Former Mayor Bill de Blasio will not run for governor, after months of speculation that the politician was looking to ascend from Gracie Mansion to the Governor’s Mansion.
“I am not going to be running for governor of New York State, but I am going to devote every fiber of my being to fight inequality in the state of New York,” the former mayor said outside his Park Slope, Brooklyn, home in a video posted on Twitter Tuesday, Jan. 18.
I am not going to be running for Governor of New York State, but I am going to devote every fiber of my being to fighting inequality in the state of New York. pic.twitter.com/cBZ03BpO0s
— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) January 18, 2022
De Blasio teased future plans, saying that he will make another announcement in the coming days.
“We’ve got a lot to do together,” he said. “I’m gonna share some more news with you in the days ahead and let’s keep this fight going because we proved change can happen in New York. Good things ahead.”
The former mayor never officially threw his hat in the race for the state’s top job, but told reporters that he wanted to “continue in public service” and “do more for the people of this city and this state.”
Since Jan. 1, de Blasio has been out of elected office for the first time in two decades, having first been elected to his local City Council seat in 2002, before becoming Public Advocate in 2010, and then being elected mayor in 2013.
He also launched a long-shot campaign for president in May 2019, but suspended his bid for commander-in-chief four months later.
A Tuesday Siena College poll put de Blasio in second place for support from fellow Democrats for governor at 12%, well behind incumbent Kathy Hochul at 46%.
De Blasio’s decision was likely also influenced by Hochul reportedly raising a record-shattering $21.6 million for her campaign since she took over the state’s leadership in August after Andrew Cuomo resigned.
However, he beat declared candidates Public Advocate Jumaane Williams at 11%, and Long Island Congressman Tom Suozzi with 6%, according to the survey.
In the social media message, de Blasio ran through a list of his accomplishments, including universal pre-K and paving the way for thousands of new income-restricted housing units.
But former-hizzoner acknowledged some of his most prominent snafus, like dropping a groundhog to her death in 2014 and his regular convoy of SUVs that chauffeured him from the Upper East Side to his local YMCA in Brooklyn.
“Now I made my fair share of mistakes. I was not good with groundhogs at all, probably shouldn’t have gone to the gym,” he said. “But you know what? You change things in this town.”
