New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that he will not be endorsing any of the candidates currently in the running to take over his position. Bloomberg made the announcement on Friday on his radio show, citing an effort to avoid complications for whoever is voted into office in November.
“I want to make sure that person is ready to succeed, to take what we’ve done and build on that,” he said on his show. He went on to promise to assist the next mayor, and focus his last days in on office on governing the city.
According to the New York Times, Bloomberg is not happy with any of the current candidates in the running. His favored candidate, City Council speaker Christine C. Quinn, did not do well in the Democratic primaries, largely due to her ties to the Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg has little affection for the nominees leading the two major political parties, Democrat Bill de Blasio and Republican Joseph J. Lhota.
De Blasio has attacked Bloomberg on several of his policies, and last year even said that the mayor spoke “like an idiot” while in earshot of a reporter.
Lhota, on the other hand, has some similar political views as Bloomberg. The decision not to endorse Lhota may prove effective for his race, as he tries to appeal to a majorly democratic city.
A one-time Democrat, Bloomberg was elected mayor of New York City as a Republican in 2001. He then switched to the Independent party in 2007. As his second term was coming to an end - and amidst the Wall Street financial crisis – Bloomberg extended the number of consecutive terms allowed for mayor.
As his third term comes to an end, Mayor Bloomberg is making it obvious that he is looking forward to stepping out of the political spotlight with this decision.
[Source: New York Times]
