Bill DeBlasio
De Blasio Runs as a One-Man Coalition
City Councilman Bill de Blasio, Democrat of brownstone Brooklyn, hopes to be a post-racial borough president.
In a place ruled by identity politics and the Democratic Party, an Italian-American from Cambridge, Mass., might seem to be an unlikely candidate for the honor. But de Blasio’s multicultural, social-liberal credentials are impeccable. He’s a former pro-Sandinista academic with strong ties to organized labor who made his political bones in New York working for its first black mayor. His wife, Chirlane McCray, is an African-American marketing executive who is of Caribbean descent. His children, 10 and 13, are named Dante and Chiara. (His own birth name, now legally changed, was Warren Wilhelm. read more »
An 1199 Candidate for 2009
Not only did he win a valuable chit by helping put Yvette Clarke over the top in that suspenseful congressional primary in Brooklyn, but 1199/SEIU has just given a strong vote of confidence to his future political ambitions.
The powerful health care union workers donated $4,950 to De Blasio's 2009 political committee. (The committee isn't formed to support a run for any specific office.)
The only other people who got that kind of money from 1199 are citywide incumbents Bill Thompson and Betsy Gotbaum.
Update: Here is a statement from Jennifer Cunningham, executive vice president of politics & legislation for 1199 SEIU:
-- Azi Paybarah"Bill DeBlasio and 1199 SEIU have a long and special friendship that dates back many years. Bill is a person of great integrity, passion and commitment, and all New Yorkers would benefit from his remaining in public service at the expiration of his City Council term."
