De Blasio Says He Will Waste No Time In Implementing His Policy Goals

NEW YORK (AP) — Bill de Blasio says New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had plenty of good advice when they met for about 20 minutes this morning at City Hall.

Last night, de Blasio was elected to succeed Bloomberg in January and become the first Democratic mayor of New York in a generation. He's planning to push ahead with an ambitious agenda aimed at easing the economic inequality that was a focus of his campaign.

The mayor-elect made it clear today that he wants to waste no time in carrying out his vision that could move the nation's largest city toward the left. He told reporters that he has a mandate "to create a city in which our prosperity is shared and there is opportunity for all."

De Blasio is vowing to maintain the public safety and economic gains made under Bloomberg and his predecessor, Rudy Giuliani -- while also giving a voice to those who felt forgotten by what they saw as policies that helped Manhattan but neglected the city's other boroughs.

DeBlasio defeated Republican rival Joe Lhota, 73 percent to 24 percent, in incomplete, unofficial returns. It would be the largest margin of victory for a non-incumbent in the city's history.

He will need that political capital in order to tackle his signature campaign promise: to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers in order to fund universal pre-kindergarten.