As has been argued before, there is more to Bloomberg's campaign strategy than simply inundating mailboxes and television commercials with his deceiving messages. With yesterday's $59.4 billion dollar budget deal, it seems that the Mayor, and his Deputy Mayor ally Chris Quinn is getting his ducks in a row to win over key constituencies while leaving the door open to cut more programs once the election is over.
From PolitickerNY:
Michael Bloomberg and the City Council agreed on a $59.4 billion City budget deal that squashes the mayor’s plan to shutter sixteen fire companies, maintains current six-day services at libraries, prevents layoffs of child welfare workers, and trims by an unspecified margin the number of layoffs planned for other city workers.
“This is basically, as Chris said, preserving services,” Bloomberg said, referring to Council Speaker Christine Quinn, during an event with the Council in the City Hall rotunda this evening. “I don’t think there is any major cut that is going to really hurt anybody.”
But advocates gathered around City Hall quietly muttered to themselves and reporters the fear that whatever was placed into the budget could be stripped after the November elections, when Bloomberg and a majority of the Council are expected to be re-elected.
“This may not be the last word on this year’s budget,” said Bloomberg, referring to projections that the national and local economies were projected to grow slightly in the months ahead.
Bloomberg is going to do whatever it takes to win this election, already showing that he's willing to spend tens of millions to convince New Yorkers to re-elect him. The latest polls show him ahead by 22 points or more but people are starting to get tired of all the advertising. Bloomberg has many smart minds on his team and they most certainly realize all of this. So blitzing the Internet, the postal service and the airwaves is not enough for Bloomberg's ambitions. Making deals with unions and holding off on cuts in services goes a lot further with people than any ad.
The important thing for voters to realize is that the programs saved today may not be around come mid-November. The key is to look at what Bloomberg has done over the last seven years, not in the last few weeks.
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