Opinion
Grace Rauh says de Blasio should be having more ‘fun’
One week removed from the Democratic primary, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is boasting about his wide margin of victory against a handful of little-known candidates. NY1 political reporter Grace Rauh thinks de Blasio’s claim to a mandate doesn’t tell the full story. There was 14 percent voter turnout among the city’s registered Democrats, which was down from 2013, and voters remain skeptical of the mayor. Rauh joined the New York Slant podcast to discuss the primary day results, and the challenges de Blasio faces going forward.
“If you walk around New York, there is a real sense that everyday New Yorkers are not that enthusiastic about the mayor,” she said.
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Rauh has followed de Blasio since he was elected in 2013 – literally. She often waits outside his Park Slope gym to ask questions that he usually avoids. In the podcast, Rauh discussed de Blasio’s often adversarial relationship with the press, and the struggles he’s had connecting with city residents as mayor.
“Being mayor of New York City should be a really fun job,” she said. “He doesn’t really look like he’s having fun.”
Rauh also talked about her efforts to investigate the mayor’s emails to lobbyist Jonathan Rosen, and what political watchers can expect from a possible de Blasio-Cuomo matchup in 2018.
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