NEW YORK — For the second time in two months since leaving City Hall, former Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he is not running for public office, saying Tuesday he would sit out a congressional run in his local Brooklyn district.
“Back in January, I made a decision to focus on advocating for policies that would continue to drive down income inequality in New York,” de Blasio tweeted. “I’m going to stick with that decision — it was the right one then and it remains so.”
The congressional district, New York’s 11th, was redrawn this winter by the ruling Democrats in Albany. The district, which includes right-leaning Staten Island, now cuts north into Brooklyn and through de Blasio’s Park Slope neighborhood.
The district’s march through brownstone Brooklyn convinced de Blasio to contemplate a congressional run, but did not push him into what would have been a challenging race.
“I’ve represented the neighborhoods of the 11th CD for years and I love the people who live here,” tweeted de Blasio, who is unpopular in parts of Staten Island. “It was gratifying to connect with community and elected leaders while I considered a run.”
De Blasio was expected to challenge Gov. Kathy Hochul in the spring Democratic gubernatorial primary, but announced last month he would skip the race instead.
On Twitter, he expressed confidence that Democrats will be able to pry back the 11th District from Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the 41-year-old Republican who currently holds the seat.
“I’m certain a progressive can win this seat and serve us in Washington,” de Blasio said on Twitter.
Malliotakis’ campaign has criticized the redistricting that transformed her seat from Republican-friendly territory to a relatively blue district.
In a statement last month, Rob Ryan, a spokesman for Malliotakis, called the new map a “blatant attempt by the Democrat leadership in Albany to steal this seat.”
Max Rose, a moderate Democrat, held the seat from 2019 to 2020 and is challenging Malliotakis.
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