NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Former Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday that he's running for U.S. Congress, telling 1010 WINS that he feels "very good" about jumping into the race and that any naysayers who doubt his candidacy should know "I did my best" as mayor and "have the ability to make an impact right away."
“I feel good,” the former mayor, 61, told WINS in Park Slope, which he'd represent if elected to New York's newly redrawn 10th Congressional District.
“This is the neighborhood I come from. This district is part of my life, my family’s life for years and years. Every single person in the new 10th Congressional District I’ve represented, a lot of them have voted for me before. So I’m ready to serve and I feel very good,” he said.
Asked what he would say to people who were disappointed with his time as mayor, de Blasio said, “I did my best. I tried my best, especially during the incredibly difficult crisis of COVID.”
“But I hope people know how hard I work for every single person I represent and how much I care,” de Blasio added. “And it’s good to have questions, it’s a democracy. And an election is a chance to have those discussions. But I know people are hurting right now. I’ve talked to so many people, and they want to know can someone help them now. And what I want to make clear is I have the ability to make an impact right away to make people’s lives better.”
There's a chance the proposed district won't become final. Asked about the possibility of that, de Blasio said, “We can’t go into theory—I’m saying to you. This has been a very strange process, this redistricting, but this is the district as far as we know. I’ve made my choice. I’m going for it.”
De Blasio announced he was running for Congress on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” earlier on Friday.
“The polls show people are hurting,” the two-term mayor said. “They need help, they need help fast. And they need leaders who can actually get help now and know how to do it. I do know how to do it from years of serving the people of this city.”
“And so today I’m declaring my candidacy for Congress in the 10th Congressional District of New York,” de Blasio said.
The announcement came just days after the former mayor said he was launching an exploratory committee for a potential run in the newly drawn district.
The redrawn seat covers parts of Lower Manhattan and a swath of Brooklyn, including Park Slope, where de Blasio lives.
On Monday, a court-appointed expert released a draft of new congressional maps for New York after maps drawn by Democrats were struck down by a court that ruled the political boundaries were gerrymandered.
Rep. Jerry Nadler currently represents New York's 10th District now but will no longer live in the district under maps that have been redrawn under the supervision of a New York judge. Nadler has said he believed the new maps are unconstitutional but if the proposed districts do become final on Friday, he intends to run in the 12th District, currently represented by Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
The 12th District was redrawn to include the Upper West Side, where Nadler lives. The district currently includes a swath of Manhattan’s East Side, Greenpoint in Brooklyn, and parts of western Queens.
A source close to de Blasio told Politico this week that the new 10th District map is more favorable to the former mayor than the 11th District map previously drafted up by Democrats that would've included liberal parts of Brooklyn like Park Slope but also GOP-friendly Staten Island currently represented by Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. De Blasio said earlier this year that he wouldn’t run for that district despite reports. He also said he wouldn't seek the governorship amid widespread speculation he'd challenge Gov. Kathy Hochul after his time as mayor was up.
The primary has been pushed back from June to Aug. 23.
De Blasio toyed with running for governor this year but decided not to challenge incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul. He also had a short-lived run for president in 2019.
Related
Related
Related
