De Blasio: NYC to become 'fairest' big city

Mayor Bill de Blasio says he wants New York City to become the "Fairest Big City in America" with an ambitious and costly budget plan.

He made the announcement at his state of the city address in Brooklyn on Tuesday night.  He said that threats to our democracy are growing across the nation and, "It's our mission to define what a fair and just society looks like, to show it through our deeds and in our everyday lives."

He rebuked President Trump several times in announcing his liberal agenda that would reportedly increase city spending by 5%

As part of the address he said that he will appoint a "chief democracy officer" to register 1.5 million new voters in the city over the next four years.  He plans to target every 17-year-old in public schools to get them to register and will also launch more registration drives on college campuses.

He proposed expanding no-cost early childhood education to three year-olds across the city.  Earlier in his administration he created a free pre-K program for four year olds.

He vowed to "redouble" efforts to create a so-called "millionaires tax" to fund subway repairs and reduce metro card prices for low income New Yorkers.  He says the "one percent" needs to pay their "fair share" in taxes.

De Blasio also said he will work to create more better paying jobs in the city, introduce more electric vehicles to the city fleet and invest more money in public housing.

De Blasio delivered his fifth State of the City address from the Kings Theater.  He is in his second and final term as mayor.  There is widespread speculation that he will attempt a run for president in 2020.