Bloomberg May Run on Republican Ticket
By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in Bloomberg, Independents, New York City, Republicans
Never one to miss an opportunity, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg may run on the Republican ticket next mayoral election while still remaining a declared independent. Apparently, despite being an apostate to the national party, local borough GOP leaders are willing to let the still-popular mayor put his name on their line.
If you’re keeping score at home that makes Bloomberg a former Democrat turned Republican turned Independent turned quasi-Republican again. In a nation of rigid partisanship, Bloomberg’s ambiguous party affiliations seem almost refreshing. That is if you don’t think they seem downright opportunistic.
I’ve always been rather ambivalent about Bloomberg. He’s smart and a capable manager — party hopping aside, he’s provided stable, middle-of-the-road leadership for New York City. But there’s something uninspiring about the man, a truth even he probably realized when he failed to build grassroots support for an independent run for president. Even those of us in the centrist frame of mind barely gave Bloomberg two looks.
Still, a mayor doesn’t need to play well nationally. New Yorkers like him enough to make his quest for a third term realistic and I doubt many will hold it against him if he shifts (or kinda shifts) party affiliations once again. After all, no matter what letter has sat beside his name, he’s always been the same straight-forward, if not particularly vibrant, guy.
This entry was posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 and is filed under Bloomberg, Independents, New York City, Republicans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
