Before he was mayor, Bill de Blasio spent four years as public advocate, where he was a vocal critic of Mayor Bloomberg. So it's no surprise he's not a fan of the idea of scrapping the position.

In fact, in our weekly interview, the mayor was asked about a new City Council bill that would eliminate the position, which has little formal power and is widely considered a stepping stone to higher office. With Public Advocate Letitia James being sworn in as attorney general in January, a crowded field is already jockeying to win the special election to replace her.

"I had that job," de Blasio said. "And I think it was an important opportunity to have checks and balances. And public advocates have done that with whoever's mayor, whether it's the same party or a different party."

More recently, de Blasio has been a vocal critic of the city Board of Elections. After last week's Election Day meltdown, he predicted reform will be a top agenda item in Albany with Democrats now in control of the state Senate.

"This is going to be a major, major priority for me," de Blasio said. "And I'd ask everyone to get involved, because April 1 is the crucial day in Albany when the budget's passed. From now to April 1, we have to be singularly focused on fixing our Board of Elections."

While de Blasio says he's never ordered from Amazon, he touted a potential Long Island City headquarters as the single biggest economic development deal in the city's history.

As for his plans after his term runs out, de Blasio reiterated comments he made last week expressing interest in seeking higher office, but dodged on exactly which office he might seek.

"We'll see if other opportunities exist at the end of that time. If they are, I'm going to be very interested in continuing this kind of work," de Blasio said. "Because I think I've been able to get something done for people. If you believe in public service, and if you build up some ability to do it, and you think you want to keep doing it, keep doing it. But you also have to be realistic. I have to be realistic about what opportunities exist."