Republican Local Pols, Echoing NY Post Editorial Board, Call for Mayor to be Sent Packing Back to Brooklyn

PARK SLOPE— Some New York Republicans want Mayor Bill de Blasio to move out of Gracie Mansion and back home to Brooklyn.

After a New York Post editorial board op-ed called for the mayor to step down after he was campaigning in Iowa during the Manhattan blackout on Saturday, a series of Republicans have echoed the calls for the mayor to be removed via a process that would be started by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

For the Post’s editorial board, de Blasio being out of town while Broadway and some other parts of Manhattan were without power for several hours Saturday night was the final straw.

“Bill de Blasio does not care about New York City. He does not care about its people. He does not care about how it’s run. He does not care about you or your taxes, creating jobs or improving lives. All Bill de Blasio cares about is Bill de Blasio,” the scathing piece reads in part. “And so, for the good of the city, Gov. Andrew Cuomo needs to remove the mayor from office.”

Some New York Republicans said they agreed with the right-leaning editorial board.

“The #NYCblackout was case in point,” the New York GOP tweeted Sunday. “This is a full deriliction (sic) of duty—he needs to go.”

The New York GOP also asked people to sign a petition supporting the cause.

“Let’s be honest, de Blasio is not an effective mayor even when he’s in town, but his mental and physical absence for this delusional presidential campaign has resulted in a full-blown dereliction of duty,” the New York GOP’s chair, Nick Langworthy, said Monday in a statement. “We’ve now encountered two major incidents he was disengaged– that by the grace of God were not worse–but required the attention of an engaged chief executive.“It’s a total slap in the face to the taxpayers who pay his salary–he needs to go,” he added.

Assembly Member Nicole Mallitoaskis, the lone Republican elected official representing   Brooklyn, said on Twitter that she also agreed with the Post.

“Well said,” she tweeted Monday, linking to the New York Post editorial.

“Retweet if you agree @BilldeBlasio needs to go,” Mallliotakis, who represents parts of Bay Ridge, later said on Twitter.

Asked to explain specifically why she wanted the mayor out of office, she said via a spokesperson that the “New York Post editorial speaks for itself,” adding “it’s time for Mayor de Blasio to go.”

For her part, Alexandra Sherer, a Republican district leader and state committeewoman for the 74th Assembly District, said that while she agreed with Malliotakis, and would hope the mayor would be ousted or resign, she thought neither is a “likely” outcome. Sherer added that she wants to focus on recruiting good down-ballot Republicans at the local level and is “not really as focused on him being removed.”

De Blasio, during his weekly appearance on NY1, labeled calls for him to be yanked from his post “ludicrous.”

“It makes absolutely no sense,” he said. “We’re a city right now that is doing things the right way. This is a city that’s the safest big city in America.”

After a follow-up question about him running for president while serving as mayor, de Blasio said: “I think we should be very clear about the fact that in a democratic society, office holders run for other offices.”

“It happens all the time,” he said.