NY's only statewide political program
Michael Bloomberg
Team Of Rivals (Updated)
Feb 3rd - 1:05 pm
Here it is, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: A sneak peak of the anti-illegal guns ad recorded by Mayor Bloomberg and his Boston counterpart, Mayor Menino, that will air during the big game this Sunday. (H/T to City&State’s Chris Bragg).
The two mayors are rocking the necktie-football jersey look and showing some love for their respective home team quarterbacks – Tom Brady for Menino, Eli Manning for Bloomberg. The spot, made by Bloomberg’s go-to firm, KnickerbockerSKD, will cost several thousand dollars to air instead of the usual millions for Super Bowl ad time, because it will be shown regionally.
The ad is an outgrowth of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns organization that Bloomberg funds and also co-chairs along with Menino. It should be noted that not everyone thinks this ad is such a hot idea.
Like many of their fellow Massachusetts and New York elected officials, the two mayors also placed a friendly wager on the outcome of the game. Blomoberg is jetting to Indianapolis for the big day. No word (or at least none that I could find) on where Menino will be watching.
UPDATE: A (New York) reader reminds me that Bloomberg, who’s originally from Medford, MA, used to cheer for at least one Boston team – the Red Sox – and took a lot of heat for that during his first mayoral campaign in 2001. By 2003, the mayor had wised up and traded his Sox cap for Yankee pinstripes.
Also, in the interest of fairness, WNYC’s blog, The Empire, posted the ad before Bragg did. Sorry, Chris.
A New Twist On The Mayoral Super Bowl Bet Tradition
Jan 30th - 3:00 pm
Boston Mayor Tom Menino and NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg have announced their friendly wager on the upcoming Patriots vs. Giants Superbowl, and they’ve added a new twist to this long-standing tradition.
Usually, the executives of a team’s home city and state (or, in the case of the Giants and Pats, home cities and regions? I haven’t seen anything from NJ Gov. Chris Christie yet….), wager local delicacies – there was cheesecake, salsa, cheese curds and root beer riding on the Giants vs. Packers game, for example. The food often gets donated to a local food pantry or shelter.
Another favorite is to make the executive of the losing city and/or state do something silly and/or publicly shameful.
Last year, Bloomberg lost his bet with Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl on the AFC Championship game between the Jets and the Steelers and had to hang a “Terrible Towel” on the outer wall of the New York Public Library’s main branch in midtown Manhattan. Bloomberg also had to post video proof of his towel-hanging escapade.
This time around, Menino and Bloomberg have decided to let some lucky family from one of their respective cities benefit from their bet. The losing mayor has to provide a whirlwind getaway weekend to a family from the winning mayor’s hometown.
If the Giants win, one NYC family will win a Super Tour of Boston, including:
Bloomberg Gets A Bit Snippy On UFT Negotiations
Jan 24th - 2:39 pm
Part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s shtick is to snap at reporters and as we prepare to finally bid farewell to the mayor, it’s become a (sort of) charming tic.
Our NY1 colleague Zack Fink learned about the legendary Bloombergian snippiness today when he asked about the status of negotiations on the teacher evaluations with the United Federation of Teachers.
It’s a contentious and complex issue that has already produced a tough TV campaign from the UFT.
In Albany yesterday to discuss state aid to city schools, Chancellor Dennis Walcott indicated the two sides had a lot of work left to do.
“The major issue of disagreement is that the UFT wants an outside arbitrator to hear appeals of teachers who receive a rating of ineffective for,” Walcott said. “This would add a new burdensome procedural layer that is a major departure from the current appeals process which will cause months of delay.”
But today Bloomberg, in Albany to testify for the so-called “Tin Cup Day”, didn’t really want to discuss the status of the negotiations and got a bit haughty when Zack presented the evidence that they were still not going all that well.
“I don’t know that, how do you know that? Any negotiations we’ve had with the UFT we certainly would not talk about. I just don’t know why you assume things all the time,” Bloomberg said.
