How Hes Gaining Traction In The Primary
Two national polls out this week show him in third or fourth place sometimes higher than Sen. Elizabeth Warren and the Iowa Caucus first-place finisher, former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg.
There are a couple reasons Bloomberg is doing well right now, said Jim Kessler, a Democratic consultant with ties to the moderate section of the party. The big one is out of his control: a muddied Democratic field with voters still undecided about who is the best to take on Trump.
A lot of things needed to go right for the Bloomberg candidacy to take off, Kessler wrote in an email to The Fix. The field needed to be muddled, and it is. Biden had to underperform, and he has. And multiple candidates needed to be viable going into Super Tuesday, and that will likely be the case.
Bloomberg also escaped the kind of scrutiny that comes from leading in the polls. That could change if he meets the polling requirements to be on the debate stage in Nevada on Feb. 19.
Mayor Bloomberg’s Legacy: The Good The Bad And The Ugly
Michael Bloomberg’s extraordinary 12-year term as mayor of New york has just ended. This is an opportune time to review the billionaire mayor’s mixed-bag legacy — the good, the bad, and the ugly.
For the sake of civility, let’s start with the good.
My only government job began with Bloomberg’s first term, in January 2002. Lower Manhattan’s newly elected City Council Member Alan Gerson asked me to set aside my media work to serve as the policy director for his newly-commissioned Committee on Lower Manhattan Redevelopment. I also advised the council member on budgetary issues, and in reviewing the new mayor’s unexpected plan to immediately raise real estate taxes by 18 percent.
In the wake of the September 11 attacks only months earlier, New York City’s finances had headed into dire straits. Simultaneous to Bush-Cheney’s infamous tax cuts for the rich — and exploding deficits — a mayor who had come to power on the Republican ticket had initiated the largest city tax increase in modern history. Our City Council voted 41 to 6 to raise billions of dollars to retain essential city services. Mayor Bloomberg was a phenomenal fiscal manager, and as a result, Mayor Bill de Blasio will inherit a $2 billion budget surplus this year.
It also has its drawbacks, when that same king is imperious, arrogant, disregards criticism, and is out of touch with the lives of ordinary New Yorkers. But more on this when I get to the bad and ugly.
Who Is Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg was born on February 14, 1942, in Boston, Massachusetts. Bloomberg put himself through Johns Hopkins and Harvard and became a partner at Salomon Brothers. He started his own company which revolutionized the distribution of financial information and made him a billionaire. Bloomberg became mayor of New York City in 2002, and he later won election to a second and a controversial third term. Afterward, the businessman and philanthropist devoted himself to combating the effects of climate change, before spending heavily in an unsuccessful attempt to claim the Democratic nomination for president in 2020.
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Michael Bloomberg’s Business Career
Bloomberg began his career in financial services in 1966 at the now-defunct Wall Street investment bank Salomon Brothers, where his first job was counting bonds and stock certificates in the banks vault. He moved up to bond trading, becoming a partner in 1972 and a general partner in 1976.
In 1979, Salomon Brothers moved him from his position of head of equity trading and sales to run Information Systems. This was apparently a demotion, but it put Bloomberg in charge of the department that implemented computer technology. When the company was acquired by the commodity trading firm Phibro in 1981, Bloomberg received a $10 million severance package.
Bloomberg used the windfall to found a company called Innovative Market Solutions that used the latest information systems technology to provide traders with data on U.S. Treasury bond prices. Merrill Lynch became a major client and investor in 1982. This company grew into what is today Bloomberg LP, a financial data and media company headquartered in New York City with offices in 100 cities around the world.
