January 28, 2013
By Bill de Blasio
On Sunday January 27, 2013, my family and I made a very big announcement from right outside our home in Brooklyn: I am officially running for Mayor of New York City!
I’m running for mayor because, after nearly twelve years of Mayor Bloomberg’s policies, our City isn’t living up to its potential – not by a long shot. This mayor’s policies have been very good for some in our city. But so many middle-class New Yorkers have been ignored and priced out. They just yearn for a city of good schools and good jobs – and a leader in City Hall who knows that we only succeed if we leave no New Yorker behind.
They just yearn for a city of good schools and good jobs – and a leader in City Hall who knows that we only succeed if we leave no New Yorker behind.
Let’s be honest about where we are today – a city that in too many ways has become a tale of two cities – a place where City Hall too often has catered to the interests of the elite rather than to the needs of everyday New Yorkers.
There are some who believe that Mayor Bloomberg’s policies from the past twelve years just need a few tweaks here and there, that his vision should continue more or less uninterrupted for the next four years. There are others who practice a politics of the moment, who are heroic in election years but are not engaged in the day to day fight to save our neighborhoods when their names aren't on the ballot.
But I come to you today with a different point of view, a different set of guiding principles. I come to you as someone seeking to be a mayor for our neighborhoods – good, clean, strong, safe neighborhoods in which New Yorkers from all five boroughs can start businesses, raise kids, and find homes they can afford.
I'm calling for:
· Making sure all New York City students receive a great public education
· Asking the wealthiest to help finance an expansion of early childhood education and after-school programs
· Leadership and job opportunities that focus on all five boroughs, not just Manhattan
· Cutting the bureaucracy and red-tape that hurts small businesses
· Fixing the NYPD’s broken stop-and-frisk policy
I look forward to representing the needs of all New Yorkers on the campaign trail ahead — and as Mayor of New York City!
