Bill de Blasio Prepares to Take Reins From Michael Bloomberg

NEW YORK—As a two-term City Councilman and the current public advocate, Bill de Blasio has sauntered up the steps of City Hall many times. But Wednesday’s walk-up was extra special, as it marked the first time he would enter City Hall as the mayor-elect.
Bill de Blasio Prepares to Take Reins From Michael Bloomberg
Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio (L) speaks with Mayor Michael Bloomberg at City Hall in Lower Manhattan, New York, Nov. 6, 2013. (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)
Kristen Meriwether
11/7/2013
Updated:
12/10/2013

NEW YORK—As a two-term City Council member and the current public advocate, Bill de Blasio has sauntered up the steps of City Hall many times. But Wednesday’s walk up was extra special, as it marked the first time he would enter City Hall as the mayor-elect.

De Blasio’s first order of business after besting Republican Joe Lhota in a landslide victory Tuesday night was a meeting with current Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the back offices of City Hall. The meeting, which lasted roughly an hour, began the process of transitioning from the 12-year reign of Mayor Bloomberg to what is promised to be a progressive de Blasio administration.

The press was allowed to take photos during the meeting, but the duo’s hushed conversation was not easily heard. De Blasio was coy on the details, only saying Bloomberg, a man whose policies he repeatedly attacked during his campaign, was cordial and collegial.

“It is obvious this is going to be a smooth and productive transition,” de Blasio said at a press conference following Wednesday morning’s meeting. “I want to thank him [Bloomberg] for the spirit in which he is approaching this and the helpful advice he gave this morning.”

Following the meeting with Bloomberg, de Blasio launched his transition complete with a website, twitter handle, and lead staff.

De Blasio said his transition philosophy echoes the campaign message that got him there, and vowed to take a hands-on approach in selecting his team.

“We all feel this is a sacred mission to serve the people of the city and to follow through on the goals we outlined in the campaign and to make sure we are choosing the best and most effective people to do this work,” de Blasio said.

Transition Leadership

De Blasio selected two veterans with both government and private sector experience to co-chair his transition: Jennifer Jones Austin, the executive director of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, and Carl Weisbrod, a partner at HR&A Advisors, a real estate and economic consulting firm that is best known for reviving Times Square.

Jones Austin piqued de Blasio’s interest during his council days while she was working in Administration for Children’s Services.

“I learned early on we were kindred in our view of the things the government has to do to improve the lives of children and families,” de Blasio said.

Weisbrod, described by de Blasio as “one of the true, wise heads in New York,” will bring economic development knowledge to the team. The mayor-elect didn’t broach the subject during his campaign, but said that continuing those successes would help his broader goal of closing the income inequality gap.

“It is not just enough to statistically have a strong economy,” de Blasio said. “We are looking for an economy that includes more and more people; an economy that creates jobs with better wages and benefits; an economy that includes people that often have not had economic opportunity.”

Looking Forward

With the leaders of his transition team set, the mayor-elect can now begin the task of filling out his Cabinet. De Blasio hinted that the management structure will be different from that of Bloomberg, who encouraged his commissioners to run their departments like their own companies.

“I like the traditional notion that says the first deputy mayor is the person who is managing the overall work from day to day,” de Blasio said, noting he considered that position the most important to fill.

De Blasio gave no names or dates for choosing the candidates for any offices, including those of police commissioner and schools chancellor. The mayor-elect did say that nominees would likely be selected from the pool of people he worked with before.

“Clearly, our goal is to put as many key players in place as possible, as quickly as possible, but as you know, these are weighty decisions, so we are going to be smart about them,” de Blasio said.

He said he did not know what formal role, if any, his wife Chirlane McCray would play in the administration.

The newly appointed transition team will have to work without de Blasio by their side for the first week. The mayor-elect is headed to Puerto Rico for the annual Somos el Fuerto conference, beginning Thursday. He plans to stay several extra days to recharge with McCray after 10 months of campaigning.

De Blasio will resume the transition work on Nov. 12.