There are 10 months until the primary, and Mayor Bill de Blasio has yet to get any declared formidable opponents, but he has found one opponent to try to boost his reputation amongst New Yorkers. NY1's Courtney Gross filed the following report.
Mayor Bill de Blasio may have found the perfect nemesis for his 2017 re-election campaign.
Since Donald Trump took on the title president-elect, de Blasio has been front and center calming New Yorkers' fears about a Trump presidency.
In fact, on Monday, the mayor is scheduled to give a major speech at Cooper Union in front of about 700 people. It's billed as a policy speech, but it rings like a campaign stop.
NY1 is told it will detail how the city executes its "mission" under a Trump presidency. It will push the message of unity and assure New Yorkers Trump's policies will not change the direction of the de Blasio administration.
It's a similar message to what we heard all week.
"We will do all we can to protect our residents and make sure families are not torn apart," de Blasio said Wednesday.
"I think it's absolutely important that the new administration in Washington not follow through with any policy that would suggest discrimination against Muslims," de Blasio said.
Defying Trump may bring some risk for the city, considering the budget includes almost $7.7 billion dollars in federal funding. Trump has threatened to cut funding for places that are "sanctuary cities" for undocumented immigrants.
"We are not going to be compelled to do things that go against the values of New York City," de Blasio said.
De Blasio as the city's defender could be a welcome distraction for him and his team considering the multiple investigations into his administration. In this year's budget the city has already spent $6.5 million on lawyers related to those investigations, most of which are being conducted by the U.S. attorney's office.
The mayor says he hopes those inquiries are wrapped up soon.
"Its a well-known concept. As you get closer to election year, it's important to give people as many answers as possible," de Blasio said.
Perhaps before the campaign trail gets crowded.