Mayor de Blasio's New York Could Be Headache for Hillary

Though Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio managed Hillary Clinton’s New York senatorial campaign, and President Bill Clinton performed de Blasio’s swearing in, the new mayor may be persona non grata in a Hillary presidential bid, according to The Daily Beast.

Since taking office in January, and discontinuing the stop-and-frisk program launched under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and enhanced under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the number of shootings in the Big Apple — specifically in parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn — have spiked. Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has said he doesn’t believe the two are related.

"Crime is going to spike from time to time, that’s just the reality," said Bratton, according to DNAInfo New York.

Criminologist David Weisburd, of George Mason University in Virginia and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told Newsday that a study he led found that stop-and-frisk resulted in a "significant deterrent effect" at criminal activity at "high-crime intersections."

A University of California, Berkeley, School of Law professor suggested to the newspaper that the number of shootings in New York City may actually be underreported since shootings are not considered a "serious crime" under FBI data reporting rules.

If Hillary Clinton snubs de Blasio, it would be a 180-degree turnabout since January.

Then, the International Business Times reported that in order to capture the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton would need to appeal to "the new and emerging progressive wing of the party," a faction that de Blasio could deliver.

As Arkansas governor, Bill Clinton built a reputation as being tough on crime. He not only rejected last-minute stays for the 1992 execution of mentally retarded murderer Ricky Ray Rector, he personally oversaw the execution, according to the Daily Beast.

While De Blasio’s softer stance on crime and his far left agenda could be an impediment to a Hillary Clinton White House bid, the former secretary of state also knows she can’t ostracize the progressive wing of the party, according to the Daily Beast, which notes that New York’s "hyper-ethnic and identity-driven politics" have always been a rough road for her to navigate.

The story referenced a 2007 debate in which she stumbled when answering a question about where she stood on granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

"The test for Hillary is whether she can continue to keep progressives happy while still appealing to the center," the Daily Beast writes.

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