New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he plans to help spur what he described as a “progressive” version of the Republicans’ 1990s-era Contract with America.
Mr. de Blasio convened more than a dozen people, identified as progressive leaders, at Gracie Mansion to launch a national campaign on income inequality.
The group plans to release its platform next month in Washington, D.C., and later sponsor a bipartisan presidential forum that focuses on the issue.
“We are not having a discussion of income inequality in this country, and we are not having that discussion at our peril,” Mr. de Blasio said. “It’s got to be on the front burner as an issue.”
Mr. de Blasio compared the document that this group plans to produce with the GOP’s Contract with America, a document closely associated with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich that outlined Republicans’ plans in 1994 if they won a majority in the House. The GOP campaigned on the document that year and went on to win a majority of U.S. House seats for the first time in more than 40 years.
A number of Republicans, including some likely presidential contenders, have discussed income inequality in public forums, some of them blaming the Obama administration for making the problem worse. Mr. de Blasio said Thursday he is pleased when Republicans raise the issue, but there is little consensus on any policy prescriptions.
While Mr. de Blasio talked about holding a bipartisan forum, he didn’t invite any conservatives to the Gracie Mansion meeting.
The group assembled at Gracie Mansion included Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy; U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio; Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona; and author Toni Morrison.
Van Jones, co-founder of Rebuild the Dream, a liberal group, and another of the meeting’s attendees, described the effort as significant. Mr. Jones resigned from a job in the Obama administration after some of his sharply worded characterizations of Republicans came under fire, among other reasons.
He said he didn’t believe his ties to Mrs. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton would make it difficult for him to hold a bipartisan presidential forum or to be seen as a leader on the income-inequality issue in the 2016 election. Later this month, Mr. de Blasio is planning to take a spin on the national stage. The mayor is set to make a number of appearances around the U.S., including Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin, to promote his views on the fight against inequality.
Mr. de Blasio tamped down any speculation that he harbors interest in running for higher office. He said the only campaign that he is contemplating is a bid for re-election to City Hall in 2017.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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