Bill de Blasio

Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr.; May 8, 1961) is an American politician who since 2014 has served as the 109th Mayor of New York City. Prior to his first election to the position of Mayor, he served as New York City's public advocate from 2010 to 2013. Born in Manhattan, he graduated from New York University and Columbia University before a brief stint as a campaign manager for Charles Rangel and Hillary Clinton. He started his career as an elected official by serving on the New York City Council representing the 39th district in Brooklyn from 2002 to 2009. His tenure as public advocate saw a reformation of various educational, housing, and campaign finance policies. He was elected Mayor of New York City in the landslide 2013 election and retained his office in 2017, another landslide election. He initiated new de-escalation training for officers, reduced prosecutions for cannabis possession, implemented the usage of police body cameras, and ended the post-9/11 surveillance program of Muslim residents. His signature initiative as mayor was the implementation of free universal Pre-K in the city. His effort to start a millionaire tax was rejected by New York governor Andrew Cuomo. De Blasio attempted to install an unprecedented rent-freeze citywide for rent-stabilized apartments in 2015. De Blasio has called attention to what he refers to as a stark level of economic inequality in New York City, what he described as a "tale of two cities" during his first campaign. He has publicly supported a socially liberal and progressive discourse on the city's economy, urban planning, public education, police relations, and privatization. De Blasio has maintained mixed approval rates throughout his tenure. On May 16, 2019, de Blasio declared his candidacy in the Democratic primaries for the 2020 presidential election.