Asked about the ad the UFT is running, Bloomberg claimed he hasn’t seen it.
Here’s some of the Q and A, which also includes the mayor’s thoughts on the pension overhaul.
Bloomberg, Business Leaders Release Ad To Influence GOP Debate On Immigration
Jan 16th - 1:52 pm
The Partnership for a New American Economy, an organization formed in June 2010 by Mayor Bloomberg and business leaders – including News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch – to push for immigration reform, has released a 60-second ad that will air in the next GOP presidential contest state, South Carolina, in hopes of pushing the topic to the forefront in tonight’s debate.
The ad, entitled “No Debate,” shows the major Republican candidates – Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman (who dropped out of the race this morning), Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum – all calling for reforms to the nation’s immigration system that essentially would link green cards with job creation.
“Visa reform for high-skilled immigrants is a no-cost way to create jobs and a unifying issue in the 2012 presidential election,” said John Feinblatt, a top Bloomberg advisor who serves as spokesperson for the Partnership.
“At a time when the media and the candidates themselves are focused on emphasizing areas of disagreement, the Partnership is highlighting an area of agreement – that our country must do everything possible to attract and retain these high-skilled job creators from around the world.”
The ad begins airing on the day of the first GOP presidential candidate debate in South Carolina and runs throughout the week on broadcast television and in online publications. The primary is this coming Saturday, and is being seen as the last chance Romney’s opponents have to stop – or at least slow – his march to the GOP nomination.
The Bloomberg-Silver Team Up
Jan 12th - 3:48 pm
Once upon a time, Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to get all sorts of things past in Albany like congestion pricing and a West Side stadium for the Jets.
Each time he was thwarted by the Legislature and blame was heaped on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
But, oh, how politics works!
Bloomberg finished up his State of the City address this afternoon and certainly the lede tomorrow will be his calls for a minimum wage increase, just as Silver pushed for on Jan. 3 before Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address.
Silver released this statement in response:
“I applaud and thank Mayor Bloomberg for joining our call to increase the minimum wage. As I have said, it is wrong to expect anyone – let alone working families – to be able to afford the cost of living today and invest in their future on a salary of $7.25 an hour. Increasing the minimum wage would benefit more than 14 percent of our workforce. Mayor Bloomberg’s commitment to helping the more than 1.2 million low wage workers in New York climb the ladder of financial security is welcome news.”
As Liz noted earlier, this comes after the relationships between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the two men have each become strained for different reasons.
Silver said in his speech that he wanted to fix the broken “ladder” to economic stability and equality for working New Yorkers.
Interestingly, Bloomberg employed a similar metaphor today: “But there’s one thing that in all fairness hasn’t gone up: the ability of those at the bottom of the economic ladder to pay for those essential needs.”
Update: Assembly spokesman Mike Whyland points out that for all the past Silver-Bloomberg contretemps, the two have come closer over the years over issues like microstamping for bullets, the bill to expand livery cab service outside of Manhattan along with other policy goals. That’s fair enough, but the minimum wage bill is easily the most significant legislation they have every agreed on.
Update X2: Bloomberg spokesman Mark Botnick also calls to point out that Bloomberg and Silver also worked closely on similarly significant issues like the charter schools issue and both times for mayoral control. So color me educated.
Livery Cabs, Bike Lanes And Ed Koch
Jan 12th - 2:21 pm
…a winning combination.
Here’s one of two videos featured in Mayor Bloomberg’s State of the City address. It features cameos by several administration aides, the Irish step dance troupe that received a standing ovation for their pre-speech performance this afternoon, and New York City Mayor-for-Life Ed Koch.
Bloomberg Sides With Silver On Minimum Wage Hike
Jan 12th - 1:40 pm
Mayor Bloomberg, who reportedly was taken by surprise by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State announcements on eradicating the fingerprint requirement for foodstamps and building the nation’s largest convention center/casino at the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens, is getting his revenge this afternoon.