Bloomberg LP recorded $10.5 billion in revenue in 2019. The company operates data terminals used throughout the financial services industry. It also includes the business news cable channel Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, and a monthly magazine, Bloomberg Markets. BusinessWeek magazine was purchased by the company in 2009 and was renamed Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
In 2013 After The Boston Marathon Bombing Bloomberg Called For Constitutional Privacy Protections To Be Weakened According To The Atlantic
“We have to understand that in the world going forward,” he said, “we’re going to have more cameras and that kind of stuff. That’s good in some senses, but it’s different than what we are used to. And the people who are worried about privacy have a legitimate worry, but we live in a complex world where you’re going to have a level of security greater than you did back in the olden days, if you will. And our laws and our interpretation of the Constitution I think have to change.”
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Nyc Homelessness Doubles To 54000 Including 23000 School Age Children
Another ‘accomplishment’ of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was his unmitigated failure in addressing the rising causes of homelessness in New York City. During his administration New York City homelessness rose from about 27,000 to about 54,000 – of which about 23,000 were believed to be school age children – according to the NYC Department of Homeless Services.
Here’s an excerpt from an OpEd published in the Gotham Gazette, a non-profit website run by the Citizens Union Foundation. There’s no date on it, but it references the 2012 Census, so I’m guessing that it was published in 2013, the last year of former Mayor Bloomberg’s third and final term.
“At the beginning of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s second term, homelessness in his city was at an all-time high: Nearly 40,000 New Yorkers were without homes, which was astronomical considering the city’s homeless population had never reached 30,000 before Bloomberg took office … Eight years later, 48,694 people were homeless, according to the New York City Department of Homeless Services … What went wrong? … The administration’s critics might say that the mayor’s housing policies failed because he’s out of touch with most New Yorkers.”
That Same Year He Was Succeeded By Current Mayor Bill De Blasio The New York Post Wrote That His Impact Would Be Most
“In his three terms, Nanny Bloomberg waged war on salt and soda, banned smoking in parks and pushed breast-feeding by having hospitals hide the formula,” the Post wrote.
The New York Times was less critical, and said after Bloomberg left he would “bequeath a litany of record-shattering statistics on crime reduction, sidewalk safety and skyline-altering construction.”
It also noted that while usually “the city paid its mayor Mr. Bloomberg paid to be the city’s mayor.” It estimated he had spent $650 million of his own money on things related to running the city, like campaigning and travel costs.
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Does He Have A Chance
Mr. Bloombergs path is unconventional in the extreme: skipping the early-voting states and debates to focus on delegate-rich contests in March and beyond. He has the resources to pull it off millions upon millions of dollars of his own money to flood the airwaves with his ads. But if another candidate claims momentum in February, Mr. Bloomberg could have a difficult time breaking through.
Great Slogans Are Oftentimes Used To Mask Unseemly Realities
A report in the Observer on August 6, 2013 provided the following,
“… Former Congressman Anthony Weiner accused Mayor Michael Bloomberg of using school closures to skirt union rules and fudging test scores ahead of his 2005 re-election bid … Weiner made the case that schools are being closed, not to improve them, but because it allows the city to skirt union rules that would otherwise bar the changes … Weiner accused Mr. Bloomberg of messing with test scores ahead of his 2005 re-election bid in order to make it seem as though more progress was being made. “The mayor himself, I think, fudged the scores wildly leading up to his re-election in 2005,” said Mr. Weiner, who at the time was also running in the race. “A lot of those early numbers turned out to be discredited.””
“… Weiner doubled down on the accusation, pointing to news reports from the time questioning the scores…There was a spate of press conferences about how amazing the schools were doing that were later on discredited when those numbers came crashing back to earth,” he said. “These numbers are getting fudged in hundreds of ways,” … Weiner said he had no intention of jumping on the bandwagon of criticism that is sure to hit the administration tomorrow when the first round of test scores under a new curriculum are announced. The mayor and schools chancellor have been warning for months parents to brace for significant declines.”
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Bureau Of National Affairs
Bloomberg L.P. purchased Arlington, Virginia-based Bureau of National Affairs in August 2011, for $990 million to bolster its existing Bloomberg Government and Bloomberg Law services. BNA publishes specialized online and print news and information for professionals in business and government. The company produces more than 350 news publications in topic areas that include corporate law and business, employee benefits, employment and labor law, environment, health and safety, health care, human resources, intellectual property, litigation, and tax and accounting.
