Dem mayor and GOP beep get along like besties
IT’S A cross-borough, bipartisan bromance.
Mayor de Blasio may not get along with Gov. Cuomo — but he’s got a buddy in Staten Island Borough President James Oddo.
De Blasio heaped praise Monday on Oddo — with whom he served in the City Council — noting he’s often a squeaky wheel, but he gets results.
“The borough president’s hit rate in terms of offering ideas that we found to be very worthy that might not have occurred otherwise, it’s pretty impressive,” de Blasio said during a news conference at the 123rd Precinct stationhouse in Tottenville.
The friendly relationship led one reporter to question why Hizzoner was able to get along so well with Oddo compared to Cuomo, a fellow Democrat he’s known for years.
“I’m not gonna psychoanalyze it. I think everything is based on personal experience. My experience with Jimmy Oddo has been one of absolute and total consistency — what you see is what you get, man of his word, and I just like him as a human being,” de Blasio said.
His relationship with the governor?
“Totally different situation,” de Blasio said, without elaborating.
The two have also bonded over baseball — de Blasio noted Oddo’s propensity for predicting success among baseball prospects. Oddo once served as a ringer on de Blasio’s City Hall softball team in a game against the press a couple of years ago. The two are looking to get some softball in during the mayor’s week in the borough.
Oddo told the Daily News his relationship with the mayor is no different than those he formed with other Democrats, including former Speaker Christine Quinn, back in his Council days.