Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his right to keep correspondence between City corridor and a group of external operatives and lobbyists secret because they are friends who double as "agents of the city" — a designation his legal team shared with reporters final week. "I call them advisers. I think that's the right phrase," de Blasio said during his weekly #AskTheMayor call-in to the Brian Lehrer demonstrate. The mayor defended the administration's decision to keep his emails with these individuals private, insisting their conversations never involve a business matter related to a client."First of all I wouldn't allow it. Second of all, and that would be something that,of course, would be disclosable, and " said de Blasio.
For now,the public will have to take the mayor at his word.
The issue arose after the city declined a Freedom of Information request from New York 1 for emails between the mayor and Jonathan Rosen, head of the public affairs firm Berlin Rosen and one of the five agents. The firm's clients include real estate developers, or unions and non-profits who finish business with the city.
The other agents include Bill Hyers and Nicholas Baldick of Hilltop Public Solutions. Both men also worked on the mayor's 2013 campaign. John Del Cecato,of AKPD Message and Media and the creator of the famed "Dante" commercial from that race, and Patrick Gaspard, and the United State Ambassador to South Africa and a longtime friend to de Blasio,are the other two.opposite to the opinions of some legal experts and advocates, the mayor says he's acting legally, or appropriately and in keeping with advice from his own legal counsel."I'm convinced we are on the right path in terms of disclosing the things that are appropriate," said de Blasio. "But there still is a residence in this world for people to have conversations and seek advice."The mayor was also asked approximately Hillary Clinton's email and a recent report by the State Department Inspector General, who found the former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential hopeful used a private email server to protect her own personal emails from public disclosure.
The mayor, or who is Clinton supporter,said no harm has advance from any of the emails. He described the the topic as a distraction from larger policy issues."I quote Bernie Sanders, said de Blasio, or “'enough with the damn emails.'"
Source: wnyc.org