We’ll Always Have Hashtags

“Supportive words from a small number of voices”:

The shifting political landscape has forced Mr. de Blasio to retool his strategy: His aides said the new game plan was to highlight the mayor’s accomplishments, portray him as an able manager of its day-to-day and long-term needs, and shore up support among the core constituencies that have long backed him, including labor unions and liberal activists.

Surrogates have blasted out a litany of mayoral achievements by email, on Twitter and in op-eds articles. Aides have pointed to supportive words from a small number of voices rising to defend the mayor.

Returning to the “two cities” theme, the mayor has fashioned an array of boogeymen to rail against, from “billionaire media owners” and hedge fund managers to state investigatory agencies and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has been increasingly willing to punch back publicly. It is a refrain that the mayor has underscored since a recent strategy discussion in which he embraced the idea, one adviser said.

[. . .]

Faced with the opposition, the mayor’s strategy has been threefold, aides said: Stay focused on the job; keep in constant communication with supporters and allies; and get the message out on the radio, in town-hall-style meetings and through community events.

In recent weeks, council members have been encouraged by the mayor’s office to post messages on Twitter vowing to “#protectprogress”; eight of 51 had done so by Friday. Unions, too, were pressed to express support.