NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio is not having the best spring.
Federal investigators are probing his administration's fundraising efforts and press secretary Karen Hinton submitted her resignation, fueling speculation that de Blasio is vulnerable for a challenge when he comes up for reelection in 2017.
Here are some of the people who could decide to run against de Blasio next year:
Ruben Diaz Jr.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. took office in 2009 and has been a long-rumored candidate to take on de Blasio in 2017. He comes from a political family, as his father is State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., and he has a close relationship with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, one of de Blasio's most vocal critics.
Fueling speculation that he will run, Diaz was critical of the de Blasio administration's response to the Legionnaires' disease outbreak in the South Bronx last summer, and his campaign has started soliciting contributions that are the maximum a person can accept for a mayoral run.
He hinted at running for mayor in his 2016 State of the Borough address, arguing that mayoral control of schools should be extended "to this mayor and all future mayors, whoever they might be."
Hakeem Jeffries
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries has said he has "no interest" in running for mayor, but some pundits believe he could still be pushed into a campaign against de Blasio if the conditions are right.
The congressman who represents Brooklyn and Queens has criticized de Blasio on issues including homelessness, affordable housing and the amount of time he has spent traveling outside the city.
Jeffries is serving his second term in Congress and has introduced bills to make chokeholds illegal under federal civil rights law and increase federal funding for safety in public housing.
Scott Stringer
Comptroller Scott Stringer was elected to his current post in 2013 after spending 13 years representing Manhattan in the New York State Assembly and eight years as Manhattan Borough President.
He has emerged as a vocal critic of de Blasio on issues ranging from his rezoning plan to his administration's hiring of firms owned by women and minorities to his rollout of universal pre-kindergarten.
Stringer has also criticized the city for a focus on declining crime statistics that does not "trickle down" to families of murder victims, and when Police Commissioner Bill Bratton criticized him for the comments, Stringer said that they were "aimed squarely at the steps of City Hall."
Don Peebles
Peebles is the head of a real estate empire and has a net worth of least $700 million, according to Forbes. A former de Blasio fundraiser and supporter, Peebles says he's disappointed with de Blasio's handling of minority contracting, homelessness and his resistance to charter schools.
"I've been giving him a chance to try to run the city and turn it around," said Peebles who added that he is likely to run for mayor.
Peebles also revealed to DNAinfo New York that de Blasio personally called and asked for $20,000 for one of the mayor's non-profits that is now under investigation. The issue is another reason why Peebles believes de Blasio should not be re-elected.
Peebles has not yet decided whether he would run as an independent or in the Democratic primary.
But a self-financed candidate like Peebles could pose the biggest threat to de Blasio, said a Democratic consultant.
John Catsimatidis
John Catsimatidis already ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2013, and a source close to the grocery store magnate said that, while Catsimatidis has not made any decisions yet, he might have another race in him.
Catsimatidis also said de Blasio solicited him to donate $50,000 to an upstate county Democratic committee that wound up going to candidates the mayor was trying to help win election as part of a failed effort to win Democratic control of the state Senate.
The billionaire was interviewed by state and federal authorities investigating whether de Blasio violated campaign finance and election laws.
Catsimatidis was born in Greece, and his family moved to New York City when he was 6 months old. He now owns the Gristedes supermarket chain.
Eric Adams
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams was elected to his current seat in 2013 after previously working as a police officer and state senator.
He has been critical of the de Blasio administration's plan to rezone East New York and has already told the Brooklyn Paper that he plans to run for mayor—although he said that running in 2021 would be "good enough" for him.
Jimmy McMillan
Famed fringe candidate Jimmy McMillan, who founded of the Rent is Too Damn High party, said on Sunday that he will run for mayor again in 2017, according to the New York Daily News.
“I’m putting my hat in the race to become the 110th Mayor of NYC early. We will win. Mayor Bill de Blasio don’t know what he’s doing,” McMillan wrote in a text message, the Daily News reported. “For sure the Rent is going DOWN.”
Eric Ulrich
The Republican City Councilman from Queens filed paperwork with the Board of Elections recently to create the "Ulrich 2017" exploratory committee, the Daily News reported. It isn't entirely clear whether the committee is focused on a possible mayoral run, the News said, but the Howard Beach resident has been critical of de Blasio amid the ongoing federal probe.
