New York City Politics, New York Mayoral Politics, Urban/Global Politics

City Council Speaker: The Rules of the Game

The recent rumblings over Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio’s choice for City Council Speaker, District 8 Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, have unearthed some of the gnarly underbelly of East Harlem political strife, and raised difficult questions about progressive politics. De Blasio’s involvement in “pushing” Mark-Viverito’s candidacy is being questioned because it apparently doesn’t have a recent precedent. […]

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New York Mayoral Politics

Bill de Blasio’s Mixed-Race Strategy

You’ve seen this Bill de Blasio campaign ad now about a million times now, and it still resonates. Even with the sound off, muting the tight mix of progressive sloganeering (tax the rich, create affordable housing, stop stop and frisk), the message comes through. Here is a family living a happy middle class life, acting […]

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