New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio promised three years ago to usher in an array of liberal policies, but as he now seeks re-election some on the left are urging potential challengers to run against him.
Some liberal advocates said they were disappointed with the Democratic mayor’s progress on issues such as homelessness, affordable housing and policing.
“We want to see a change of course,” said Jonathan Westin, executive director of New York Communities for Change, a community-organizing group that supports liberal causes.
“If not, a lot of folks on the left will not be in a position to support the mayor,” said Mr. Westin, who backed Mr. de Blasio in 2013. “As we’ve seen in the current political climate, anything can happen. Folks can come out of nowhere.”
A spokeswoman for Mr. de Blasio defended the administration, in particular on housing issues. “We’ve had two years of rent freezes, evictions are down and affordable housing is being built and protected at a record pace,” said the spokeswoman, Melissa Grace, in an email.
A Quinnipiac University poll in November found Mr. de Blasio was likely to beat several potential challengers but also that 49% of city voters didn’t believe he deserved re-election.
Political strategists on both sides of the aisle said they believed Mr. de Blasio could be unseated, but the question is whether a credible candidate would emerge.
Mandela Jones, a spokesman for Communities United for Police Reform, a group that served as a driving force against the police tactic known as stop-and-frisk, said Mr. de Blasio had blocked critical oversight of the New York Police Department. The mayor has threatened to veto legislation that would make the use of chokeholds by the NYPD illegal.
Mr. Jones said the de Blasio administration had taken “timid, counterproductive approaches” to changes to the police force.
Austin Finan, a spokesman for Mr. de Blasio, said the mayor had “brought greater accountability and transparency” to policing by reducing the use of stop-and-frisk and expanding neighborhood policing.
Some liberals say they believe the mayor may be especially vulnerable on the issue of homelessness. The number of people sleeping in city shelters rose to 60,000 this year, a record high, according to city data. The mayor’s aides said the shelter population would be higher if the administration hadn’t taken steps to stem the crisis.
In a letter scheduled to be sent Thursday to Alicia Glen, deputy mayor for housing and economic development, several liberal groups said her approach to housing didn’t include enough units for the lowest-income New Yorkers.
“So far, your housing policies have largely failed to address the needs of the lowest-income residents, many of whom face homelessness and a frightening future in shelters,” said the letter, which was signed by six groups, including New York Communities for Change and the Black Institute.
Christina Greer, an associate political science professor at Fordham University, said it would be difficult for liberals to find someone to challenge the mayor from the left. The best those critics may be able to do, she said, is to keep pushing the mayor on their key issues.
“For them, it’s ‘love the one you’re with,’ ” Ms. Greer said. “There’s unlikely to be another Democrat better for their agenda. It’s certainly not going to be a Republican.”