“I have never heard anyone say that Bill de Blasio” is an overly demanding boss, said a top Democrat who has frequently worked with Mr. Cuomo, but several associates believe that the Clinton experience was the standard behavior. Some de Blasio supporters say that he was anything but indecisive or cautious in his other jobs, including under Mr. de Blasio often undertook lengthy consideration of all sides of an issue, and had a tendency to set up voluminous meetings and phone calls. Yet his approach was frustrating to some staff members, especially as the pace intensified: Mr. He said he learned as the campaign progressed that it was important to stick to a core strategy and block out daily distractions. “He was basically like a coach for this team of strong personalities, and he was like a nice coach,” said Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, who was deputy campaign manager and issues director in 2000. Colleagues even joked about his frequent trips to Brooklyn during the Senate race, and started calling him Councilman. de Blasio’s assiduous courtship of Jewish leaders in Brooklyn also solidified his credentials for his own Council run in 2001. Clinton, said that the former first lady “would not have been senator without him” because “he paved the way for her with many of the prickly political factions in New York State.” de Blasio for being “very friendly” and “a good listener.” And Patti Solis Doyle, a longtime adviser to Mrs. de Blasio stayed in close contact with Assemblyman Dov Hikind, concerned that Jewish leaders might endorse her Republican opponent, former Representative Rick A. Clinton kissed and embraced Suha Arafat, the wife of the Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat. Never was he more instrumental, his colleagues say, than when he soothed the feelings of Jewish leaders after Mrs. “There were lots of times when I had to be the tribune of New York, if you will, and say to some of the national folks that that doesn’t work here,” Mr. Clinton - included serving as a liaison to New York’s power brokers, in the city and upstate, and, eventually, managing a fractious inner circle. His primary objectives - given the carpetbagging charges that dogged Mrs. “We really tried to be careful and smart about that,” he continued, “and that meant we were more deliberative on purpose.” de Blasio said, “we put a huge premium on protecting the first lady’s reputation.” Cuomo, joined the campaign in late 1999, after being recommended by several people close to the Clintons, including Harold Ickes, a former deputy chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. de Blasio, a former official in the Clinton administration under Housing Secretary Andrew M. Clinton has not made an endorsement in the race. Reines said, referring to the full Democratic field. Clinton declined, and said through a spokesman, Philippe Reines: “She loves all her candidates the same,” Mr. Nor did he work on the same floor as the vaunted War Room in the crucial final weeks - something he dismisses as minor, but others find symbolically powerful. Then still the first lady, she often relied on a team of White House aides she had known for years. Clinton as other advisers, according to more than two dozen people involved in the race. While he had a say on all sorts of matters, including finance and personnel, he did not have signoff power on many key issues, and did not enjoy the same access to Mrs. de Blasio hardly fit the profile of a traditional campaign manager. “You can’t do something like that and not come out with a sense of wanting to perfect the craft.”ĭespite having the title, Mr. “It has affected my view on how to run a campaign and how to lead,” Mr. Clinton’s victory, he stepped out of the role of strategist, and decided, at age 39, to seek public office himself, winning races for councilman and public advocate, and now running for mayor. And it turned out to be his last, as an operative.Īfter Mrs. ![]() ![]() de Blasio’s life it was the biggest and most high-profile political effort he had ever been put in charge of. The campaign for an open Senate seat was a turning point in Mr. ![]() He was so deliberative, in fact, that he was eventually elbowed out during the final stretch of the campaign. Clinton’s first run for office, however, reveals that his inclinations - inclusive and easygoing but frequently indecisive - could be agonizingly inefficient in a high-pressure, ever-shifting situation. de Blasio has soared to the top of the polls in the Democratic mayoral primary promising a new kind of leadership that can knit together New York City’s many factions - uniting people across all boroughs who have felt left out during the 12-year tenure of Mayor Michael R. “It was amazing that Bill was more than willing to let this go on.”
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