NEW YORK CITY — High-ranking City Hall aide Phil Walzak is returning to Mayor Bill de Blasio's campaign as a senior adviser as the mayor's push for a second term starts to take shape.
Walzak served as director of communications for de Blasio's 2013 run for office and then joined de Blasio's administration, first as press secretary and later as senior adviser for strategic planning.
“Phil has been at my side from the beginning, and as someone who has been instrumental in advancing our agenda, there is no one better suited to deliver our message of fighting to make our city better and fairer,” de Blasio said in a statement.
Walzak will take an unpaid leave of absence from his position starting Monday. He will work on "communications planning, and developing and implementing the strategy that will drive the re-election effort," according to de Blasio campaign spokesman Dan Levitan.
De Blasio is now on his third press secretary and has taken criticism for his press strategy. His second press secretary, Karen Hinton, said there were "information flow issues" during the year she served de Blasio.
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"As I was leaving City Hall I told him, I said: 'You need to have a little bit of a tougher skin and you need to develop better relationships with the news media and I think he understands that and he wants to do that," Hinton said after her departure in June.
But just two weeks ago, de Blasio refused to answer the questions of a New York Post reporter and called the paper a "right wing rag." The mayor started doing more town halls and appearing on a weekly radio show halfway through his term after it became clear that he was not doing a good job of communicating his accomplishments to the public.
Walzak is a political veteran who has served as a senior aide on the 2012 Senate campaign of Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, the first woman to represent the state in the Senate and as the first openly gay member. He also worked on President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign for president.
"Under Mayor de Blasio, crime is [at] record lows, jobs are at record highs, and New York City is investing in more affordable housing than ever before, while transforming our schools with universal pre-K, comprehensive after-school and rising graduation rates,” Walzak said in a statement. “That is the Mayor’s record, this is New York City' progress, and it is just the beginning. Our work will focus on ensuring this progress continues.”
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De Blasio announced early in his tenure that he would seek a second term. No Democrats have announced that they will challenge the mayor, who is facing several probes into his fundraising activity. But Comptroller Scott Stringer, Bronx Borough president Ruben Diaz Jr. and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries are often mentioned as challengers.
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On the Republican side, real estate executive Paul Massey and Michel Faulkner, a Harlem minister and ex-New York Jet, have both announced their intention to run for mayor.