Representative Max Rose, the brash Staten Island Democrat who recently lost his re-election race, appears all but certain to run for mayor of New York City, confirming for the first time that he is exploring a bid and casting his potential candidacy as a sharp rebuke of the de Blasio administration.
Mr. Rose’s entry into the race at a moment of extraordinary crisis for New York would test whether a relatively moderate Democrat could catch fire in a crowded field that may be defined by debates over both ideology and matters of competence.
Mr. Rose has little background in navigating the byzantine corridors of city bureaucracy, and on Thursday, his team took the unusual step of registering a mayoral campaign committee with the city’s Campaign Finance Board, with no announcement or much public elaboration.
In his first extensive remarks since then, Mr. Rose positioned himself as a blunt, populist possible contender who hopes to frame his background outside of city government as a source of fresh perspective rather than a mark of managerial inexperience.
“If you want someone with a typical politician, typical government experience, you’ve got plenty of other folks,” Mr. Rose, a military veteran, said in an interview on Saturday. “But if you want someone with experience and guts and ability to end our broken politics, then I could be your candidate.”
Taking an apparent swipe at rivals who are more rooted in local politics, he continued, “If someone wants to tout their experience in city politics, then they certainly should not be pointing at problems that they helped — big problems — that they helped create. They can’t act as if they aren’t holding the shovel.”
For some of the Democrats already in the race, experience in city politics brings with it a record to defend, but it also provides valuable advantages in Democratic-vote-rich pockets of New York.
Eric L. Adams is the Brooklyn borough president, for example, and is backed by many of Brooklyn’s Democratic power brokers. Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, is closely tied to Manhattan’s West Side and has already secured endorsements from several progressive Democratic leaders.
Staten Island, the city’s most conservative, Trump-friendly borough, simply does not offer the same kind of liberal power base. Mr. Rose, 34, and a relative newcomer to politics, may face a challenge in constructing a citywide coalition without built-in infrastructure and strong early support in traditional Democratic circles, though certainly the race is fluid at this stage.
“He’s got to figure out how you go from being the congressman from Staten Island and then losing, to running for mayor of New York City,” said Marc H. Morial, the head of the New York-based National Urban League, a major civil rights organization. Mr. Morial, a former mayor of New Orleans, added: “He’ll be an energetic candidate, and energetic candidates sometimes break through. But starting out, you’re from Staten Island.”
A person close to Mr. Rose’s operation said the team was ramping up quickly, interviewing staff members and talking with pollsters, and engaging with potential supporters and donors.
“This will be an underdog campaign,” Mr. Rose acknowledged. “This would not just be a campaign that involves me being the underdog. This is a campaign that would be fighting for the underdog.”
In the wide-ranging interview, Mr. Rose sketched out his vision for a possible bid, stressing issues of economic inequality; he is on the side of “working people,” he said repeatedly. He contended that he would be fully focused on the city, contrasting himself with Mayor Bill de Blasio, who, even before running for president, had made frequent trips to Iowa.
“There should be a pledge that in their first two years, they are not leaving New York City,” Mr. Rose said as he expounded on city challenges that require urgent attention. “‘Sweetie, we are vacationing in Breezy Point.’ OK? We’re not leaving. We’re not going. No traveling to Iowa. No thinking about your next higher office.”
Mr. Rose repeatedly laced into Mr. de Blasio’s stewardship of the city on matters from managing school openings during the pandemic to his handling of Covid-19 testing issues. That he would cast himself as the antithesis to Mr. de Blasio is little surprise; during his congressional campaign, he released an ad calling Mr. de Blasio “the worst mayor in the history of New York City.”
If Mr. Rose runs, he must persuade voters that his set of past experiences — as a decorated Army veteran, an executive for a nonprofit health care company and a one-term congressman — has prepared him to manage a vast government at a moment of peril for the city. Asked about the greatest number of people he had managed, he cited his time as chief of staff at the health care company, saying it employed around 1,000 people.
Mr. Rose pointed to a range of policy proposals that he would support as a candidate, including raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers — he did not directly define “wealthy,” beyond urging “millionaires and billionaires” to pay their “fair share” — and giving city employees a property tax deduction if they live in New York City. He also said he backs a universal basic income program. (He is not the only champion of a universal basic income who is eying a run; that has been a top priority of Andrew Yang, who is expected to enter the race next month).
He described New York schools as “deeply segregated” and urged changes, but he opposes eliminating the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test, the controversial exam that determines who is admitted to New York’s most elite public high schools.
“I do think that the SHSAT plays a role,” he said. “Should that be the only consideration? No, you can have a holistic process here. But under no circumstances should it be ignored.”
As a candidate, Mr. Rose would face significant challenges around issues of politics and geography, identity and experience.
In Congress, he represented a slice of Brooklyn and all of Staten Island. There, Mr. Rose embraced a number of positions that put him to the right of many New York Democratic primary voters, including his reluctance to impeach President Trump, though he ultimately voted to do so.
“The city’s ideology is drifting leftward, and to survive in his district, Max had to reflect a less progressive ideology,” said Steve Israel, the former eight-term House Democrat of New York who was seen as one of his party’s top strategists. “On the other hand, it could be that the progressives cannibalize each other and then Max has a clear shot.”
Mr. Rose insisted that he has a record of rebuking Mr. Trump, noting his strong opposition to “the racist Muslim ban” and saying that he voted to impeach Mr. Trump, “knowing that it could be the end of my career.”
“Did I work across the aisle to get things done? Absolutely,” he said, casting himself as focused on those “who need action today.” “If you’ve got a problem with that, sue me. And you know what? You’ve got 30 other candidates to choose from.”
Mr. Rose, who was the first member of Congress to endorse former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s presidential bid, already appeared to be recalibrating his message. In the interview, he did not say whether he would want Mr. Bloomberg’s endorsement; he highlighted his past criticism of stop-and-frisk policing tactics; and, asked to name the best mayor in his lifetime, he suggested David N. Dinkins.
Still, running from the center may resonate with some New Yorkers who are alarmed by a surge in shootings; worried about businesses leaving and are simply in a less ideological mood these days given the struggles of the city. But Mr. Rose would have competition for those voters, too: Raymond J. McGuire, a longtime Wall Street executive, has attracted the support of many centrist business leaders, a sign of just how competitive every lane of the primary will be. (Mr. Israel, a relative moderate who does not live in the city but intends to contribute financially, is supporting Mr. McGuire, too.)
Then there is the matter of identity.
This year, as issues of police brutality and racism have torn at the fabric of the city and communities of color have been hit disproportionately by the virus and its aftermath, many New Yorkers would like to see a mayor of color. There is a diverse slate of candidates already running, including Mr. Adams; Mr. McGuire; Maya D. Wiley, a former top lawyer for Mr. de Blasio; and Dianne Morales, a former executive of nonprofit social services groups.
“I do think someone of color is best suited for this moment,” said Leah D. Daughtry, a veteran Democratic Party strategist with close ties to New York politics. Asked about Mr. Rose, she said, “I don’t know him.”
Mr. Rose, who devoted his final floor speech in Congress in part to grappling with racial injustice, said that it would be his “No. 1 responsibility,” should he run, to build a diverse campaign and potential administration. But he knows he has some introducing of himself to do.
He met recently with the Rev. Al Sharpton, a prominent civil rights leader who called Mr. Rose hard-working and “fiery” and said Mr. Rose would “add some excitement to the campaign.”
But even as he moves forward, Mr. Rose said that he was “intent on listening far more than talking.”