Michael Bloomberg Has Used His Fortune To Help Republicans Too
A supporter of progressive priorities like gun control and climate change, Mr. Bloomberg has also given millions to Republicans he felt shared his goals, irritating some Democrats.
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By Jeremy W. Peters and Stephanie Saul
WASHINGTON In 2016, Democrats thought they had found the perfect candidate to win a United States Senate seat in Pennsylvania and put them within striking distance of taking back the majority. But Katie McGinty, an environmental policy expert with degrees in chemistry and law, ran into an overwhelming obstacle: Michael R. Bloombergs fortune.
The former mayor of New York poured in $11.7 million to help re-elect the Republican incumbent, Senator Pat Toomey, who had led an effort, albeit unsuccessful, to expand background checks for gun purchasers, a top priority of Mr. Bloombergs.
Mr. Toomey won by less than two percentage points, handing a key victory to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell: The Republicans held on to control of the chamber by two seats. At the time, it was the most expensive Senate race the country had ever seen, and Mr. Bloombergs money was one of the largest influxes of outside influence.
For many he went too far when he gave money to Pat Toomey, said Jim Manley, a Democratic consultant and former senior aide to Harry Reid, the previous Senate leader, pointing out that Ms. McGinty also favored stricter gun regulations and that the race was so close.
Rachel Shorey and Annie Daniel contributed reporting.
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Activities Prior To Campaign Launch
In March 2019, Bloomberg originally announced that he would not run for president.
However, on November 7, 2019, Bloomberg changed his mind and announced that he was taking steps to enter the 2020 United States presidential election, and on November 8 he officially filed for the Alabama Democratic presidential primary. After qualifying in Michigan, on November 12, he filed his candidacy for the Arkansas primary. On November 13, he applied for the Tennessee ballot. On November 19, he gave three separate transactions of $106,500 to the Democratic National Committee along with $800,000 to the Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund.
Headquartered at facilities provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the campaign’s staff at pre-launch included senior advisors Howard Wolfson, communications adviser Jason Schecter, advertising creator Bill Knapp, pollster Doug Schoen along with sometimes Bloomberg Philanthropies CEO Patti Harris and political consultants Brynne Craig, Mitch Stewart, and Dan Wagner and, at launch, Kevin Sheekey was campaign manager.
On November 21, 2019, Bloomberg filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission to declare himself as a Democratic candidate for president, though he said this was not a formal announcement, but a step towards making one if he decides to run.
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Early Life And Financial Career
Michael Rubens Bloomberg was born on February 14, 1942, in Boston, Massachusetts. The son of a bookkeeper, Bloomberg put himself through Johns Hopkins University and Harvard University, where he earned a Master of Business Administration degree in 1966. His first Wall Street job was with Salomon Brothers, where he quickly climbed the ladder, becoming partner in 1972.
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Thus Bloomberg Seemed To Make A Friend Very Very Rich By What Appears To Be ‘stealing’ Public Assets
At a time when the NYC mass transit system was in dire need of all kinds of investments, how did former Mayor Michael Bloomberg allocate NYC spending and prioritize projects? Editors Note: NYC mass transit is the domain of the Governor, but the NYC Mayor has representation and influence via board representation and NYC budget contributions.
#7 SUBWAY LINE EXTENSION – Creates Tremendous Wealth for Stephen Ross & Related Companies new development Hudson Yard
Former Mayor Bloomberg reportedly allocated $2.5 billion of NYC funds to building the #7 subway extension out to Stephen Ross’s Related Companies Hudson Yard development. It’s well known that mass transit greatly improves the price for real estate .
