Mr. Mayor, Please Come Home; All Is Forgiven

Because the Public Advocate has a legal team, and she’s not afraid to use it:

Public Advocate Letitia James has directed lawyers on her staff to research what executive powers she might have when Mayor de Blasio is on vacation in Italy, a top aide said Tuesday.

The focus of the review is what would happen once the mayor is away for nine days–the trigger under the city Charter that bestows certain executive authority to the public advocate.

The Super PAC Mayoralty

In which being mayor means staying mayor, and spinning all the stuff you do in the office of mayor:

Mr. de Blasio, who has called himself a strong proponent of transparency, did not disclose the event on his schedule, and has not mentioned it since.

But one New York City vendor subsequently posted a picture of himself on his company’s website talking with the mayor at the chummy event, which was sponsored by one of the city’s biggest lobbying firms and held at the Friars Club in Manhattan.

Asked about the photo, the vendor declined to discuss it with a reporter; it was taken off the website.

But the mayor’s appearance at the June 10 fund-raiser provides a rare glimpse at Mr. de Blasio’s political operation as it continues to take shape outside the confines of City Hall. Created by his campaign strategists to promote his plans for universal prekindergarten, the lobbying entity, initially called UPKNYC but renamed the Campaign for One New York, has begun branching out to advocate other aspects of the mayor’s agenda.

Also, it’s worth wondering why a dude elected with 72 percent of the vote somehow needs a dedicated lobbying arm supporting him.

Join The De Blasio Administration, See The World

The mayor, embarking on a “best seeing Italy and not heard” strategy:

[. . .] This month he will embark on a nearly 10-day tour of Italy, the lengthiest out-of-town trip by a New York City mayor in more than 25 years.

The trip will cover two coasts, from Rome to Naples to Venice, and include visits to the ancestral villages of the mayor’s maternal grandparents, in what his aides described as a chance for Mr. de Blasio’s family to learn more about its heritage.

But the mayor’s wife and children will be joined by other important people in his life: his press secretary and his chief of staff, who will accompany Mr. de Blasio, along with a third City Hall aide, to formal meetings with top Italian officials to swap notes about the art of running cities. Mr. de Blasio is paying for himself and his family; the city will pick up the bill for his aides’ airfare and some of their accommodations.

Italy, rarely cited as a model for efficient government, may be an unusual choice for a New York mayor’s first official international trip. But it is of a piece with an administration that proudly blends the personal with the political.

The Italian media have embraced Mr. de Blasio as a symbol of Italian-American achievement and pride, and leaders of the towns he plans to visit are preparing elaborate receptions. When Mr. de Blasio was elected last fall, some of his distant Italian relatives watched the returns on streaming video.

Mr. de Blasio’s team is scheduling public events with the mayors of Rome and Naples, part of the reason other City Hall officials will be traveling with him. (His police security detail will also make the trip.) The mayor’s office declined on Friday to provide an estimated cost of the expenses associated with the intercontinental travel.

Among Other Things, Leadership Is About Clear Expectations, Straightforward Messaging And Setting Priorities

And sometimes dissembling to the point of incoherence:

Mayor Bill de Blasio, an ally of Thompson who today called Bratton the “finest police commissioner in the world,” said he agreed with both of their positions.

“I think it’s important to understand the specifics here and I think have not been necessarily portrayed accurately in the public discourse,” de Blasio said when asked about the new marijuana prosecution policy in Brooklyn, his home borough. The mayor repeatedly referred to officers having “discretion” when encountering members of the public, which, he said, was applicable to this issue.

“What I think District Attorney Thompson is trying to achieve is to try and make sure that our energies go to serious crime and to not focus on the most minor offenses,” de Blasio said. “But to make sure at all times and I think he’s been quite explicit about this, that there is full officer discretion. In the end, in each moment where a police office encounters a citizen is individual and officers must use their discretion. And there is absolute consistency in the district attorney’s position.”

There Are Landlords And Then There Are Tenants

And then there’s this:

Despite backing a freeze for rent-stabilized apartments, de Blasio earlier in the day refused to vow to freeze rents on the house he owns as a landlord. His units don’t fall under the regulations.

“Sometimes there’s no increase, sometimes there is,” he said of his units.

His answer didn’t sit well with landlords fuming over the loss of a rent hike for a year.