De Blasio Joins Fellow Big-City Mayors to Blast Washington

JILL COLVIN

Mayor Bill de Blasio traveled to Chicago yesterday for a panel discussion with three of his most high-profile colleagues, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Atlanta’s Kasim Reed and Chicago’s Rahm Emanuel.

With political consultant David Axelrod leading the conversation, the group acted like a lineup of old friends, ribbing each other over recent weather woes, and joining together to herald the role of cities and criticize the federal government’s lack of investment in them.

The new mayor has also been working to expand his profile, with several recent appearances on national television, in addition to Thursday’s trip to the University of Chicago.

“There is something electric about this type of work,” he told the crowd yesterday, describing the benefits of being a mayor, “when you can have a vision, put it before the people, get it ratified by the people and then, like a bat out of hell, go and act on it.”

http://politicker.com/2014/03/de-blasio-joins-fellow-big-city-mayors-to-blast-washington/