Bill de Blasio criticizes the field of NYC mayoral candidates: 'Is this really as good as it gets?'

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
AP Photo/Richard Drew

Bill de Blasio blasted the field of NYC mayoral candidates in an interview with Politico magazine.
The current mayor criticized the candidates as "petty" and "lacking in a compelling vision."
De Blasio disputed that he was working behind the scenes in support of frontrunner Eric Adams.
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As New York voters head to the polls to select the city's next mayor, its current inhabitant, Bill de Blasio, recently revealed a striking lack of confidence in the slate of Democratic candidates running to succeed him at City Hall.

In an article for Politico magazine, de Blasio appeared less than enthused about the candidates who have spent months crisscrossing the city to engage with different constituencies, especially with some of them rebuking many elements of his mayoralty.

While walking in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, de Blasio slammed the candidates as "petty" and "lacking in a compelling vision."

The major Democratic candidates include Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, civil rights attorney Maya Wiley, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, former Citigroup executive Ray McGuire, former nonprofit executive Dianne Morales, and former Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan.

Unsurprisingly, the mayor did not endorse any of the Democratic candidates before the June 22 primary, and expressed dismay at their performances in the final mayoral debate on June 16.

"Look at last night for God's sakes. Jesus! That was like bad high school debate. It was just so petty," de Blasio told Politico. "It was like, is this really healthy? Is this really as good as it gets?"

In a debate from early June, seven out of the eight major Democratic candidates said that they didn't want an endorsement from de Blasio, with Yang being the only one on the stage to indicate that he would accept the mayor's backing.

According to The New York Times, several individuals close to de Blasio indicated that he "favors" Adams, who represents the mayor's home borough, and worked "behind the scenes" to get others to endorse the mayoral frontrunner.

However, during the interview with Politico, de Blasio seemed to refute such a perception.

"They can say that all they want," he said.

Read the original article on Business Insider