Term-limited Mayor Bill de Blasio has been Mayor of New York City since 2014. The 109th mayor to take the reins.
At his usual morning briefing, on Wednesday, Feb. 24, he reflected on his future once he leaves office later this year and has decidedly decided that he is undecided about what to do next.
De Blasio is positive, he said, that he doesn’t want to make the move to the private sector.
“Okay, I can give you this breaking news. I will not be going to the private sector and making a ton of money,” said de Blasio. “I have never done that. I never will, it’s just not who I am. I’m a public servant, this is my life. I certainly want to find some way to serve in the future.”
He said that his “labor of love” throughout his administration has been early childhood education and universal pre-K for all.
De Blasio is also pretty sure, he said, that he does not want to be governor either.
Possibly because there is a long curse of the NYC Mayor running for Governor of New York State, and some who’ve run for President of the United States, after they leave office who don’t win. De Blasio didn’t mention his own failed campaign for President back in May 2019 that caught heavy flack both citywide and nationally. His dropout of the race wasn’t considered “surprising.”
On Governor Andrew Cuomo’s job and recent hellfire with the nursing home scrutiny, de Blasio declined to comment directly. COVID-19’s devastation to the city’s economy and way of life, and the countless deaths this past year, has made the job of mayor and governor look daunting to say the least.
“Throughout this crisis, there’s been a lot of tough questions,” said de Blasio. “A lot of the questions make our work better. A lot of the questions are earnest, honest questions about what needs to be done.”
De Blasio said his advice for the incoming mayor, which 35 candidates are currently vying for, is that point blank “it’s a really tough job” and for those who want it “God bless you.”
He said that running New York City is nonstop and that level of intensity cannot be underestimated.
