Bill de Blasio

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bill de Blasio (2013)
signature

Bill de Blasio (born May 8, 1961 as Warren Wilhelm, Jr. in New York City , New York ) is an American politician and Mayor of New York . He is a member of the Democratic Party and is considered a representative of the left wing . He was previously a member of the New York City Council and from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013, Public Advocate , something of the city's ombudsman .

In the mayoral election on November 5, 2013, De Blasio prevailed in what was described as a landslide victory with over 73% of the vote against Republican Joe Lhota . On January 1, 2014, he replaced Michael Bloomberg , who was last non-party and who was no longer allowed to run for twelve years in office.

From May 16, 2019 to September 20, 2019, he ran for the 2020 presidential election.

Life

Childhood and youth

De Blasio was born Warren Wilhelm, Jr. in 1961 in Manhattan, New York, to Maria (nee De Blasio) and Warren Wilhelm. His father had German ancestors, his maternal grandparents, Giovanni and Anna, were Italian immigrants from the small town of Sant'Agata de 'Goti in Campania .

He spent his childhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts . After his parents divorced, he grew up with his mother. His father was an alcoholic and suffered as a war veteran in the US Army from the physical and psychological consequences of his deployment in the Pacific War , in which he was also involved in the Battle of Okinawa . He was incurable lung cancer falls ill and committed suicide in 1979 suicide .

Education and early career

De Blasio holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University . A fellow of the Harry S. Truman Foundation from 1981 he earned his Master of International Affairs at the School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University .

In 1983 he legally changed his name to Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm . From 1990 he appeared publicly and from then on used the name Bill de Blasio because he had been called "Bill" or "Billy" in his previous life. However, he did not change his name again until 2002, when the discrepancy was noticed during an election.

From 1984 de Blasio worked for the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice. From 1987 he worked as a political organizer for the Quixote Center in Maryland , for which he traveled to Nicaragua in 1988 to distribute food and medicines there for ten days during the revolution . De Blasio was a dedicated supporter of the then Sandinista government, which opposed the Reagan government. At that time he described himself as a "democratic socialist". After returning from Nicaragua, de Blasio moved to New York, where he worked for a non-profit organization that aimed to improve medical care in Central America. In his spare time he continued to work for the Sandinistas.

Political career

He entered New York City politics in 1989 during Democrat David Dinkins' campaign for mayor. After the campaign, de Blasio worked as an assistant in the town hall. In 1997 he became the regional director for the Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton . As the senior HUD official in the Tri-State Region , he increased federal grants for affordable and senior housing. In 2000 he became Hillary Clinton's campaign manager for their successful bid for a Senate seat .

New York City Council

Between 2001 and 2005, De Blasio successfully applied three times to represent the 39th District for the New York City Council . During his tenure, he passed laws that were supposed to improve the position of tenants with vouchers vis-à-vis landlords or the position of those infected with HIV / AIDS when looking for accommodation, to reduce discrimination against transsexuals or same-sex partnerships or to provide language support for immigrants with applications. On New York City Council, he served on education, environmental protection, finance, general welfare (chair), and technology committees in government.

New York City Public Advocate

In November 2008, de Blasio announced his candidacy for the office of New York City Public Advocate . With the support of the New York Times and various well-known personalities, he won the election. After his inauguration on January 1, 2010, he criticized Mayor Michael Bloomberg for doing too little for education, family and social policy. The specific points of criticism included the abolition of free subway tickets for schoolchildren, budget cuts in childcare and the co-location dispute over the joint accommodation of charter and public mainstream schools. De Blasio organized strong opposition to the mayor's plans to balance the city budget by dismissing 4,600 teachers and succeeded in having savings made in other areas.

In 2010 he formulated his opposition to a decision by the New York City Housing Authority to reduce the number of certain housing vouchers for low-income citizens. He managed to have this decision reversed. Another approach to improving the situation for tenants was the start of a landlord watchlist , NYC's Worst Landlords Watchlist , which lists landlords who neglect to remedy dangerous living conditions.

