12 JULY 18, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Time for de Blasio to drop out of prez race
For many New Yorkers, Mayor
Bill de Blasio’s delayed response
to the Manhattan blackout on
July 13 — as he continued his quixotic
campaign for president a thousand
miles away in Iowa — was the last
straw.
Since the days when Mayor
Fiorello LaGuardia rode on a police
motorcycle sidecar to get to major
incidents around town during the
Great Depression, New Yorkers have
come to expect their mayors to be
on the spot for any major crisis that
may strike.
But when the lights went out
in Manhattan on Saturday night
— trapping people in elevators,
suspending subway service in
Queens and beyond, and bringing
the heart of the city to a standstill —
de Blasio was nowhere to be found.
While on yet another taxpayerfunded
junket in his longshot quest
to become president, he phoned in
the response, then waited hours
before deciding he should get out
of Iowa and come back to the city he
was elected to serve.
But by the time he showed back up,
EDITORIAL
As Con Edison and various city offi cials worked to resolve the July 13 blackout in Manhattan, Mayor Bill de Blasio
was in Iowa campaigning for president. Photo via Twitter/@ConEdison
the crisis was long over. Surrogate
leaders stepped up during de
Blasio’s absence, including City
Council Speaker Corey Johnson and
Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The blackout may have happened
in Manhattan, but the rage over de
Blasio’s no-show can be felt in every
corner of the city. New Yorkers know
that such a crisis could easily happen
to them — and where would they be
without the mayor’s leadership?
Some have said it’s time for de
Blasio to step aside, but we don’t think
that’s required.
Rather, it’s time for de Blasio to
live up to the oath that he took to
serve the people of New York City.
It’s time for him to drop out of the
presidential race.
Being mayor of New York City, it
has been said, is the second-toughest
job in America — second only to the
presidency itself. De Blasio may be
term-limited in 2021, but there are
no limits to the very real challenges
this city faces.
Residents are dealing with myriad
problems including a higher cost
of living, public transportation
breakdowns, overcrowded schools,
income inequality and more.
Undocumented residents in
Queens and the other boroughs
also feared the worst when
reports surfaced that ICE would
conduct a major deportation sweep
last weekend.
While the raid never materialized
in the predicted large scale, the
mayor decided to skip town anyway
and campaign in Iowa — sending a
message that he cares more about his
fantastical White House hopes than
he does for some of the city’s most
vulnerable residents.
Indeed, de Blasio’s blazé handling
of this weekend’s crises — not to
mention past public policy blunders
on everything from public education
to public housing — indicate that he’s
not ready for the White House at all.
The Democratic field, crowded as
it is, has far more competent and
more qualified candidates for the
presidency than the current mayor
of New York City.
No one on the campaign trail will
miss de Blasio except for the mayor
himself. If taking charge of this city
and building a lasting legacy isn’t
good enough for him, then that’s his
problem, not ours.
If anything, de Blasio has proven
one thing: You can’t do both jobs well,
but you can do both poorly.
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ESTABLISHED 1908
Co-Publishers
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
Editor-in-Chief
ROBERT POZARYCKI
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DEBORAH CUSICK
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MARLENE RUIZ
Reporters
EMILY DAVENPORT
MARK HALLUM
CARLOTTA MOHAMED
MAX PARROTT
BILL PARRY
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