Everything is coming up roses right now for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Coming off polls showing him enjoying a 60% approval rating, his main GOP opponent just quit the race:
Paul J. Massey Jr., a millionaire real estate sales executive, unexpectedly ended his Republican campaign to challenge Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York on Wednesday, citing the cost of running against an incumbent as the reason for halting his bid.
Despite rivaling Mr. de Blasio in fund-raising, Mr. Massey, a first-time candidate for public office, struggled to gain support among voters in polls during nearly a year on the trail. His withdrawal all but cleared the way for Nicole Malliotakis, an assemblywoman who represents parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn, to win the Republican nomination.
Literally nobody knows who Malliotakis is. But it wouldn't make any difference, as the Mayor was far ahead according to the Q poll:
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has a 60 - 34 percent job approval rating, his highest score ever, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
This is a 10-percentage point jump since a 50 - 42 percent approval in a February 28, 2017, survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. The February score was de Blasio's first positive job approval rating in a year.
New York City voters say 57 - 35 percent that de Blasio deserves to be reelected, also the highest score ever.
White voters still disapprove 55 - 39 percent of the job the mayor is doing, but approval among black voters is 80 - 12 percent, with Hispanic voter approval at 70 - 27 percent.
De Blasio buries two declared Republican challengers by margins of 3-1:
- 63 - 21 percent over Paul Massey;
- 64 - 21 percent over State Assembly member Nicole Malliotakis.
A majority of white voters don't like the liberal de Blasio but they aint boss no more. Not around here. 83% of Democrats intend to vote for him. That's ballgame.
With crime at historic lows, the economy flourishing, unemployment at 4.3%, the City budget enjoying a yet another year of $1 billion surplus, predictions of economic doom and a crime wave under a liberal mayor never materialized.
New York, for the first time in decades, has full labor peace with all unions having solid, relatively generous contracts. The minimum wage has spiked $2 and will reach $15 by the end of next year. Zero effect on employment. New York has imposed new regulations on businesses from forbidding them to ask about criminal history to tightening anti-discrimination laws. He's imposed several years of 0% increases from the Rent Board. Everything they said was going to 'return us to the 1970s' was dead wrong.
Long range DiBlasio (sic) forecast: 1 term,” the “Today” show forecaster tweeted.
In your face Al Roker.
De Blasio has done quite a lot while in office, from universal pre-K, to a strong outreach to minority and women businesses, he's got some significant challenges ahead. Homelessness is huge. Sanitation needs to get better. Although he has no control over the Subway, its time for him to assert himself and the City in Albany with strength. And on his central issue of income inequality, he's going to need to find creative ways around Albany's refusal to let the City raise its local income tax.
As far as the national profile which befits the Mayor of New York, he's been hamfisted and occasionally silly. That's being generous. His ridiculous performance during the presidential election pissed of both Clinton and Sanders voters. His stupid fight with Governor Cuomo, knowing full well he needs the Governor more than vice versa, was a disaster on several fronts. New York Mayors and Governors typically fight, but he did it all wrong. Let's hope more seasoning on the world stage will help him fill out the job next term.
Overall he's been a good mayor and deserves reelection.