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Fighting for Brooklyn, and for City’s Underprivileged
Despite loss in speaker’s race, de Blasio gains influence on Council
By Laura Brunts

City Council Member Bill de Blasio (D-Brooklyn) can be an intimidating figure. At well over six feet tall, he towers over most other Council members, staffers or journalists who approach him.

As assistant majority leader, one-time co-chair of the Brooklyn delegation and chair of the General Welfare Committee, he also plays a significant role in Council politics, forging alliances between different political factions.

During last year’s speaker race, de Blasio had considerable support both inside and outside the Brooklyn delegation, with many Black and Latino Council members behind him.

“Early in my career, I happened to work for a substantial period of time for people of color,” de Blasio said, explaining his ability to gain such diverse support. “I think that has an impact on how you see the world.”

His wife, writer Chirlane McCray, is African-American, which contributes to de Blasio’s sensitivity, and perhaps his appeal in the black community as well.

“He’s married to a black woman. There’s a certain connection there with people of color,” said Council Member Robert Jackson (D-Manhattan), co-chair of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, who himself backed Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) in the speaker’s race. “Bill is a pretty progressive individual, more in line with Blacks, Latinos and Asians,” Jackson added.

Despite a great deal of support during the race, de Blasio placed second to Quinn. As a sort of consolation prize, the position of assistant majority leader was created for him and fellow Brooklyn Democrat Lewis Fidler, a dark horse in the race.

“We happen to be from all of the different boroughs, all sorts of different backgrounds,” de Blasio said of the Council leadership, which also includes Majority Leader Joel Rivera (D-Bronx) and Majority Whip Inez Dickens (D-Manhattan).

There are no Council members from Queens or Staten Island in the Democratic leadership.

“It’s like another sounding board, another opportunity to get additional ideas. We also help talk to members and bring people together to a consensus,” de Blasio said.

He sees the larger and more inclusive leadership as an important change. Brooklyn is the largest borough, but was not involved in the leadership and “not in vogue” politically under former Speaker Gifford Miller (D-Manhattan), de Blasio argued. As General Welfare Committee chair since 2002, de Blasio has pushed for expansion of the food stamps program and homelessness prevention projects, among other legislation.

Speaking about the committee, he says he “had a connection to it from the beginning” because Steve DiBrienza (D), who represented the same Brooklyn district, chaired the same committee.

The Committee oversees the Administration for Children’s Services, the Department of Homeless Services and the Human Resources Administration. This covers a broad range of programs, including public assistance, domestic violence services and distribution of food stamps and Medicaid.

In the next year, de Blasio plans to prioritize reforming the Administration for Children’s Services to better fight child abuse. He also wants to address food and hunger issues in underprivileged neighborhoods.

He said the Committee will also introduce legislation to study the distribution of supermarkets in the city, and set up more grocery stores in poor neighborhoods.

While the current Council has been very supportive of initiatives that come out of the General Welfare Committee, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s (R) office has not, de Blasio said.

“We’ve had a number of challenging moments,” he said.