It’s an odd numbered year so the hot election action isn’t in Washington, but there are still some races going on. One of them will determine the next Mayor of New York City. The current office holder, Bill de Blasio, is still looking to be a shoe-in in the Democratic primary (which is the same thing as the general election basically because it’s New York). In preparation for that effort he delivered a really odd interview with New York Magazine.

I saw a couple of the early quotes from it, but none of it seemed to merit comment here. It was more of the usual self-promotion, leaving the reader wondering if Hizonor might have thrown out his shoulder while patting himself on the back. He thinks New Yorkers should be throwing him a parade after all he’s done for them. (He actually suggested that.) But then I looked over a brilliant op-ed from the New York Post’s Michael Goodwin where he picked up on another quote from the Mayor. It was one which would be turning heads in a more sane society. (Emphasis added)

In comments to interviewer Chris Smith, the mayor dropped his re-election smiley-face to reveal his inner dictator, one who would banish individual rights and constitutional safeguards — all in the name of fairness, as he defines it.

“Our legal system is structured to favor private property,” he said, insisting that “people would like to have the city government be able to determine which building goes where, how high it will be, who gets to live in it, what the rent will be.”

For good measure, he added: “If I had my druthers, the city government would determine every single plot of land, how development would proceed. And there would be very stringent requirements around income levels and rents. That’s a world I’d love to see.”

Wow. There aren’t many places in the country where you could get away with saying that you want the government to determine how every single plot of land is utilized and avoid being run out of town on a rail, say nothing of get reelected. That’s not just dabbling in casual socialism like Bernie Sanders. What de Blasio is talking about is pretty much North Korea.

How does he manage to keep the people of the Big Apple casting ballots for him? Talk about voting against your own best interests. Bill de Blasio is the mayor of New York City. Including Manhattan. It’s the home of Wall Street. For Pete’s sake, it’s the home of Trump Tower. His elections are funded by one of the largest concentrations of people on the planet who are completely obsessed with amassing private property.

Just so you’re aware, the Mayor still fancies himself a national political figure and he has his eyes on either the New York Governor’s mansion or the White House, depending who you ask. Maybe both, taken in that order. Put a pin in this interview and keep it on hand in case the Democrats are actually wild eyed enough to nominate this guy for anything higher up than the office he currently inhabits.