De Blasio: 'We Won't Wait' for Equality

New York City got its 109th mayor officially just after the ball dropped, but saved the pomp of Bill de Blasio's public inaugural for this afternoon. In front of a who's-who of New York's political elite, de Blasio took the oath of office on the steps of City Hall from Bill Clinton, and wasted no time in outlining a progressive vision that focused on equality, reports the New York Times. "We will make this one city," he said. "And that mission—our march toward a fairer, more just, more progressive place, our march to keep the promise of New York alive for the next generation—it begins today."

De Blasio wants to develop affordable housing, boost city hospitals, and expand pre-kindergarten—and he wants to raise taxes on high-earners to do it. "We do not ask more of the wealthy to punish success," he said. "We do it to create more success stories." His message got a thumbs up from Clinton, reports Politico, who told the crowd that "I strongly endorse Bill de Blasio’s core campaign commitment to shared opportunities … and this inequality problem bedevils the entire country." (More Bill de Blasio stories.)