Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday morning that he won’t be running for governor, despite signaling for months that he was considering launching a campaign.
“No, I am not going to be running for governor of New York State, but I am going to devote every fiber of my being to fighting inequality in the state of New York,” the former New York City mayor said in a video.
While de Blasio took time to highlight some of his biggest achievements from his eight years in office, such as universal pre-K and affordable housing, he also addressed two stories he hasn’t been able to escape: the fate of Charlotte, the Staten Island Zoo groundhog, and his often-criticized trips to the Park Slope YMCA.
“Now, I made my fair share of mistakes. I was not good with groundhogs at all. Probably shouldn’t have gone to the gym. But you know what? We changed things in this town,” de Blasio said.
In an ironic twist, de Blasio’s announcement comes just as a Siena College poll found him in second place in the gubernatorial race. Governor Kathy Hochul leads the group with a commanding 46 percent lead, followed by de Blasio at 12 percent, New York City’s public advocate Jumaane Williams with 11 percent, and 6 percent for Representative Tom Suozzi.
