In the latest signs Mayor Bill de Blasio is laying the groundwork for a presidential run, there's a new staff shakeup at his political action committee, which has paid for his trips as he's teased a 2020 campaign.
NY1 learned Friday that Mike Casca, the mayor's top political communications aide, is not only leaving the PAC but City Hall as well, and two new City Hall staff members are joining de Blasio's political operation. De Blasio's Fairness PAC has been orchestrating his out-of-town political trips to places like Iowa and New Hampshire these past few weeks.
Sources close to the mayor insist he has still not made a final decision about whether to join the 2020 Democratic field. But signs increasingly make it clear that the mayor is laying the groundwork for a run.
In response to a question about whether the mayor will announce a run for the White House next week, Casca told NY1,"Very hard to announce something without a decision — nearly impossible, some might say."
In a radio interview on WNYC this morning, de Blasio spoke about the factors that he is weighing as he tries to make up his mind about whether to run.
"I, in making any decision, have to weigh family, have to weigh what I think is in the interest of New York City and the ability to get things done for New York City," de Blasio said on The Brian Lehrer Show. "I also have to weigh how we have a different and better discussion in this country about our future. Because, right now, New York City is hurting because of a whole host of federal policies that are broken."
The mayor has said he will decide this month if he will run for president.
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