Mayor de Blasio will have a lot on the line this week when he wines and dines Democratic Party leaders who will decide whether to hold the party’s 2016 presidential convention at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Hosting the political extravaganza would not only be a chance to showcase New York as great place for tourists and a thriving center of commerce.
It would also be a priceless opportunity for the freshman mayor to star on the nation’s political stage, make new and powerful friends, and promote his progressive agenda.
“Only a small percentage of Americans even know who Mayor de Blasio is. Yes, he’s new and hasn’t had a chance to make much national news, but outside the political community, de Blasio is one of the least-recognized New York mayors in recent decades,” said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
Playing host is “an enormous opportunity for a city and its mayor to shine,” Sabato said. “Of course, if a convention goes badly — think Chicago in 1968 — it can turn into a nightmare and a public relations disaster.”
Unlike Gov. Cuomo, who’s been scrupulous about not traveling outside New York during his first term, de Blasio has roamed far and wide.
Even before he took office, de Blasio and his agenda were literally front and center among mayors and mayors-elect who trooped to Washington for a meeting with President Obama last December.
In June, he took his “Tale of Two Cities” campaign pitch about economic inequality to the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Dallas, and agreed to run its task force on urban issues.
He was back in D.C. last week with his wife to attend the formal presidential dinner for African heads of state — skipping New York’s National Night Out Against Crime events to be there.
Even when he was supposed to be enjoying private downtime during his family’s vacation in Italy last month, de Blasio met with the mayor of the city of Pescara, picking up coverage by the Italian press.
While “viewership of national conventions has dropped precipitously,” said Ken Sherrill, professor emeritus at Hunter College (and himself a former DNC delegate), hosting the 2016 gathering would still give de Blasio enormous exposure.
“I think that de Blasio really understands that there hasn’t been an urban agenda in American politics for a long time [AND]he’ll use whatever platform he’s given to do that,” Sherrill said.
“And of course, he’s not shy about doing anything that makes him more visible and well-known.”
When it comes to de Blasio promoting his agenda, the convention would be “an opportunity to deal with people at the leadership level from all over the country and to make [HIS]case to members of Congress, to state legislators, to perhaps mobilize allies [FROM]elsewhere,” Sherrill said.
De Blasio will personally court the Democratic National Committee’s site-selection officials during their Monday and Tuesday stay in the city, including a cookout at Gracie Mansion.
If New York does beat out its four competitors, “It’s a huge get and I think a huge validation of both his mayoralty and his visions and his ideas [AND]just his basic competence level,” said Democratic consultant Chris Lehane.
A win also would send a message that de Blasio is “running a good administration where you can bring in these kinds of events,” Lehane said.
Even de Blasio’s choice to pitch his home borough, not Manhattan, as the centerpiece of New York’s bid has political implications for the mayor.
“I think the reason that Brooklyn is even being proposed is to send a message about his vision of New York… When you think of Brooklyn, you think of a much more diverse setting for the convention,” a DNC insider told the Daily News.
“It’s a populist message.”
De Blasio’s senior advisor Peter Ragone said, “Regardless of the outcome here, the city is already a winner because we’re showing the world that we can host an historic event that features all 5 boroughs.”
