New York City can't get enough of Dante de Blasio, and it's not just the striking Afro that sits atop his head like a crown. The 16-year-old son of New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio continues to impress with his poise and maturity. Though that hair does make for quite the cutting figure in campaign photos, it may also hold some magical power that allows him to keep his head on straight.
So impressive is Dante that many are saying he, too, has a future in city politics, and in the Wall Street Journal, Dante admits it's not outside the realm of possibility.
"Yes I do," Dante, 16, said when asked if he wanted to go into politics, while campaigning with Mr. de Blasio — and film stars Steve Buscemi and Kathleen Turner — outside the 1 line's 72nd Street station on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
"Although I'm considering other careers as well … I'm also considering law, but you know, we'll see," he said.
Already, Dante has had some experience in the art of politicking, both in school as a member of the high school debate team and on the city campaign trail.
On Thursday evening, he got a taste of the tougher side to political campaigning after a horse and carriage owner, angry at Mr. De Blasio's position of banning them in Central Park, engaged Dante on the matter. He told the man he understood his fears of losing his job and that his dad was trying to find alternative employment for the owners.
Following the encounter, reporters asked the 16 year-old how he found the back-and-forth interactions with voters on the campaign.
"Well I mostly agree with my dad's ideological stances. And it comes with the territory; I mean, it's just part of this kind of campaign," he said.
Read more at the Wall Street Journal.
Jozen Cummings is the author and creator of the popular relationship blog Until I Get Married, which is currently in development for a television series with Warner Bros. He also hosts a weekly podcast with WNYC about Empire called Empire Afterparty, is a contributor at VerySmartBrothas.com and works at Twitter as an editorial curator. Follow him on Twitter.