In the State of the City address he is delivering right now in the Morris High School campus in the Bronx, Bloomberg sides with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver – going so far as to mention the Manhattan Democrat by name – in the speaker’s call to raise the minimum wage in New York.
“The minimum wage is another way to help those who can only find jobs with entry-level wages by incentivize and reward work,” Bloomberg says, according to a copy of his prepared remarks (which appears below). “Like the EITC, it helps those who are trying to help themselves. But setting the minimum wage is also a balancing act – setting it high enough so people can get by on it without having a negative economic impact.”
“Right now, I believe, we are slightly out of balance. The genius of the free market is not always perfect. Two of our neighbors – Connecticut and Massachusetts – have raised their minimum wage above the Federal standard to address higher costs of living.”
“And so while we would prefer the Federal government to act to keep us competitive, this year, we will join Speaker Shelly Silver in pushing for a responsible raise in the minimum wage. Our city just cannot afford to wait for Washington. Not when it comes to illegal guns, not when it comes to climate change, not when it comes to creating jobs and not when it comes to raising the minimum wage.”
To see Bloomberg siding with Silver – the man who helped kill two of his pet projects, the West Side stadium and congestion pricing – is pretty significant, although their relationship has improved, policy-wise, in recent years.
Neither Silver nor Bloomberg has gotten along terribly well lately with Cuomo, who has taken more of an interest in NYC affairs than his immediate predecessors. The institutional tension between the NYC mayor and the governor has escalated since Cuomo took office last January, a development due in part to the stark differences in style and political ideology. In short, Cuomo embraces political wheeling and dealing, while Bloomberg disdains politicking, even as he engages in it.
Silver reportedly struck a nerve (at least with Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos) by outlining a detailed agenda – including the minimum wage hike – during his remarks before Cuomo’s State of the State. His relationship with Cuomo became even more strained this week over teacher performance evaluations.
UPDATE: It should be noted that Bloomberg gave Cuomo a shout-out for the passage of same-sex marriage, while also crediting his own policy advisor, John Feinblatt, whose wedding to partner Jonathan Mintz, Bloomberg officiated at Gracie. He also said he wants to work with the governor on pension reform. Also worth mentioning: There’s nary a word in the prepared speech about Aqueduct and the nation’s biggest convention center.
Bloomberg Anti-Illegal Gun Group Marks Tucson Shooting Anniversary
Jan 8th - 11:06 am
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, an organization bankrolled by Mayor Bloomberg, has released a video on the one-year anniversary of the Tucson shooting that left six people dead – including a 9-year-old girl born on 9/11 – and 13 injured, including Rep. Gabby Giffords, who is still recovering from a serious brain injury.
The video features survivors of the tragedy and some archival footage of Giffords before the shooting. The congresswoman does not make an appearance.
She and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, and her Tucson doctor are joining thousands at an evening candlelight vigil at the University of Arizona today. Kelly was expected to speak.
Bloomberg said the survivors in the video recently joined Mayors Against Illegal Guns in Washington to support the Fix Guns Checks Act. He released the following statement:
“One year ago, our nation was stunned by the murder of six innocent Americans in a shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona. Today, we honor the memory of Christina-Taylor Green, Dorothy Morris, The Honorable John Roll, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwan Stoddard and Gabe Zimmerman. And we celebrate the lives of those who miraculously survived.”
“We are honored that survivors of the Tucson tragedy have joined our mission to keep illegal guns out of the hands of dangerous people.”
“After the Tucson shooting, President Obama said the nation needs a gun background check system that is ‘accurate, instant and comprehensive.’ We will continue to work with the President and Congress to make that goal a reality – it’s long overdue.”
“Until we get serious about enforcing our gun laws and making common-sense reforms, 34 more Americans will continue to be murdered with guns every day. Since the Tucson shootings, another 12,000 lives have been lost.”
