Corey Johnson, the current Speaker of the New York City Council, has launched a campaign to support a possible upcoming run for Mayor of the The Big Apple.
Current Mayor Bill De Blasio, who failed at a nascent run for president under the Democratic ticket, is unable to run again due to the city’s term limits and will be out of office by 2021.
The end of De Blasio’s political career in mayoral politics is creating an opportunity for other New York politicians to take on the role of mayor of the largest city in the United States, an office that numerous future presidential candidates have held.
Johnson first announced his interest in running for mayor on Twitter in early 2019, writing, “It’s a big decision, but I am thinking about a potential people-powered Mayoral run.”
The Speaker claimed that, should he officially toss his hat in the ring, he would take no large donations from real estate developers, lobbyists, corporate PACs, and would limit his campaign to small dollar donations.
It's a big decision, but I am thinking about a potential people-powered Mayoral run.
✅ Zero $ from real estate developers
✅ Zero $ from lobbyists
✅ Zero $ from corporate PACs
✅ And I won’t take more than $250 total from anyoneJoin me 👉 https://t.co/kxTwtmnXRT
— Corey Johnson (@CoreyinNYC) January 28, 2019
While Johnson’s campaign launched earlier this year, it seemed the political machine of De Blasio may have been unstoppable at the time.
Now, after De Blasio’s presidential aspirations crashed and burned, and New Yorkers were left wondering where their mayor might be for hours during a power outage, it seems as though those willing to take on the interests behind De Blasio may have a chance at leading the city.
During the blackout, while it took hours for De Blasio to respond on Twitter, Johnson was credited for leading local officials through the crisis.
He was credited for doing so by a New York Times columnist.
Yet again, you took about two hours to even tweet about a crisis for New Yorkers. At the same time, Corey Johnson took immediate action. You are ridiculous and not just because you workout in cargo shorts
— Evan Siegfried (@evansiegfried) July 19, 2019
Earlier this month, it was reported that there are growing tensions between the Speaker and the Mayor, with Johnson not speaking to De Blasio for over a month.
“Uh, I don’t remember,” Johnson said on Fox 5’s “Good Day New York” when asked about the last time he talked to de Blasio.
“So wait, it’s been more than a month that you haven’t talked to the mayor?” co-host Rosanna Scotto asked.
“I’ve talked to his staff,” Johnson said.
He denied that he was avoiding the mayor, but said, “I have my priorities, he has his.”
It remains to be seen whether opposing what De Blasio represents will earn Johnson enough political clout in The City That Never Sleeps to become the country’s first openly gay, HIV+ mayor.
