De Blasio: Landslide Win Is 'Clear Mandate' For Education Reform
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Bill de Blasio says his landslide in this month's New York City mayoral election entitles him to support from Albany to enact sweeping reforms to the city's schools.
In his first major policy speech since being elected, De Blasio, who takes office Jan. 1, largely avoided new policy proposals, instead sticking to his campaign promises of delivering universal pre-kindergarten and free after-school programs to middle schoolers.
He aims to pay for those programs with a tax hike on wealthy New Yorkers but needs approval from the state legislature. Several leaders in Albany, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a fellow Democrat, have signaled a reluctance to deliver.
But de Blasio, giving the keynote speech at an education conference hosted by Columbia University, called his nearly 50-point win earlier this month "substantial" and the source of enough political capital to enact his ambitious agenda.
"We are very proud to have won the way we won and within that vote was a clear mandate for serious changes," he said. "I have not offered a small, Band-Aid solution. I haven't offered a pilot program or a boutique concept."
"I have offered a game-changing investment in early childhood education and after-school," he continued. "Nothing else will do."
But some skepticism exists about the feasibility of the plan and some of the doubts were voiced at the conference by de Blasio's old boss, former mayor David Dinkins. Dinkins, who hired de Blasio as an aide in 1989, suggested fighting instead for a commuter tax, which would apply to people who work in the city, but reside elsewhere.
De Blasio gently side-stepped the suggestion.
"I take your point to heart," he told his former boss, "but I think in the here and now, this is the right path and the attainable path."
De Blasio also announced that he will be forming a committee to flesh out some of his education proposals. He has not yet announced any appointments to his administration and revealed Monday that he has yet to interview any candidate for schools chancellor.
The mayor-elect has said that post, along with police commissioner and first deputy mayor, are the most important to fill. He said he was further along the process of hiring someone to run the NYPD.
De Blasio also dismissed the notion that next year's balanced budget would complicate contract negotiations with city unions, who have been pushing for significant raises and back pay.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced last week that he had already balanced the ledger for fiscal year 2015, a sign of the city's improved fiscal health which could spur the unions, who have been working on expired contracts, to increase their demands.
"The way I look at it is: it's a good, strong starting point," de Blasio said. "It doesn't negate the huge challenges created by the open contracts."
De Blasio has long been an ally to labor but has not pledged to deliver retroactive raises, which would cost billions of dollars, according to the nonpartisan Independent Budget Office.
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