Clinton for New York mayor?

Hillary Clinton is not rejecting the idea of running. Photo / AP

Not the glass ceiling she hoped to break

Hillary Clinton is being talked about as a shoo-in for one more political race.

News sites report she is being pressured by Democrats to take on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in this year's mayoral race.

While the Clinton camp has not comented the New York Times speculated: "Hillary Clinton as New York City mayor?

"Imagine the fun: City building inspectors start to show up daily at Trump Tower, where they find a wobbly beam here, a missing smoke detector there, outdated wiring all over the place. City health inspectors fan out through Trump's hotels, writing citations for clogged drains in the kitchens and expired milk in the minibars."

In a more serious vein the New York Post said: "It seems unlikely - but the idea's been floating around for several days now, and so far she's not rejecting it. For what it's worth, Secretary Clinton, we'd love to see you run for mayor. New York City needs you.

"Yes, we were highly critical of Hillary Clinton in the runup to Election Day. But that was the race for the White House, where she offered a programme far to the left of the nation's centre.

"Not so in New York, where she'd be dead-centre in the city's Democratic majority. ... Above all else, she'd actually focus on doing the job. Clinton is a famously diligent worker - one who shows up on time and puts in the hours.

"The incumbent has handed the work of running the city off to one or two deputies, while he spends his time on politics and PR stunts. And it shows - in the details those overworked deputies let slip, and in the crises that go too long unacknowledged, from the Bronx outbreak of Legionnaire's disease to the surge in street homelessness.

"Clinton is a fighter and a problem-solver. For eight years, she was a fine senator for this state, working relentlessly on 9/11 recovery and also for constituents in areas far from the media spotlight. Sure, she'd need to become a city resident, and spend months building ties to Gotham's neighbourhoods. But she's hardly a stranger to the city, nor it to her.

"Nor does any local Democrat seem both willing and able to seriously challenge Mayor de Blasio for reelection - yet he needs to be challenged, indeed needs to be replaced.

"Plus, her national stature would bring serious benefits: She'd be a lot harder for Governor Cuomo to bully than the current mayor - and tougher for Washington to ignore.

"What's in it for her? Well, her presidential run shows her appetite for continued public service. And while Gracie Mansion isn't the White House, it's no consolation prize: New York's mayor is famously 'the second-toughest job in America' - and you traditionally have your own foreign policy, too.

"While it's not the glass ceiling she hoped to break, New York has never had a woman mayor. Isn't it past time for that to change?"