A former member of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign staff condemned the Democrat’s response to the coronavirus outbreak in the city.
Lis Smith, a spokeswoman for de Blasio’s 2013 campaign, told Politico that de Blasio “really shrunk away” from his duties as a leader while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has “really risen to this challenge.”
“I do not think he has done well, and I don’t know a single person who thinks he has done well,” she said of de Blasio.
“Crises are where you really see who has what it takes to be a leader, and, you know, you’ve seen it, I think, with Andrew Cuomo,” she added later.
Smith, who most recently managed the failed presidential campaign of Pete Buttigieg, also worked for Cuomo during his 2018 reelection. While she helped lead de Blasio to victory in 2013, she was not offered a position on his mayoral staff because of her relationship with then-New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
De Blasio also ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary contest but failed to gain as much traction as the South Bend mayor and dropped out in September.
Smith criticized de Blasio for contradicting much of the advice he’s given to New Yorkers, including his decision to work out at the YMCA hours before it was ordered to close. She claimed he “has not led by example.” Smith also questioned de Blasio’s competence.
“I think this is a good lesson for New Yorkers that maybe … we should really put competence as the No. 1 thing for our next mayor, and I don’t think that will be a hard sell after how Bill de Blasio has done over the last few months,” she said.
De Blasio has been criticized for several aspects of his coronavirus response, including his management of the homeless population during the pandemic and his decision to single out the Jewish community when discussing the need for social distancing.
