Suozzi may have been low-balling expectations before the event, noting he would be happy with a few hundred participants.
“We got 5,000 callers!” an elated Suozzi reported Wednesday evening, with most participants interested in such topics as crime, taxes and schools.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio got into the act last week, too – sort of. During his waning days in office, the mayor is making no official declarations of candidacy, and probably won’t for a while.
But in 2000, de Blasio managed Hillary Clinton’s campaign to succeed Daniel Patrick Moynihan in the Senate, and recalls all too well that she preceded her effort with a statewide “listening tour” in 1999. Clinton spent months traveling the state while still first lady, generating international media attention wherever she went.
De Blasio plans just such a statewide tour a few weeks after he leaves office on Dec. 31, to tout his new education initiative with stakeholders all across New York State. He won’t say it, but it appears to replicate Clinton’s 1999 travels, allowing him to cement his own long-standing political ties throughout the state.
In addition, the mayor discussed his ideas last week with The News in a Gracie Mansion interview – and not to chat about the Bills. De Blasio has a clear vision for the state, is beginning to articulate it when opportunities arise and seems poised for more.
