL DE BLASIO MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY

Relevant Financial Information Publications, Media, and Speaking

Donors reflect New York and proponents of his Most media appearances regard his 2020 progressive policy priorities election bid; shows firm belief in values through op-ed and speeches Biggest Industry Donors (Career) • Lawyers & Lobbyists, $915,849 Publications: Frequently pens op-eds in national • Real Estate, $744,855 and major New York outlets • Labor Unions, $518,318 • Preferred Outlets: The NYT, Huffington Post, • Securities & Investment, $302,902 NY Mag, NBC, Wired Magazine • Education, $112,609 • Favorite Subjects: NYC-related issues like the HQ and , taxes, Biggest Corporate Donors (Career) climate change, 2020 Presidential election, • Mason Tenders District Council, $22,340 progressivism, automation • Local 338, $18,150 • UAW Region 9A, $14,850 Media: Interviewed frequently about the 2020 • UAW International Union, $9,900 election and speaks about progressive causes; • Greenberg Traurig LLP, $9,900 does not grant very many interviews • Preferred Outlets: National cable news like Biggest Individual Donors (Career) MSNBC, NBC, Fox News, PBS, CNN; talks • Gina Argento, CEO of Broadway Stages, shows like The View and Late Night with Seth $16,800 Myers; local New York papers like NY Daily • Richard Schiffrin, Of Counsel at Grant & News and NY Mag; interviewed for magazines Eisenhofer, $14,850 like The Atlantic and Vanity Fair • Despina Konstantinides, Independent Artist, • Favorite Subjects: education, 9/11, charter $14,800 schools, unions, inequality, housing, NYPD, • John Zuccotti, Real estate developer and civic child care leader, $13,375 • Social Media Habits: Manages own tweets and • Henry Gutman, Of Counsel at Simpson posts consistently (around twice a day) Thatcher & Bartlett $13,375 Speaking: In addition to mayoral duties, often Political Donations talks with students and attends rallies for • Barack Obama, 2012, $500 progressive causes • Daniel Roberti, 2012, $250 • Favorite Subjects: inequality, education, safe • Ted Strickland, 2010, $100 and affordable living, climate change, police- • Wendy Greuel, 2013, $100 community relations • Joan Millman, 2000, $50 • Preferred Audience: New Yorkers generally from the Mayor’s Office; union groups like AFL- CIO and the United Federation of Teachers; schools like the Coalition School for Social Change, Columbia University and The New School

PEOPLE RESEARCH SERVICE 3

BILL DE BLASIO MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY

Family and Personal Background Criticisms and Controversies

Raised with an active interest in liberal politics Scrutinized by constituents for not being visible • Born Warren Wilhelm Jr. in Manhattan but in and handful of highly public incidents raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts • Adopted mother’s maiden name, first as a Chronically late and criticized by New Yorkers for a lack of focus on the city hyphen when he was 22 and then fully in 2001 • Frequently chastised for being late to events, • Both parents’ careers were derailed by including showing up two hours late to a slain McCarthyism: Maria de Blasio worked in the police officer’s funeral Office of War information when she was accused of Communist sympathies and was • Criticized for running for president instead of denounced by Whittaker Chambers; Warren focusing on city business Wilhelm went to Yale and was a contributing • Lost a lawsuit where he tried to prevent the editor to TIME Magazine, received a purple release of City Hall emails with strategist John heart after his leg was amputated during WWII Del Cecato (and others) that showed ample • His father was forced out of a position at the time dedicated to campaigning and political Department of Commerce and turned to posturing alcoholism; the parents split when Bill was 7, and he was raised by his mother/her family; his Killed a groundhog father committed suicide when Bill was 18 • Dropped it on the ground during first • Received a degree in metropolitan studies from Groundhog Day Ceremony as Mayor NYU; awarded a Harry S. Truman scholarship • Its death from internal injuries a week later to study International Affairs at Columbia resulted in a scandal involving revealing an • Inspired by FDR, , as well imposter groundhog as the Nicaraguan Solidarity Movement Blowback over Amazon HQ2 incident From activism to tactful advocacy • Accused of “flip-flopping” sentiments after the • Met his wife Chirlane McCray, five years his company pulled out of an agreement to house elder, while they were both working in Mayor its second in New York Dinkins’ office • Originally supported and negotiated a deal with • McCray is a speechwriter, poet, and activist – Amazon but attacked the company after the who wrote a groundbreaking 1979 poem “I Am deal fell apart, citing it as an example of the a Lesbian”; she is well-known to be his closest abuse of corporate power advisor and helps write and edit his speeches • Shifted from confrontational activism to more diplomatic politicking • Currently a proponent of Democratic , speaking across the country and on national TV, as well as organizing The Progressive Agenda TO Combat Inequality

PEOPLE RESEARCH SERVICE 4

BILL DE BLASIO MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY

COVID-19 Response COVID-19 Response (Continued) Generally follows Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Criticisms: Accused by media outlets and lead; criticized for his late reaction constituents for slowly recognizing danger • Criticized heavily for being late to act on Relevant Positions measures to slow spread of virus, including • Mayor of New York City, where population hesitating to close schools density has led to the most deaths in the US • Drew criticism for slow implementation of strict distancing guidelines, including stalling on Actions: Generally deferred to governors closing bars and restaurants and encouraging broader actions while marshalling resources people to go to continue patronizing local for city and tailoring city-specific guidelines establishments • Appealed to retired medical workers to aid the • Accused of being very late to learn about city’s response with over 1,000 answering asymptomatic spread and claimed as recently • Launched a safety advertising campaign in 14 as 3/22 that asymptomatic transfer had yet to languages and expanded 311 resources be proven despite expert opinions to the • In mid-April, announced would close schools contrary throughout June • In mid-April, announced intentions to institute a rent freeze for several workers and new programs to provide additional meals to vulnerable New Yorkers • Announced on 4/14 that city would buy 150,000 test kits per week from a mix of companies • On 4/15, called on grocery stores to make face masks mandatory for customers

Statements: Expressed optimism early by trying to keep city’s economy running but pivoted after criticism • Issued several statements in the beginning of the outbreak encouraging people to continue patronizing local businesses; in late March, committed to strict social distancing guidelines • Criticized Trump Administration for not getting his city enough medical supplies; softened rhetoric as more masks and ventilators have arrived • In press appearances in mid-April, expressed concern that city wouldn’t be able to provide basic services without federal assistance; announced $1.3 billion in city budget cuts

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PEOPLE RESEARCH SERVICE 5