De Blasio and Big City Mayors Try Pooling Their Power Against Trump
Source: New York Times
DEC. 29, 2016
A year into his term, Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City circulated a memo that made clear his desire to use a newly formed coalition of mayors, whose purpose was to push for immigration reform, to go further and nudge lawmakers in a “progressive direction.”
But the effort, freighted with the sizable weight of the mayor’s national ambitions, faltered amid infighting and stalled after court decisions halted President Obama’s executive action on immigration.
Now, the election of Donald J. Trump has reinvigorated the coalition, giving Mr. de Blasio the means to rally dissent among the big city mayors and potentially offering him a leg up on claiming the mantle of a leading Trump antagonist among Democrats.
Since Election Day, Mr. de Blasio has used his perch as the mayor of America’s largest city, and Mr. Trump’s hometown, to cast himself as a defender of immigrants, minorities and others fearful over what the new administration’s policies might mean for urban residents. Behind the scenes, his administration has tried to rally other municipal leaders to press for last-minute action by President Obama, particularly on immigration.
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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/nyregion/bill-de-blasio-donald-trump-mayors.html
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