Michael Bloomberg

Michael Rubens "Mike" Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is a prominent Jewish-American businessman, the founder of Bloomberg L.P., and the 108th and current Mayor of New York City.

Political career

2001 election

In 2001 he was elected mayor, accepting remuneration of $1.00 annually, succeeding the term-limited Rudy Giuliani, who endorsed him, in a an election conducted in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks; the primary election was actually set for September 11, then rescheduled. Bloomberg, a lifelong member of the Democratic Party, ran for mayor as a member of the Republican Party, reportedly to avoid the crowded field in the Democratic primary election. Bloomberg is an extremely liberal Republican, who is pro-choice and in favor of same-sex marriage. He defeated the more conservative Puerto Rican Herman Badillo in the Republican primary to go on to the general election.

Related Topics:
2001 - Term-limited - Rudy Giuliani - September 11, 2001 attacks - Democratic Party - Republican Party - Primary election - Pro-choice - Same-sex marriage - Herman Badillo

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In the general election Bloomberg also had the ballot line of the Independence Party, which provided the margin of his victory, as he defeated the Democratic candidate, Mark J. Green, by 50%-48%.

Related Topics:
Independence Party - Mark J. Green

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Policies

As mayor, he contributed to a change in policy over control of the New York City Public School system which was previously run by an independent Board of Education. He installed Joel Klein as Chancellor.

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Bloomberg supports the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York, though he has appealed a decision finding the limiting of same-sex marriage unconstitutional because he has stated he wants to ensure it is permitted under New York State law: "My personal opinion is that anybody should be allowed to marry anybody. I don't happen to think we should put restrictions on who you should marry.... What the city doesn't want to have happen is people getting a marriage license and then six months, or one year later, or two years later, finding out it's meaningless" http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=718&e=10&u=/ap/20050208/ap_on_re_us/gay_marriage

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In the 2001 campaign, he criticized Green for refusing to rule out a tax increase, but during his first year in office, Bloomberg proposed a 25 percent increase in the property tax. The City Council approved an increase of 18.5 percent. http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/newyork/politics/nyc-budg0131,0,6901160.story

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He supported extending the city's smoking ban to all commercial establishments, removing the last indoor public areas where one could smoke in the city: bars and nightclubs.

Related Topics:
Smoking ban - Bar

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Since 2003, he has become increasingly assertive in demanding federal homeland security funds be distributed to municipalities based on risk and population rather than any other measure.

Related Topics:
2003 - Homeland security

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Bloomberg, the founder of an information company, has tried to better citizen access to city information services. Perhaps Bloomberg's single most popular program has been the establishment of 311 telephone line. Dialing 311 puts the caller in contact with the city, allowing them to report any crimes, annoyances, trash problems, etc. It also can be used for question-answer purposes. Bloomberg has also pushed the development of NYCTV and the revitalization of www.nyc.gov, the official city website.

Related Topics:
311 - NYCTV

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He was the most visible proponent of the failed New York City 2012 Olympic bid and planned accompanying West Side Stadium, which he had hoped would help extend Midtown westward to the Hudson River. He supports a plan for a New Mets Stadium stadium in Willetts Point, Queens in the parking lot of Shea Stadium. If approved it is to be completed for the 2009 baseball season. He proposed the plan as part of New York's failed bid to host the 2012 Olympics.

Related Topics:
New York City 2012 Olympic bid - West Side Stadium - Midtown - New Mets Stadium - Willetts Point - Queens - Parking lot - Shea Stadium - 2009 - 2012 Olympics

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He is a supporter of immigration reform to secure the rights of undocumented immigrants, who comprise a large part of the population of New York City. He argues that deportation breaks up families and scares immigrants away from cooperating with law enforcement or accessing vital social services; as such, he supports proposals like those put forth by Senator Ted Kennedy and John McCain, which would normalize the status of otherwise law-abiding undocumented immigrants already present.

Related Topics:
Immigration - Law enforcement - Ted Kennedy - John McCain

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2005 election

Bloomberg will be up for re-election in November 2005 and has said he is willing to spend whatever it takes to win re-election, which means a vast amount of money that none of his challengers could ever hope to match. In late 2004 or early 2005, he gave the Independence Party $250,000 to fund a phone bank seeking to recruit volunteers for his re-election campaign. http://nydailynews.com/front/story/268291p-229740c.html

Related Topics:
Re-election - 2005

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Former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer won the Democratic nomination to oppose Bloomberg in the general election; Bloomberg faced only token opposition in the Republican primary.

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On September 16, 2005 Bloomberg became the first major Republican to oppose the confirmation of John Roberts as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/16/bloomberg.roberts.reut/

Related Topics:
September 16 - 2005 - John Roberts

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