Alexandria DeNunzio

PAF 9199

Professor Hoffman

29 July 2015

Notes on Bill de Blasio’s 2014 Inaugural Address

Bill deBlasio’s 2014 Inaugural Address was given on January 1, 2014 on the steps of City Hall in New York City. The newfound mayor spends a significant amount of time thanking selective actors in government and God. The speech was organized in a very stylistic manner of being able to weave historical allusions, reframing a New York identity in order to establish a sense of occasion in an epideictic manner. DeBlasio is able to do this with his serious slow enunciation and emphasis on his main points in terms of policy goals, but he has a more lighthearted candor when discussing himself and his family. He successfully structures the speech by thanking previous government officials, others within the NYC government, discusses the New Yorker identity as a family, and leads how this New York family will leave no one behind. Much of his policy goals had to do with social equality highlighting the issue of the “inequality crisis”, education policy, ending stop and frisk and fixing the cycle of poverty all through a progressive lens. Some of the most outstanding and unique qualities of the speech include his ability to weave historical progressives as an identity of change in New York. It plays upon the pathos of the audience in order for them to feel as though they are apart of the large part of the New York City family. In addition, he has a very inclusive nature to him by not only thanking leaders from multiple religious sects but also breaking out into a few lines in Spanish to engulf the diversity of New York City.

The 2014 Mayoral Election was a momentous one with two new candidates after Michael Bloomberg was not able to seek reelection because of the term limits. The candidates for the 2014 Mayoral Election were Democrat Bill de Blasio and Republican nominee Joseph J. Lhota. Bill de Blasio won by a landslide with 73 percent of the votes to 24 percent and Lhota conceded within forty minutes after the polls closed(Goldman). Some of the key issues had to do with partisan lines, whether deBlasio was too liberal or whether Lhota was meeting with Tea Party members. (Barbaro). In addition the debates discussed policies regarding charter schools and stop and frisk.

Bill deBlasio prior to running for mayor has had a rich career in politics and the public sector. In 2010, Bill de Blasio was sworn in in 2010 as New York City’s Public Advocate who worked on housing policy to protect New Yorkers (Office of the Mayor). He worked on City Council representing areas in Brooklyn and worked on issues regarding public education and in 2000 he was the campaign manager for Hilary Clinton’s Senatorial campaign (Office of the Mayor). Prior to running for Mayor, de Blasio has had a legacy as a life long Democrat.

Bill de Blasio was sworn in as Mayor informally outside his home in Park Slope Brooklyn. He was surrounded by his family along with the state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and sworn in briefly (Press). The next day was much more formal with President Clinton administering the inauguration. In addition Andrew Cuomo as well as Michael Bloomberg were in attendance. Letitia James was sworn in as public advocate and Scott Stringer as comptroller (Press).

The overall spin of the speech by the media seemed to be a positive one. The highlight of the success was that it ended the Democratic drought within the Mayor’s office. In addition, that Bill DeBlasio was going to be tough on the rich discussing the increase in taxes for the rich (Sanchez). Bill de Blasio’s speech is considered unwaveringly liberal and progressive in order to fight the rich in a progressive manner.

One of the passages that may need further explanation is when Bill Deblasio states, “I will take aim at the Tale of Two cities” he is referring to a reference mentioned in the Charles Dickens Novel “A Tale of Two Cities.” The purpose of this is to display a shared text in which would establish a sense of community. The goal was to use the literary reference in order to combat the “1% problem.” The one percent issue in New York City has to do with the rising cost of living and the distribution of the nation’s wealth. De Blasio connects with the audience in order to describe the problem economic and social inequity in New York City.

Some of the people and places Bill De Blasio refers to are as follows:

President and Senator Clinton: DeBlasio begins the speech by thanking former President Bill Clinton and former Senator, and now, Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Mayor de Blasio served as the campaign manager for Hilary’s Senatorial run. In addition Bill Clinton serves as the administrator of the event. The Clinton’s are the epitome of the Democratic ticket so with DeBlasio being friendly with them implies he is truly a Democrat.

Reverend Fred Luxas Jr., Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, Monsignor Robert Romano and Imam Askia Muhammed: These religious leaders are also amongst whom de Blasio thanks in his inaugural speech to display an inclusive nature spanning the diversity of New York City.

Governor Cuomo, Mayor Bloomberg: DeBlasio is thanking other officials he may have to work with to ensure that New York City is run efficiently. In addition, Mayor Bloomberg was his predecessor who led New York City for over 12 years.

Mayor Dinkins: This was the last Democratic Mayor of New York City. In addition, both de Blasio and his wife Chirlane worked together under.

Al Smith, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Frances Perkins, Fiorello La Guardia, Elanor Roosevelt, and Harry Belafonte: These historical figures and allusions are responsible for bringing about significant change to New York City and the United States. For example, minimum wage, unemployment insurance, New Deal, and the progressive income tax were all established by these figures. All those policies were considered “against the grain,” progressive and challenged the status quo. De Blasio uses these names as allusions and to build a sense of attachment to the audience. He also claims to be along the same ranks and idolizes these actors to set the stage for his policy goals.

The following quotes are representative of the speech:

“It’s a place that celebrates a very simple notion: that no matter what your story is – this is your city. Our strength is derived from you. Working together, we will make this One City. And that mission — our march toward a fairer, more just, more progressive place, our march to keep the promise of New York alive for the next generation. It begins today.”

This quote is a summative statement, which engulfs the major aspects of the speech. It discusses the strength of the family of New York. He also discusses that, as New Yorkers there will be change brought about in a progressive manner.

De Blasio uses two key terms in his speech

  1. “We will…”- The consistent anaphora of “we will” was used multiple times to engage New Yorkers about what changes will occur. By using the inclusive statement of “we”, he implies the people of New York as well as the Mayor will bring change to New York to better the city. It’s repeated emphasis implies that New Yorkers with the help of the mayor belong to a family, a greater NYC family to bring about positive change.
  2. Progressive- The term progressive is used multiple times in order for Mayor de Blasio to allude to previous historical figures that have brought about positive progressive policies that have helped to ensure social and economic equality. Mayor de Blasio uses these allusions to gain the audience’s attachment to figures they may be fond of and in turn, associate them with the new Mayor. The Mayor claims his policy goals will be within the leagues of those actors who are known as those who brought about crucial policy change citizens cannot live with out.

Biographies on Mayor Bill de Blasio

  1. Alterman, Eric Inequality and One City: Bill de Blasio and the New York Experiment, Year One.

Works Cited

Barbaro, Michael. "De Blasio, Attacking Lhota, Dominates in Their First Debate." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 29 July 2015.

Goldman, Henry. "De Blasio Wins New York Mayoral Race as Democrat Routs Lhota." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg Business, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 29 July 2015.

"Office of the Mayor | Mayor's Bio | City of New York." Office of the Mayor | Mayor's Bio | City of New York. Web. 29 July 2015.

Press, Jonathan. "Bill De Blasio Sworn in as 109th Mayor of NYC." USA Today. Gannett, 2014. Web. 29 July 2015.

Sanchez, Ray. "Bill De Blasio Sworn in as New York City's 109th Mayor - CNNPolitics.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 2014. Web. 29 July 2015.