The NYC Mayor Drops out of Presidential Race

**Earl** · 09-20-2019, 07:32 AM

“New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped out of the 2020 presidential race Friday, ending a long shot bid for the Democratic nomination that never went anywhere.

"I feel like I have contributed all I can to this primary election, and it’s clearly not my time, so I’m going to end my presidential campaign," de Blasio said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“We have a chance to get it right in 2020,” de Blasio added. “Whoever our nominee is, let’s make sure we’re talking to the hearts of working people.”

De Blasio said he would not be endorsing any of his fellow candidates "today" but that he would "think about" doing so in the future. He added that he would "of course" support "whoever the eventual nominee is."

In a piece for NBC News' THINK, de Blasio explained that he would continue "fighting for working people and ensuring that New York City remains the vanguard of progressivism will continue to be my missions."

President Donald Trump — a frequent critic of de Blasio — immediately chimed in, jeering in a post on Twitter that the exit from the race by the "Part time Mayor" was "big political news, perhaps the biggest story in years" and that "NYC is devastated" that "he's coming home."

De Blasio’s bid — launched in May — ultimately lasted just over four months and was largely mocked for most of its short life.

He was widely unpopular in New York City, with an April Quinnipiac Poll showing that more than three-quarters of New Yorkers felt he shouldn’t run, and faced a stiff upward climb in a crowded field of Democratic candidates.

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De Blasio had attempted to run on a record of progressive accomplishments, including enacting universal pre-kindergarten and helping to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

But his campaign never took off. A slew of national polls showed him stuck with just 1 percent support — and often times even less. A Siena College poll released earlier this week showed him with 0 percent, even in New York City.

De Blasio failed to qualify for the Democratic debate earlier this month and was all but certain to fail to qualify for the one scheduled for October.

His brief campaign was marred with sparsely attended events and a bevy of unforced errors.

He made headlines in August after an event in Iowa drew only about 15 people.

De Blasio attempted to use Twitter to brand Trump as “ConDon,” but that, too, drew mockery because it means condom in Spanish.

And he continued earning the scorn of his fellow New Yorkers for being on the campaign trail during crises in New York City, including a widespread power outage in July.

Even his entrance into the race in May was bogged down with challenges: A Missouri teenager stole the spotlight from his campaign when he scooped the New York City mayor's announcement.

In dropping out, de Blasio joins a growing list of candidates who ended their runs early — and on their own terms.

Last month, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., announced she was ending her presidential bid. Earlier, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and California Rep. Eric Swalwell all also left the Democratic race. There are still 17 people running in the Democratic field.”
news.googke.com
Adam Edelman
Adam Edelman is a political reporter for NBC News.

**Gonzomin** · 09-20-2019, 08:30 AM

Some people start vanity campaigns. He was never in the hunt and never got traction. People like Williamson at least are presenting interesting ideas in their campaign. The qualifications for the debates are getting steeper. That will start weeding out the pretenders.

**CFM** · 09-20-2019, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by Gonzomin

Some people start vanity campaigns. He was never in the hunt and never got traction. People like Williamson at least are presenting interesting ideas in their campaign. The qualifications for the debates are getting steeper. That will start weeding out the pretenders.

Since, as you say, the qualifications will weed out the pretenders, none of those in the race will be able to debate.

**Earl** · 09-20-2019, 08:34 AM

Yes, as I said, De Blasio dropped out.

His own hometown now despises him.

**cawacko** · 09-20-2019, 08:48 AM

When you're running for President as a Senator, or even a Governor, people don't pay as much attention because they don't necessarily think of your work on a daily basis. When you're a Mayor and people see potholes, homeless, crime etc. they think of the Mayor and when they see you out touring the country instead being home focusing on local issues I'm sure it doesn't go over real well.

**Earl** · 09-20-2019, 08:57 AM

If you can’t even administer your own city, how can you administer the entire US?

**Cinnabar** · 09-20-2019, 09:01 AM

Originally Posted by Gonzomin

Some people start vanity campaigns. He was never in the hunt and never got traction. People like Williamson at least are presenting interesting ideas in their campaign. The qualifications for the debates are getting steeper. That will start weeding out the pretenders.

Many jump in to raise profiles and many do it to sell a soon to be released book. Reptile Newt Gingrich did this over and over again and phony Christian guy Mike Suckabee followed suit.

**ziggy** · 09-20-2019, 09:13 AM

**archives** · 09-20-2019, 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by Earl

If you can’t even administer your own city, how can you administer the entire US?

Wait a minus there "earl," you are telling us that NYC is falling apart?

