Just like everyone suspected, Bloomberg officially announced his candidacy to run for a third term as Mayor. He talked a lot about the economy and New York needing someone that can guide our city through this tumultuous time. While this reminds many of the crap that Giuliani put out after 9/11 so that he could stay Mayor for a "little bit" longer, Bloomberg insists it isn't and we should obviously take him at his word that it isn't a purely political power move.
So lets swallow that disgusting lump of bullshit for a moment and focus on the fiscal crisis and the city needing leadership to get through it. Now we all know that Bloomberg is one of the wealthiest men in the country, but since when has a billionaire made a difference in your livelihood unless you work for him or her? When it comes to the city, his record isn't even that good.
From The NY Times:
And it is Mr. Bloomberg’s handling of the city’s bigger, longer-term financial issues that has provoked some disappointment among experts and others.
The mayor, they say, has failed to control the city’s growing pension and health care costs, and has allowed overall city spending to increase significantly. Those costs, they argue, will contribute to gaping budget deficits starting next year.[...]
Some budget experts said another aspect of Mr. Bloomberg’s stewardship of the city’s finances had caused concerns: the recent contracts he has negotiated with the city’s teachers and police officers that could become problematic as the city enters tough economic times.
Of course that is in a mixed bag of good and bad things about our economy and Bloomberg's management of it. Considering that George Bush has been in office for eight years, any Mayor is going to have trouble navigating our fiscal disaster.
Yet there is one giant thing that the economist do not mention in their analyses of the Mayor. That is the character of New York and the massive push of gentrification that is going on in the city. The influence of developers and real estate lobbyists has changed New York in so many ways. Local businesses that make our city what it is are being pushed out by high rents, making way for a type of suburbanization where we live in a checkerboard of Starbucks and Chase bank branches. I'm not calling for the old Times Sq or anything, but what is happening across our city in the last few years is beyond ridiculous.
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