Bill de Blasio, the Best Democratic Choice for Mayor - NYT Editorial Board
When Bill de Blasio took office in 2014 as the most left-wing mayor in New York’s modern history, skeptics forecast disaster. In the post-Giuliani and post-Bloomberg era, they predicted, the city would roll back to the chaotic 1970s, when crime rates soared, garbage piled high in the streets, corporations fled to leafier environs and municipal bankruptcy loomed.
None of those dire warnings became reality. New York remains, on the whole, well run. Crime has continued its remarkable decline. Garbage is collected as efficiently as ever. The local economy is humming, and municipal finances are sound, with steady budget surpluses. Most unions representing city workers are content.
The mayor swiftly made good on his signature campaign pledge of universal prekindergarten classes in public schools. He is on a path to fulfilling a commitment to build or preserve 200,000 apartments over 10 years. He lowered speed limits on city streets to reduce traffic deaths(though the decline has not been as impressive as was hoped), and he continued laudable public-health policies begun by his immediate predecessor, Michael Bloomberg. Simmering racial animosities have stayed in check, when they might well have boiled over after the deaths of several black men at the hands of police officers.
So we firmly endorse Mr. de Blasio in this primary as he seeks a second, and final, term and urge Democratic voters to support him next Tuesday over four lesser-known opponents. His able stewardship of the country’s largest and most cantankerous city deserves to be rewarded.
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https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/05/opinion/editorials/mayoral-endorsement-bill-deblasio.html?emc=edit_th_20170905&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=57435284