Since the start of the year, the mayor has been using his bully pulpit to unveil policies that bolster his argument that he is doing more than talking about progressive ideas—he’s implementing them here in New York City in a way that could serve as a model for the rest of the country. Most recently he trumpeted environmental legislation that seeks to force city building owners to drastically cut carbon emissions. On Monday, de Blasio held a campaign-style rally in the public lobby of Trump Plaza where supporters of the legislation faced a chorus of pro-Trump protesters who sought to drown out the event. De Blasio plans to position himself as a public executive, drawing on his experience leading the America’s biggest city which currently boasts record low crime and consistently low unemployment. His current stump speech emphasizes the struggles of working people.

“There is plenty of money in this city,” de Blasio has taken to saying, “it's just in the wrong hands,” he adds, arguing people deserve their share of the prosperity that they’ve earned.

He presents his administration’s signature programs—like pre-kindergarten, paid sick leave, extended healthcare coverage, and a proposal for paid time off—as ways the government can begin to lift people’s burdens.

But for all his accomplishments, the mayor will also be forced to answer for the issues his administration has failed to address, from the city’s crumbling public Housing Authority, to an ongoing affordable housing crisis and record-high homelessness. Advocates who once saw the mayor as their ally are among the most critical of his presidential ambitions.

“We think it's sort of unconscionable as we have record homelessness in New York City that he still continues to tout a record of housing production through his Housing New York plan when we know that so few of those units are actually going to those who need it most,” Giselle Routhier from Coalition for the Homeless told Gothamist / WNYC a month ahead of the mayor’s expected announcement.

On top of local concerns, the mayor faces an immediate national test just a month from now. That’s the deadline to qualify for the first Democratic debate scheduled for June 26th and 27th in Miami. The mayor is at risk of not qualifying, something that he acknowledged on the Brian Lehrer Show earlier this month.



Democratic candidates face duel thresholds. Either a candidate must register at least 1 percent or more support in three qualifying polls since the start of the year or a candidate must receive donations from at least 65,000 unique donors, with a minimum of 200 unique donors from at least 20 states. If more than 20 candidates qualify, Democratic organizers will look at who hits both criteria.

The mayor has already polled at 1 percent in two Monmouth polls. But he may face fundraising obstacles going forward. Since last July, he has been raising money for a political action committee, the Fairness PAC. While he received money from some top Democratic donors, some of his supporters have already decamped to other candidates.

Scott Nash, founder of Mom’s Organic Markets, a chain of organic grocery stores, and his wife donated a combined $10,000 to de Blasio’s Fairness PAC last August. But he’s putting his money on Joe Biden now.

“I usually support the person who is most electable and who I think is going to be the best campaigner,” Nash said. “Right now, I think it’s Joe Biden. So I’m a Joe Biden guy and now that he’s entered, he’s my man.”



If those types of sentiments make de Blasio an underdog, that’s just where he likes to be.

“He's always done the unexpected, always done what his advisers have told him wasn't a good idea and has managed to come out on top,” said Vitteritti, the Hunter College professor and de Blasio biographer. “If you look at his history it's not out of character.”

UPDATE, May 16: De Blasio released his campaign video on Thursday morning:

Brigid Bergin is the City Hall and politics reporter for WNYC. You can follow her on Twitter at @brigidbergin.