De Blasio to unveil 13-point progressive agenda
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is set to announce a plan for a progressive agenda on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Tuesday afternoon; it’s reminiscent of the GOP’s 1994 Contract with America that helped the party take control of the House of Representatives.
De Blasio will announce the 13-point plan alongside a number of progressive lawmakers on a sweltering Washington afternoon. It will include calls for universal pre-K, a $15 minimum wage, paid family leave and tax reform, according to NPR.
The release comes hours after his appearance Tuesday morning with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) at an event touting the release of a new report on how to address economic inequality. The report includes a number of the policy platforms de Blasio is expected to include in his platform.
{mosads}Joseph Stiglitz, the accomplished economist who served as an economic adviser to President Clinton, released the report as part of his work with the Roosevelt Institute.
The New York mayor reportedly praised Warren’s leadership as “extraordinary” during the event, according to the New York Observer.
De Blasio stormed onto the national political scene in 2013, when he edged out a number of candidates, including former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), to win the Democratic nomination for mayor and then coasted to victory in the general election. He’s embraced a number of progressive stances as mayor, including a call for universal pre-K.
His appearance alongside Warren, who some progressive groups have tried to goad into challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, highlights his mixed relationship with the Clintons.
Despite serving as Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager during her 2000 bid for Senate and as a political appointee under President Clinton, de Blasio has repeatedly said he’s not ready to endorse Clinton’s presidential bid.
The trip comes despite tepid polling numbers of his short tenure in office. Forty-nine percent of city voters said things are going in the wrong direction, according to a new Marist poll from last week. But de Blasio bucked that criticism during a press conference Monday.
“I’ve got to use the tools we have here to address income inequality and a host of other issues,” he said, according to Capital New York.
“But I also have to participate in changing the national debate and changing the reality in Washington in a way that will support the people of New York City.”
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