Friday, September 6, 2013

Candidates want to be anybody but Bloomberg


From the NY Times:

Michael R. Bloomberg is a data-loving, health-enforcing nonpartisan who defined what it meant to be a mayor over the past 12 years, mentoring big-city chief executives from New Orleans to Philadelphia.

But closer to home, the major candidates vying to succeed him at City Hall in New York are not pleading for his pointers, or pressing for a place in his photo ops: none of them, Democrat or Republican, have even asked for his political blessing in the primaries next week.

They instead describe polls showing that Mr. Bloomberg’s endorsement, once deemed a coveted prize, would now dampen their appeal to the party faithful, not burnish it, and they fret over lashing themselves to his divisive policies on policing, not to mention his soured relationship with municipal unions.

It is a humbling and alien experience for the relatively popular mogul turned mayor, who is unpracticed in humility: in the race to lead a post-Bloomberg New York City, there is profound wariness of being viewed as, well, too much like Mr. Bloomberg.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bloomberg would have been regarded as a good or near-great mayor had he not sought a third-term.

Jack360 said...

Given the current crop of fourth tier candidates vying for the position, I think he will be regarded as a great mayor by some of us. And I can't stand him. Thought he was overrated.

Mayor (Real name - Warren Wilhelm) Bill DeBlah-sio's progressive agenda is going to be an utter disaster for everyone, black, white or whatever. He's going to undo the Giuliani-Bloomberg policies and the city is going to revert back to burgeoning welfare rolls, and rampant crime in a relatively short period of time.

If Bloomberg, who despises Giuliani and his people, is poised to endorse Lhota, who called him an idiot in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, what does that tell you people?

Buckle up, we're going to be in a for a long ride in the next 4 years.

Anonymous said...

Both correct. Just wait until we start saying "Remember when bike lanes were such a concern?"

Unless something crazy happens and Lhota wins, this city is going to go downhill fast.

Anonymous said...

Anon #1 - same with Ed Koch.

How much better NYC would be if term limits affected running for ANY city office, not just the one an official currently happened to hold.

Jack360 said...

Bill DeBlah-sio's looming tenure is going to make you forget about Bloomberg's inane BIG GULP policies in five minutes when he wins in November.

If Bloomberg kept his promise on term limits, we'd be talking about Mayor Weiner running for a second term in office. I would rather have him than deal with the possibility of a Bill DeBlasio mayoralty. DeBlasio is the most ardent defender of the Dinkins era, because he started his political career under Mayor Dinkins. This is how crazy everything has become. Get ready for David Dinkins' second term folks.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Bloomberg would have been regarded as a good or near-great mayor had he not sought a third-term.
============================================================
B U L L S H I T ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Anonymous said...

All I know is that the current crop of misfits running except for Lhota is just horrible for us all. Back to Dinkins type leadership folks - vote for it and you will get it!

Anonymous said...

Llota is no bargain. Guy has absolutely no people-touch. All he did was raise fares with the MTA. AND, he was against saving the 2 baby kitties on the tracks. Unfortunately, the rest of the candidates are no bargain either. I think DeBlasio is a liberal lunatic. Christine Quinn (AKA "The Slush Fund Queen"), was of course the enabler of 3rd illegal Bloombutt term. William Thompson is still griping that "Trayvon didn't get justice"--would he be the mayor of ALL the city or just his own? Anyone heard anything from Liu lately, or is he so far back he's beyond the range of human hearing? I hear Mr. Cats is another bored billionaire in search of a new hobby. How well did that work for us?