In an interview with the Associated Press published Wednesday, departing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) declared that although he might be stepping down after two divisive terms in office, he has no intention of abandoning personal political ambitions.
“I think I’ve put plenty of breadcrumbs out there on the trail. I’m going to stay in public service. As to electoral politics, I’ll give an update very, very soon,” he stated. “I want people to remember that we needed to fight inequality and we did. And it can be done. We were able to do that in very tangible, real ways. I think that opens the door for a lot more going forward, but it can be done.”
A de Blasio run for higher office has long been the subject of speculation by others, despite a legacy defined by strained relationships with police, public discord with the former governor, vaccine mandates, and spectacular gaffes.
The mayor frequently bragged about his coercive vaccine mandates in the city, going as far as requiring private sector employees to get a vaccine and extending the city’s vaccine passport program to apply to children as young as five.
Despite those strictures, New York City comprised 29 percent of new coronavirus cases on December 26, recent data shows.
He officially turns over the reins to Mayor-elect Eric Adams, a Democrat and former police captain, on Jan. 1.