Blas’ Poverty Plea

Mayor de Blasio’s re-election campaign is now begging for donations as small as $5, complaining that GOP challenger Nicole Malliotakis actually outraised him in the last reporting period. But the reason his contributions have dried up are obvious: New Yorkers hate giving to the rich.

The mayor has a commanding lead in cash on hand: His $2.3 million is nearly three times her current balance. And he’s profited from a huge windfall in taxpayer funding — including millions for the primary season, when he had no serious competition.

Plus, his pleas sound ridiculous: He’s at 61 percent in the polls to her 17 percent, with minor candidates totaling another 14 points.

Then too, he’s been raising cash for this campaign for years now: Even loyal givers have to be sick of his endless appeals.

Malliotakis points to “his failed policies.” As she says, New Yorkers “want a subway system that works, a solution to the homeless crisis and schools that educate and are safe.”

Her campaign says private polls show a tighter race; is that why his camp sounds so desperate? If so, it’s a position de Blasio wouldn’t be in if he had spent more of the last four years working to fix the city’s problems, and less time playing politics and selling City Hall favors to fat-cat contributors.