Despite a lead in the polls that’s beyond mercy rule territory, it’s not all peaches and cream for mayoral frontrunner Bill de Blasio. No, we don’t man that ridiculous ad that Joe Lhota came out with, but rather serious doubts appearing about the chances of his vaunted universal pre-K plan getting cooperation from Albany. The Daily News released an interview today with Governor Cuomo that all but sinks the hope of the plan, so we turn to you, dear readers, and ask: would you still vote for Bill de Blasio even if it meant to universal pre-K?
Doubts have swirled about the plan since de Blasio has talked it up, but he’s repeatedly waved them away and said that he could persuade the governor and the state legislature to go along with the plan. But in an interview with the News, Cuomo doesn’t sound too excited.
“You poll it, they are going to say, ‘Yeah, raise the tax on the rich,’” the governor said. “That 8.82 is state law . . . My position is this is the code. It expires in two years. We’ll deal with it again in two years . . . ”
These are not the words of a man who’s going to raise taxes, even on the hated rich. Even if Cuomo was fully on board with the plan, a divided state legislature whose only big accomplishment of the last few years has been covering up sexual harassment is not going to be a good place to make an argument to raise taxes, especially when they’re up for reelection soon.
We’re going to go out on a limb and say that most of you don’t have kids, so the pre-K plan isn’t the ultimate factor for how you’ll judge him. That being said, if de Blasio is pinning his hopes on an idea that’s already run into the buzzsaw of 2016 presidential ambition a sincere commitment to financial centrism, does that give you pause about his governing style in the future?