Council Member Bill de Blasio has dedicated his life to public service. From working for the parents of Community School District 15, to serving at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, to managing Hillary Rodham Clinton's successful run for U.S. Senate, he fights the tough fights and wins.

As a member of the New York City Council, he continues to serve the people of New York, and specifically the residents of Brooklyn's 39th Council District.

A common thread that has run throughout de Blasio's career is his desire to better the quality of life for all New Yorkers by improving public education, creating affordable housing and fighting discrimination based on race, religion, physical disability or sexual orientation. While working in City Hall under Mayor David Dinkins and later with the City Council, de Blasio learned first hand how city government works. He used this knowledge to help secure the Executive Order and later passage of key legislation establishing New York City s domestic partnership program.

As the highest-ranking official in the New York/New Jersey region for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, de Blasio was instrumental in directing increased federal funding for affordable housing, senior citizen housing and economic development in the region.

Elected in 1999, de Blasio served as a member of Community School Board 15, where he helped spearhead some of the most comprehensive reforms in the city. District 15 was the first in New York City to cap first grade class size at 20 students and is establishing universal Pre-Kindergarten. De Blasio worked with other Board members to give parents a choice by establishing middle school academies that create smaller, more personal learning environments for students, and was part of an effort to reinvent John Jay High School.

De Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray, a writer, live with their two children Chiara and Dante, on 11th Street in Park Slope. Chiara and Dante are both students at P.S. 372 (The Children's School). De Blasio holds a B.A. from New York University in Urban Studies and an M.A. from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.

Entered City Council: 01/01/2002
Current Term Expires: 12/31/2009

Represents: Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Columbia Street, Park Slope, Winsor Terrace, Kensington, Boro Park

Committees: General Welfare (Chair); Education; Environmental Protection; Finance; Technology in Government