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Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio described the impact of the indictment of current Mayor Eric Adams as a “giant problem” while discussing the city’s leadership at a Harvard Institute of Politics Forum Thursday evening.
De Blasio, a one-time 2020 presidential candidate, also discussed his own tenure as mayor from 2014 to 2021 and his hopes for the future of New York at the forum, which was moderated by Emmy-award winning journalist Betsy Fischer Martin. The forum marked a return to the IOP for de Blasio and Fischer Martin, who are both former fellows.
Adams was indicted in September on five federal charges for wire fraud, bribery, conspiracy, and soliciting campaign contributions. Adams maintains his innocence and has plead not guilty to all charges.
“There’s a giant problem in New York right now, because people feel let down,” de Blasio said. “They feel confused. They don't know what's happening with their government.”
De Blasio said Adams needs to restore confidence amongst New Yorkers.
“The one thing that would be best for New York City is for the mayor to bring a very professional and respected group of people into play to run the city, and restore some confidence,” de Blasio said. “And that’s something he can do, regardless of his legal status.”
De Blasio emphasized that Adams should “show people he is putting governance first,” saying, “If he does that, at least I think he can stabilize the situation.”
At the event, de Blasio also addressed the 2024 presidential election and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
“She’s talking about that things cost too much and what she's going to do about it. She’s talking about health care costs, which is a massive part of everyone's challenge,” de Blasio said.
However, he added that Harris’s “closing argument needs to be different” adding that “it’s time to say what she would do differently from Joe Biden.”
De Blasio also called on Harris to have more moments of “spontaneity” in her campaign, “that shows people when this all goes down, and when she’s the president, and the world – this crazy, uncertain world – comes to her, because she has to deal with it, that she is comfortable, strongly and decisively making those decisions.”
In an interview with The Crimson before the event, de Blasio said he wanted to show students the impact they can have as leaders during the forum.
“I like to provide perspective and stories that remind people just how much impact they can have,” he said. “People in this room tonight might be amongst those who could really help to find new solutions to problems.”
During the forum, de Blasio stressed the importance of communication in navigating leadership.
“Folks more than ever, I think, are yearning for a sense of direction in a very uncertain, insecure, world,” de Blasio said. “They don’t want platitudes, they want to know exactly how you can take them from point A to point B and make their lives uniquely better.”
“I feel like at the beginning of my administration, at the end of my administration, I figured that out, but I did not figure it out well in the middle,” he added.
De Blasio said after the forum that poor political communication is “part of the crisis of democracy.”
“It’s not just right-wing populism,” he said. “Some of the problem is that the folks doing this work are not reaching the people they need to reach and listening to them enough, and I think we need to change that. I think we can change it.”
De Blasio encouraged Americans to be an “agent of democracy” in the 2024 election.
“This will be one of the closest elections in American history. Literally, every vote matters,” he said.
