Meet Bill de Blasio

From his early days as a student and activist to his current position as Public Advocate for the City of New York, Bill de Blasio has worked to increase opportunities for every New Yorker, ensure a quality education for every child and make the dream of a more fair and just New York a reality.

Together with his wife, Chirlane, Bill is the proud parent of Chiara, a high school senior, and Dante, now a freshman. Having raised their children in Brooklyn and sent them to New York City public schools, both Bill and Chirlane have garnered an acute understanding of the fundamental role parents and teachers share in educating the next generation.

After graduating from NYU, Bill studied at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and traveled around the world, visiting Africa and South America. He began his career in public affairs working for New York City’s first African American Mayor, David N. Dinkins, and later became an assistant for community affairs in City Hall.

He then moved to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, working as Regional Director under former Secretary Andrew Cuomo. As New York and New Jersey’s highest-ranking official in HUD, Bill fought for increased federal funding for affordable homes and services for senior citizens.

Bill criss-crossed the tri-state region, gaining a critical understanding of the myriad communities that make up the New York area. In a region where city and state are so interdependent, Bill saw how invaluable the private sector could be in creating jobs and how crucial it is for government to support small businesses.

In 1999, Bill joined District 15’s School Board in Brooklyn, where he introduced classroom reforms, helping his district become the first to cap class size in first grade and to establish universal pre-K programs.

In 2000, Hillary Clinton asked him to manage her historic and successful campaign for the U.S. Senate. Working at the helm of a vast, statewide operation, Bill helped re-introduce Mrs. Clinton to large portions of the electorate who had until then known her only as the First Lady, eventually securing her a decisive victory in a highly competitive race.

Two years later, he started his service in the City Council, representing Park Slope, Boro Park, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Windsor Terrace and Kensington.

In his eight years on the Council, Bill focused his efforts on improving public education, engaging parents, expanding affordable housing and community development.

As head of the General Welfare Committee in the City Council, Bill reformed government programs to better serve middle and working class families. Under his leadership, the Committee passed the Gender-based Discrimination Protection law to protect transgendered New Yorkers, and passed the Domestic Partnership Recognition law to ensure that same-sex couples in a legal partnership could enjoy all the same legal benefits of domestic partners of heterosexual couples in New York City. During his tenure, the committee also passed the Benefits Translation for Immigrants law, which helped non-English speakers access free language assistance services when navigating government benefits.

Bill also helped pass transformative legislation that drastically expanded housing options for working class New Yorkers, increased government transparency and improved public education policy.

As an outspoken advocate for tenants’ rights, Bill introduced and successfully passed legislation that ended landlord discrimination against tenants who held federal housing subsidy vouchers.

Bill also helped pass the HIV/AIDS Housing Services law, improving housing services for low income New Yorkers living with HIV or AIDS.

In 2010, Bill was sworn in as Public Advocate, the City’s second-highest elected office.

As Public Advocate, Bill works to ensure that our government represents the needs of all New Yorkers. He has worked to hold city government accountable, ensuring it uses its resources to create good jobs and give parents a voice in their kids’ schools.

His “Worst Landlords Watch List” publically identified ineffective landlords, and the listed individuals were pressured to improve building maintenance and upkeep. Bill mirrored this tactic in “Open Government NYC,” a public database emphasizing City Council funding transparency.

He has also been a forceful opponent of the corrosive influence of corporate money in politics. Dubbed the “Citizens United Avenger,” Bill has built a national coalition of elected officials against corporate spending, even convincing JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup to pledge not to directly spend any corporate dollars in elections.