Interesting, it is still one of the top ten tourist destinations in the world which is kinda suprising given you are implying it is a wreck

**cawacko** · 09-20-2019, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by archives

Wait a minus there "earl," you are telling us that NYC is falling apart?

Interesting, it is still one of the top ten tourist destinations in the world which is kinda suprising given you are implying it is a wreck

Living in San Francisco I can't really speak about the issues of other cities considering all the challenges we have. And it's been a number of years since I've been to NYC so I can't speak from personal experience. However a number of people I know/work with travel regularly to NYC and I've heard them mentioned some of the changes they've seen recently in the City not for the better. Whether that's on DiBlasio I don't know but it's what I've picked up listening to some people speak.

**archives** · 09-20-2019, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by cawacko

Living in San Francisco I can't really speak about the issues of other cities considering all the challenges we have. And it's been a number of years since I've been to NYC so I can't speak from personal experience. However a number of people I know/work with travel regularly to NYC and I've heard them mentioned some of the changes they've seen recently in the City not for the better. Whether that's on DiBlasio I don't know but it's what I've picked up listening to some people speak.

Possibly, I'm there every year, often a couple times a year, and like anywhere else, nothing stays the same. A neighborhood that might have been a war zone a decade ago is now a destination, and vica versa. It has problems, but that is New York, it is constantly evolving, regardless, it moves on

It is still no where near where it was in the 1970's, nor close to the image some in middle America have from watching too much cops and robbers on TV, neither is Chicago, and I'd imagine SF

**dukkha** · 09-20-2019, 10:44 AM

we are getting a bunch of New Yorkers who are fleeing the taxes

**ziggy** · 09-20-2019, 04:28 PM

FEC finds fault with de Blasio's campaign finances

Mayor Bill de Blasio's presidential campaign is over, but concerns over his fundraising practices linger on.

An official with the Federal Election Commission sent a letter to the mayor's presidential campaign, which ended Friday, highlighting a problem that has been the subject of multiple POLITICO reports and two formal complaints from watchdog groups.

In a July public filing, the de Blasio camp noted a $52,852 debt owed to the NY Fairness PAC, a state political action committee controlled by the mayor. The campaign had argued that this was a permissible loan from one organization to another. But the FEC's senior campaign finance analyst, Robin Kelly, wrote this week that the practice is not allowed by campaign finance rules.

Such transfers are capped at $5,000 per election cycle, Kelly's letter said, meaning the campaign took more than ten times the permissible amount from the state PAC and spent it on travel and advertising. Kelly mandated that the campaign refile an amended report by late October that corrects the transfer, and noted that an audit of the campaign may follow.

Last year, de Blasio created a federal political action committee called Fairness PAC — ostensibly to fund his trips around the country advocating for progressive causes and to offer financial support to other left-leaning Democrats. However, the mayor also quietly created a state committee called NY Fairness PAC and used both to fund exploratory efforts for his own presidential campaign.

Last month, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the FEC illustrating why it found this practice problematic. Essentially, donors who had already given the max to de Blasio's presidential campaign were also donating to both of his PACs. And PAC money was being shifted back into the presidential warchest.

“[The campaign] appears to have concocted a shell game to arrange for a small number of wealthy donors to support de Blasio’s presidential run above and beyond legal contribution limits,” the group's complaint said.

Thursday's FEC letter did not delve into the issue of contribution limits, but simply requested the campaign amend its public reports.

The mayor ended his presidential run Friday morning. However, the federal Fairness PAC will live on and his former campaign treasurer and top City Hall aide Jon Paul Lupo will consult for the action committee. If history is any indication, that leaves the door open for the mayor to continue a practice that has raised questions from political observers: soliciting money from businesses, people and communities who want action from city government.

https://www.politico.com/states/new-...nances-1203806

**deadcatbounce** · 09-20-2019, 04:29 PM

With any luck DeBlasio will drop off a building.

**Taft2016** · 09-20-2019, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by cawacko

Living in San Francisco I can't really speak about the issues of other cities considering all the challenges we have. And it's been a number of years since I've been to NYC so I can't speak from personal experience. However a number of people I know/work with travel regularly to NYC and I've heard them mentioned some of the changes they've seen recently in the City not for the better. Whether that's on DiBlasio I don't know but it's what I've picked up listening to some people speak.

The mayor of NYC is a larger executive position than the governorship of many states.

But like you suggested, when people see the most storied police department in the country having buckets of water dumped on them by thugs following the mayor's anti-cop lead, middle America was never going to warm up to that.