Hillary Clinton’s Silence A ‘Score Settling’ Tactic Aimed At NYC Mayor? [Opinion]

Hillary Clinton is not expected to run for the mayor of New York City, but is there a reason she’s not putting an end to the speculation by officially saying she’s not interested? Those who are well acquainted with the inner workings of Hillary’s orbit see her silence as a revenge strategy. Her silence is not only considered a “score-settling” tactic, but it also prolongs the flattery that Hillary receives as each pitch is made for her to run for office, so say insiders.

Hillary is still tending to those wounds from her ill-fated presidential campaign, and the prompting from peers to run for this office is somewhat of a validation that she is still wanted in the world of politics. From where Hillary sits, there’s probably a good reason to keep her answer under wraps. That would be to let the speculation linger and possibly cause one alleged political enemy to squirm. There’s a Facebook page dedicated to “Hillary for Mayor,” and social media has also been buzzing over the possibility, so the silence does seem to be working, regardless of whether this was intentional.

Some also see her silence working in a roundabout way to boost to her ego, as Hillary is finding the “idea that people want to draft her flattering,” suggests Politico. Karen Hinton was an aide in the Bill Clinton administration who, up until last summer, was also the press secretary for Mayor Bill de Blasio. She calls Hillary’s actions “very high school.” She sees Hillary’s silence as a “score-settling” tactic as she continues to let the rumor of her going up against de Blasio linger as a way of getting under the mayor’s skin.

With Hillary staying mum and continuing to let the speculation fester, it has Mayor Bill de Blasio taking notice. As Politico suggests, “there’s no shortage of disgust with current Mayor Bill de Blasio among top New York Democrats.” There is also no love lost between Hillary and the mayor of New York City.

Bill de Blasio was Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign manager in 2000. Politico sums up their now-tainted relationship by reporting how de Blasio “then made a false start against her in his own quest for the national progressive spotlight.” Hillary is well aware that de Blasio has smooth sailing charted for his reelection. From where the mayor sits today, he really doesn’t have any speed bumps slowing him down, but that would change if Hillary decided to become a contender for mayor.

There’s no “clear” Democrat opponent vying for his seat in this election. While there’s a little-known Republican candidate who has made some noise, it’s not enough to threaten de Blasio with a loss in the city that’s Democratic right down to its core. If Hillary were to step in and challenge de Blasio, things could be very different for the mayor, and it sounds as if he is well aware of this from the inquiries his team has reportedly made.

A person close to de Blasio said that they did “ask around,” but when doing so, they found there was nothing valid about the rumors that Hillary would be running for mayor. An advisor tagged the lingering rumors of Hillary pondering a run for mayor as “totally silly.” Hillary has been asked by top Democrats in the city to run for this office, and she keeps taking the phone calls as these pitches are presented to her. She’s polite during these phone calls and does give them her full attention, but what is missing is an answer — or even just a hint at one.

Hinton asks, “It’s obvious she’s not going to run, so why isn’t she just saying that?”

Even the New York Times sums up the possibility of Hillary Clinton making a run for New York City Mayor as an “unlikely idea.” For Hillary to run for mayor, she would have to pack her bags and secure housing within New York City sooner rather than later. The law requires a candidate for mayor having a residence in the city before election day.

If for some unforeseen reason she should throw her hat in the ring, this would put her in a spot to have to find housing while starting a campaign close to the eleventh hour with only nine months remaining before this election. Hillary would face an awful amount of work, which would entail an extreme amount of energy. Does she even have this in her after coming off of one of the most strenuous, yet ill-fated campaigns in modern times?

While the New York Times does not offer a reason behind Hillary’s silence when it comes to running for office in the Big Apple, they do suggest that “her staff appear to have been happy to let the speculation spread from closed-door gatherings of donors and allies.”

[Featured Image by Matt Rourke/AP Image]