[BLOOMBERG] Bill de Blasio, who won the Democratic mayoral nomination vowing to tax New York's richest residents to pay for universal pre-school, called himself a "fiscal conservative" in a speech to business leaders.
Speaking before 800 executives hosted by the Association for a Better New York today, de Blasio, 52, was interrupted by applause at least 10 times as he told the civic group he would use the mayoralty to fight economic inequality. In a speech to ABNY exactly one year ago, a smaller audience sat in silence.
"I want to pleasantly shock the room and say I'm a fiscal conservative," de Blasio said, responding to a questioner seeking lower hotel-occupancy taxes. "I'm a progressive-activist fiscal conservative, but I'm still a fiscal conservative. We can't talk about tax cuts in any sector until we sort out our financial situation." |