Election to mayor

During his candidacy for mayor, de Blasio announced tax increases for citizens with incomes over $ 500,000 to help fund preschool and school programs. He also plans to invest $ 150 million annually in the City University of New York to lower tuition fees and improve degrees. He announced a critical stance towards charter schools and their funding and made it clear that his focus would be on traditional public schools.

On January 27, 2013, de Blasio announced his candidacy for the office of Mayor of New York City. He has received support from many Democratic clubs as well as New York City's largest union, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Film actors like Alec Baldwin and Susan Sarandon as well as Harry Belafonte also assured him of their support. He gained media attention when he and other prominent Democrats were temporarily arrested for disturbing the peace during a protest demonstration against the closure of Long Island College Hospital.

On November 5, 2013, de Blasio won the mayoral election in a landslide victory. With 73% of the vote, in Brooklyn and the Bronx even with over 80% of the vote, he left his Republican competitor Joe Lhota , who scored 24%, far behind. After 20 years, New York City now has a Democratic mayor again. In his victory speech in his hometown Brooklyn he said in front of 2000 followers: "Dear New Yorkers: Today you spoke out loud and clear for a change of direction in our city, united in the belief that our city must not leave any New Yorker behind" and announced to fight growing inequality in the city.

Her successor in the post of Public Advocate is the Democratic civil rights attorney Letitia James (she received over 80% of the votes in the simultaneous election, with no opponents), whom de Blasio called a "close friend" during the primary election campaign.

Re-election

On November 7, 2017, de Blasio was elected for another four years with around 65 percent of the vote, the opposed candidate was Republican Nicole Malliotakis.

Private

De Blasio lives in Park Slope , Brooklyn with his wife Chirlane McCray and their children Dante and Chiara . De Blasio announced that after taking office, he would move the family to the Gracie Mansion for logistical and security reasons. Both children attended public schools.

literature

Web links

Commons : Bill de Blasio  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nils Rüdel: New York moves to the left. In: Handelsblatt . November 6, 2013, accessed November 8, 2013 .
  2. ↑ Michael Barbaro & David W. Chen: De Blasio Is Elected New York City Mayor in Landslide. In: The New York Times . November 6, 2013, accessed November 6, 2013 .
  3. ↑ De Blasio drops out of presidential race. September 20, 2019, accessed September 20, 2019 .
  4. ^ John Cassidy: Bill de Blasio's Moment: Can He Handle It? In: The New Yorker . August 14, 2013, accessed November 9, 2013 .
  5. ↑ Anna Sale: WNYC News Exclusive: Bill de Blasio Speaks with WNYC About His Father's Suicide. In: WNYC . September 30, 2013, accessed November 8, 2013 .
  6. ↑ De Blasio: I'll Be A Different Type Of Mayor. Interview with John Cassidy. In: The New Yorker . September 27, 2013, accessed November 9, 2013 .
  7. ^ Elections in the USA: New York elects de Blasio mayor. In: Spiegel online . November 6, 2013, accessed November 6, 2013 .
  8. ↑ New New York Mayor: Democrat de Blasio replaces Bloomberg. In: Manager Magazin . November 6, 2013, accessed November 8, 2013 .
  9. ^ Letitia James Elected Public Advocate, New York City, in Epoch Times, Nov. 5, 2013
  10. ↑ Election Results: De Blasio Wins Second Term as New York City Mayor . In: The New York Times . ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed November 8, 2017]).
  11. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20171108113658/https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute/buergermeisterwahl-in-new-york-demokrat-de-blasio-wiedergewaehlt-100.html
  12. ↑ Michael Saul: Family in the Spotlight. In: Wall Street Journal. January 1, 2013, accessed October 3, 2012 .
  13. ^ New York mayor-elect Bill de Blasio announces move to Gracie Mansion - AP, December 11, 2013
  14. ^ Bill de Blasio and a brief history of public-school parents for mayor. In: Capital New York. August 23, 2013, accessed September 8, 2013 .
predecessor Office successor
Michael Bloomberg Mayor of New York City
since 2014
Betsy Gotbaum Public Advocate of New York City
2009-2013 		Letitia James
personal data
SURNAME De Blasio, Bill
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wilhelm, Warren Jr.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician and Mayor of New York City
DATE OF BIRTH May 8, 1961
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York