Mayor-elect Bill De Blasio garnered honors at a fundraiser for New York Communities for Change (NYCC) where calls for “revolution” and declarations of a “progressive moment” abounded.
De Blasio appeared at the fundraiser as a headliner to support the group, formerly a branch of the embattled and now-defunct community action organization ACORN. NYCC endorsed De Blasio early in his campaign and lent its field operation leaders, as well as former ACORN staff, to strategize for his mayoral bid.
At the fundraiser, he received praise for being New York City’s first “progressive Democratic mayor in 20 years,” and he was applauded as the “culmination” of decades of work by activist and union groups. Politicker describes the scene as one in which Democratic elites mingled with radical progressive social leaders, and in which the rhetoric often escalated to Occupy-levels of anti-banker sentiment.
One attendee spoke of “revolution” against Wall Street; another spoke of New York as being in the midst of a “progressive moment.” There were even some threats from the left that De Blasio should remember who put him in office. Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon, whom De Blasio has pegged to be on his transition team, gave a “tongue-in-cheek” warning that NYCC would “check our new mayor if suddenly he goes rogue and starts spending his days having three-martini lunches with Wall Streeters.”
De Blasio thanked the group and praised its work, saying that NYCC had “shown their own power.” This only further cements his close relationship with far-left community and union groups. De Blasio has been candid about his position on the political spectrum, telling real estate developers that he is “not a free marketeer,” and insisting he would fight for the “job security, wages, and benefits” of public workers.
This week, the New York Post editorial board warned that the mayor-elect’s union ties could pose a dilemma when it comes time to sign a new contract with teachers’ unions, who have made a number of financial demands that stand to do little to help New York City’s schools.
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