New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg hopes the New York City Council will pass a bill to let him run for a third term in 2009. The vote is set for Thursday, October 23. Thomas Golisano, who was the Independence Party’s gubernatorial candidate in 1994, 1998, and 2002, says he will launch an advertising campaign against the idea, although that only makes sense if the October 23 vote is postponed. See this article for more details. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link. New York City has term limits, passed by the voters, but the City Council is free to change the law without a vote of the voters.
Bloomberg is a registered independent, but he would be free to seek any party’s nomination in 2009, notwithstanding how he is registered. He once was a Democrat. He became a Republican in 2000 and was elected as a Republican in both 2001 and 2005. He switched his registration to independent in 2007, a change that set off a frenzy of speculation that he might run for president in 2008 as an independent.
Oh what a year it COULD HAVE been.
Donald Raymond Lake
Now that he’s exhausted the three most obvious political choices, what will he be? A Libertarian? A Green? Maybe he’ll form a one-man party based on grand schemes that are never fulfilled and overturning the voters’ will.
I understand Golisano has already run at least one ad.
Also, as an independent, Bloomberg would be free to run in a party’s primary only with the permission of that party’s leaders. Otherwise, he could run only in the general election as an independent.
As leery as I am of FDR style personal legacy building, it is my understanding, as a former Unity08 [California] registrant and focus group moderator, that Uncle Mike’s popularity in the Big Apple is sky high!
——–Donald Raymond Lake