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De Blasio's First TV Ad Stars His Well-Coiffed Son Dante
By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Aug 8, 2013
Modified Aug 8, 2013
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By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Aug 8, 2013
Modified Aug 8, 2013
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The campaign of Bill De Blasio didn't start great, but with the incredibly entertaining collapse of Anthony Weiner, the mostly-comatose campaigning of Bill Thompson, the stench of Bloomberg surrounding Quinn, and the conspiracy against John Liu, New York City's Public Advocate now has a very real chance of finding himself in Gracie Mansion. He's gotten there by being the most relatable, seemingly-authentic liberal candidate, and his campaign knows that.
For their first major TV buy, the De Blasio campaign is trotting out Dante, a young New Yorker, who also happens to be De Blasio's son:
The New York Times has also latched onto the De Blasio campaign, offering a glowing profile of his family in today's paper:
In a city where white residents are becoming a minority of the voting population, the family-centric strategy has allowed Mr. de Blasio, who is Italian-American, to portray himself as a paragon of modern, middle-class, multicultural New York: Ms. McCray is black and the couple has two children, Dante and Chiara, 18.
Add the endorsements of The Nation and billionaire George Soros, and you have a bona-fide liberal with a fighting chance to be mayor. Whodathunk?
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Max Rivlin-Nadler
Max Rivlin-Nadler has been a contributor to Gothamist since 2013. He has also reported for the New York Times, NPR, and The Intercept. His years-long investigation into New York City's arcane civil forfeiture laws led to a series of reforms which altered a practice that had been taking millions from poor communities for decades. Recently, he brought back a surfing habit from a few years on the west coast, and would love to see you all out in the Rockaways.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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