In one of his first speeches as mayor-elect, Bill de Blasio on Saturday did what any liberal politician in the city would do before taking office — he trucked up to Harlem to kiss Al Sharpton’s ring.
“Every year Reverend Sharpton is becoming stronger as a leader, is reaching farther as a leader,” de Blasio fawned at Sharpton’s National Action Network meeting. “You never have to wonder if he will remember where he came from, and he’ll be the first one up to stand up for justice. I gotta tell you guys, he’s a blessing for all of us. Let’s thank Reverend Sharpton.”
The event at times seemed like a leftist lovefest with de Blasio, Councilwoman Letitia James and incoming Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson all heaping praise on Sharpton. James, who’ll replace de Blasio as the city’s public advocate next year — chanted “No justice, no peace” at one point.
Sharpton — who was expected to back Bill Thompson, the only African-American candidate in the Democratic field for mayor — eventually threw his considerable weight behind de Blasio, helping him secure 42 percent of the city’s black vote in the primary.
“It’s one thing to win an election, it’s another thing to achieve an agenda,” de Blasio said Saturday. “We are going to get on with a very — not only progressive — but aggressive agenda. And it will work if you help us achieve it.”
When he wasn’t genuflecting to Sharpton and the crowd, de Blasio managed to touch on some policy goals — expanding paid sick leave, raising taxes to pay for universal pre-K, and creating new, higher-wage jobs.
On jobs, he proposed using CUNY to train workers for tech opportunities.
“If we get that done and we get a serious number of people into those jobs, that’s going to be a measure of progress,” he said.
Addressing inequalities at the earliest stages in New Yorkers’ lives will also be a priority, he said.
Early-childhood education and afterschool programs are also both long-term parts of his overall agenda, though de Blasio was short on specifics.
In a departure from his campaign rhetoric, the mayor-elect praised Mayor Bloomberg’s administration for a smooth transition.
“I want to give the mayor credit. Everyone knows that I’ve had occasion to disagree with the mayor, but when he does something right, I like to give him credit,” de Blasio said. “His team has been very responsive.”