A new report alleges that former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is planning to run for the state's newly drawn 10th Congressional district.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler is leaving the 10th district to battle it out with Rep. Carolyn Maloney in the redrawn 12th district.
State Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein told the New York Post that the former mayor said to him on Tuesday that he is "committed to running in the race."
"He’s in, he’s running – he’s calling people," Eichenstein told the paper, claiming that de Blasio has a list of donors and other elected officials to inform."Based on the conversation that I had with him earlier today, he is running for Congress in the new NY-10 congressional district," Eichenstein added. "He called me earlier this afternoon. While I will keep our conversation private, I will confirm that we spoke for over 20 minutes about his decision to run for this district."
“These neighborhoods are not foreign to him. He’s been representing some of these neighborhoods since 2001, and whether it’s been perfect or not at all times, these relationships are long standing and run deep,” Eichenstein continued.
Eichenstein declined to endorse the former mayor at this time.
"I’m not endorsing anyone today, let’s see how this race shapes up and who will ultimately be on the ballot," he told the Post.
The claims appear to be a complete reversal of what de Blasio said back in February, when he appeared to rule it out.
"I’ve represented the neighborhoods of the 11th CD for years and I love the people who live here. It was gratifying to connect with community and elected leaders while I considered a run. I'm certain a progressive can win this seat and serve us in Washington," de Blasio tweeted. "Back in January, I made a decision to focus on advocating for policies that would continue to drive down income inequality in New York - one of my proudest achievements. I'm going to stick with that decision - it was the right one then and it remains so." Back in January, I made a decision to focus on advocating for policies that would continue to drive down income inequality in New York - one of my proudest achievements. I'm going to stick with that decision - it was the right one then and it remains so (2/2)
— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) February 15, 2022
The newly drawn district will include lower Manhattan, brownstone Brooklyn, and Borough Park.
Democrat state senators Brad Hoylman and Simcha Felder, as well as Assemblymembers Robert Carroll and Jo Anne Simon, and former City Comptroller Scott Stringer indicated to Politico that they are also interested in running for the seat.
The report adds, "De Blasio lives in Park Slope, which will be a core part of the new 10th District. The former mayor briefly flirted with running for Congress under district lines approved by the Democratic-controlled state Legislature, which would have lumped Park Slope into a Staten Island-based district held by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), but ultimately opted against it. 'This seat actually is better than the other one,' the de Blasio source said, predicting he could perform well among Orthodox Jews in Borough Park and public housing residents."
