COVER warfare-type person,” Wylde explained, adding, “I don’t think he’s a captive of his own rhetoric.” Carlo Scissura, the president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, agrees. “I think that people who know him will agree that he’s very pragmatic,” said Scissura, who first met de Blasio when
colleagues from the City Council agreed that the notion that he is the “true progressive choice” for mayor—as his campaign website puts it—conflicts with their firsthand experience of working with him. “He is a pseudo-progressive, more of an opportunist,” said Councilman Charles Barron, who represents Brooklyn and is
property tax increase, there was a discussion within the Democratic conference and I remember—and I’ll never forget this—de Blasio getting up and saying, ‘Well, if we’re going to do this, we should do it now, because the voters will forget by Election Day,’ ” Avella recalled. “And I’ve never forgotten that, because that to me is
unexpectedly entered the race and threatened to usurp the crown of liberal champion by pure virtue of his star power, after the revelation came to light that Weiner had continued his Twitter escapades past the point which he had previously admitted, overnight his candidacy nosedived.
“Even if you’re coming from the right or he’s coming from the left, he’ll meet you right in the middle and the project will move forward, and I think that’s how he will govern should he be elected mayor.” De Blasio’s campaign has centered around a message of growing economic inequality.
they were both school board members, prior to de Blasio being elected to the Council in 2001. Scissura does not see much of a divide between the positions de Blasio has articulated as a mayoral candidate and the interests of his chamber’s members. “I think when he talks about issues of childcare, of early childhood, of graduation rates, et cetera, the bottom line is that the business community talks about the same things. We may say it in a different way, but we all want quality education—universal pre-K really helps businesses, because it gives parents a place to drop kids off in the morning—so a lot of the things he’s saying will resonate once the rhetoric of the campaign is over and governing begins.” In Scissura’s estimation, de Blasio is basically a centrist: “He is very willing to listen to very different positions than he has and many times come right in the middle and meet you. Even if you’re coming from the right or he’s coming from the left, he’ll meet you right in the middle and the project will move forward, and I think that’s how he will govern should he be elected mayor.” Several of de Blasio’s Democratic 16
SEPTEMBER 9, 2013 | cityandstateny.com
supporting Liu for mayor. “I served in the Council with Bill de Blasio for eight years. He voted on every economic development project that the mayor and the Speaker brought through the City Council. A progressive person would have stood up to Yankee Stadium; they would have stood up to NYU, taken on a stronger stance on Columbia University and their gentrification of Harlem. He voted for all of that stuff.” State Senator Tony Avella, who also served for eight years in the Council with de Blasio, agreed that de Blasio “would probably be favorable to real estate,” based on his past stances on development projects. “I don’t think he’s always been this progressive, but it’s interesting how candidates can remake themselves when they’re running for office,” observed Avella, who has not endorsed any candidate for mayor. “It’s revisionist history.” For Avella, one particular incident from 2002 vividly encapsulates his take on de Blasio’s character. “When the issue came up about the 18.49 percent property tax, before it got done when the mayor, I guess, told the Speaker that he wanted to do the
so indicative of how he looks at things. It’s not about what’s the right thing to do, [it’s about] how does it affect [him] politically. That’s why I’m not a fan of the guy.” De Blasio’s pragmatism—or opportunism, depending upon your perspective—has led to a traceable evolution of some of his positions. The Quinn campaign regularly sends out press releases with the subject line “Tale of Two de Blasios,” calling out de Blasio for various flip-flops on issues like the extension of term limits (he was for doing so when running for Speaker in 2005, then vehemently against it in 2008 when laying the groundwork for his run for public advocate). The Thompson campaign has launched a website aimed exclusively at exposing de Blasio’s inconsistencies—BilldeBliar.com—in a move to try to stem his surge. But de Blasio is peaking at the right time. Since he was a nonentity in the polls for much of the race, the other candidates did not bother leveling any attacks at him, and let him stake out the left of the field largely unchallenged. Though de Blasio had to endure a brief scare when Anthony Weiner, once a darling of progressives,
Ultimately the Weiner interlude proved to be advantageous for de Blasio; it woke up New Yorkers to the race, and the city’s suddenly energized progressives, who thought for an instant that they had found a beacon in Weiner, ended up casting about for another candidate to embrace. With Quinn and Thompson clearly incapable of galvanizing the left behind them (because of term limits and her relationship with Bloomberg for Quinn, and a lack of dynamism and personality in Thompson’s case), de Blasio finally had an opening to catch the public’s attention, and starting with his now famous “Dante” commercial featuring his son, he made the most of the opportunity. Before Quinn or Thompson could react, de Blasio had quickly hoovered up Weiner’s supporters and leapt ahead in the polls. It was only then that Quinn and Thompson directed their fire at de Blasio, but their attacks, launched so late in the race, have come across as hollow, selfinterested and desperate, even when they were valid. Quinn’s and Thompson’s counteroffensives have also faltered because the candidates have failed to articulate a clear