Many of those murders could have – and should have – been prevented by keeping weapons out of the hands of dangerous people that should never have a firearm.”
Bonacic Comes To Hein’s Defense
Jan 3rd - 5:40 pm
Republican State Senator John Bonacic has come to the defense of Democratic Ulster County Executive Mike Hein, attacking the NYC DEP for their recent criticism of Hein’s letter to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg urging him to tour the Esopus creek and other waterways Hein says have been damaged by DEP policies.
“The Mayor is a business person and a pretty sensible guy. He can jet off to Bermuda for a weekend because of his brilliant business success. It is hardly unreasonable to ask him to drive 90 miles to see the chocolate milk-like water his DEP has turned the Esopus creek into,” Bonacic said.
One of the claims the DEP has made is that upstate has benefitted from $1.5 billion in economic development over the past two decades. To that Bonacic suggested that New York City residents are getting a bargain.
“Even though I live upstate and no longer have the benefit of Manhattan math like the DEP does,” said Bonacic, who was born in New York City, “$1.5 billion over 20 years comes out to $9.38 per year when you consider that 8 million New York City residents drink that water. That is an absolute bargain. If they bought their water from upstate by the gallon, and gave the money to watershed area residents whose lands were taken to create the reservoirs, the word ‘fracking’ would never pass the lips of anyone in my Senate District again because we would all be rich with water lease payments instead of potential gas lease payments,” Senator Bonacic said.
And Bonacic concluded the letter by suggesting that Hein’s letter was “eminently reasonable”, then proceeded to say the mayor is “no coward” and is “not afraid to confront issues”. He ends by saying that the Mayor ought to come upstate and suggested that maybe his staff is keeping him in the dark about the problems upstate.
Hein Defends “Occupying Nation” Charge (Update)
Jan 3rd - 2:32 pm
YNN’s Beth Croughan sat down with Ulster County Executive Mike Hein today to talk about the letter he sent to Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday.
To recap, Hein accused DEP of “polluting our waterways and causing massive regional economic hardships.” He urged Mayor Bloomberg to pay a personal visit to Ulster County to “see firsthand the damage being wrought by NYC DEP’s broken policies and out-of-balance bureaucratic influence.”
Today, he didn’t back down from those comments, in fact he explained in detail the ways he feels the DEP is occupying his county.
“Let’s take a look at what an occupying nation does. An occupying nation brings in its own police force. It follows its own rules. It disobeys many of the local rules. Has no concern for the indigenious people. Problem is that we are the indigenious people. And in addition to that, they take out, and suck away a natural resource,” Hein said.
“That looks an awful lot like what’s going on here, and that should not take place anywhere in the United States of America. And it’s my great hope that if Mayor Bloomberg sees first hand what is going on, he will intercede.”
Update: NYC DEP spokesman Farrell Sklerov responded to Hein’s comments with the statement below, blasting the county executive for demeaning the service of DEP police officers in the afterwath of Hurricane Irene.
“Mike Hein’s comments comparing New York City to an ‘occupying nation’ are ridiculous and diminish the experience of people who actually experienced colonialism. The fact is, the DEP police force which patrols the watershed area routinely assists local law enforcement during emergencies. This was never more true than during Hurricane Irene when DEP officers hiked 10 miles on foot through washed out roads to evacuate 19 residents who were stranded in the Town of Shandaken.
Mike Hein should apologize to our law enforcement officers immediately for remarks that are offensive to the men and women who work together with local law enforcement and residents. The fact is that DEP is able to work with many other local leaders to solve problems in a cooperative matter, such as our team approach to removing hurricane debris and mitigating flooding hazards.”
More >
Take Capital Tonight and the State of Politics blog with you everywhere you go with our iPhone app! The mobile application features our blog posts, interviews, and a report news tool to send us your political news tips.