Q SUBWAY LINE EXTENSION – Adds Tremendous Value to Stephen Ross & Related Companies Upper East Side Commercial and Residential Properties
Former Mayor Bloomberg also promoted the Q subway line extension along 2nd Avenue. This $4.5 billion project also greatly benefitted Stephen Ross & Related Companies as they have numerous properties that are located near that line extension – see map. In addition to their offices, Stephen Ross & Related Companies also own three buildings around 94th – 96th Street near 2nd and 3rd Avenues on the Upper East side which together comprise nearly 700 units that garner rents from the mid single digit thousands to $20,000 and likely higher. Think what a boon the new Q subway line extension was for Stephen Ross.
Mike Bloomberg Gave To A Lot Of Republicans Over The Years
The fact that Michael Bloomberg was first elected as a Republican is well-known. The fact that Bloomberg endorsed George W. Bushs reelection in 2004 is generally known, although one wonders if the former mayors rivals will bring that up at Wednesdays debate.
Many people believe Bloomberg registered as a Republican in 2001 because he felt getting elected as a Republican mayor in New York would be easier than winning the mayoral nomination of the Democratic party. That may be the case, but federal election donation records indicate that Bloomberg consistently gave generously to candidates of both parties, all the way up to 2018.
Way back in 1991, Bloomberg donated $1,000 to George Bush, back when there was only one man named George Bush in the headlines. Three years later, he donated to the Senate bid of Fred Thompson in Tennessee. The following year, he donated $1,000 to Lamar Alexander, who was gearing up for a presidential bid and would later become a senator from Tennessee. Bloomberg also donated $1,000 that year to another GOP presidential candidate, Steve Forbes. In 1997, Bloomberg donated $4,000 to the New Jersey Republican State Committee, $5,000 to the New York Republican Federal Campaign Committee, and $1,000 to Matt Fong, who was gearing up for a Senate campaign in California against Barbara Boxer.
Tomorrow night, one of his rivals may want to point out to Democratic primary voters that Bloomberg has been financing the opposition for many, many years.
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Corruption: Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg & City Time Scandal
And who can forget former Mayors Rudy Giuliani’s and Michael Bloomberg’s $600 million City Time corruption scandal?
A report published on June 29, 2011 on the WNYC website, states the following about the City Time scandal.
“… The irony here is rich. “The massive scheme” started as an outsourced city contract to design a payroll system that would precisely track the hours worked by city employees. After a couple of false starts with other vendors, defense contractor Scientific Applications International Corporation was awarded the job in a no-bid contract by the Giuliani Administration…”
“… Under Mayor Bloomberg, the contract ballooned from $63 million where it had started out in the Giuliani years , to more than $700 million. Federal prosecutors now say at least $600 million of that was “tainted.” At every level, federal prosecutors allege grafters had honeycombed CityTime in to a paragon of corruption.”Between 2003 and 2010, the CityTime payroll project served as a vehicle for an unprecedented fraud, which appears to have metastasized over time,” said Baharara…”
“… What prosecutors have yet to publicly discuss is the role played by former city officials from both the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations that acted as lobbyists on behalf of SAIC and subcontractors such as New Jersey-based Technodyne.”
Michael Bloomberg Worked In A Vault
Michael Bloomberg entered the business world in an unglamorous fashion. In a sense, there was almost no fashion because he worked in his underwear with other scantily clad guys. While that might read like the description of a film called Magic Mike Bloomberg, this story is more about making money than shaking a moneymaker. As recounted by , after graduating from Harvard Business School in 1966, Bloomberg applied to work at Goldman Sachs and the family-run bond trading firm, Salomon Brothers & Hutzler, where he forged a firm bond with managing partner William Salomon.
New hirees were tasked with counting billions of dollars of bonds and stock certificates in a stuffy vault, and Bloomberg was no exception. He said of the experience, “We slaved in our underwear, in an un-air-conditioned bank vault, with an occasional six-pack of beer to make it more bearable.” This was a different time, when casual Fridays were presumably way too casual. On top of that, back then , people copied documents using carbon paper, and when papers had to be delivered between floors in short order, they were placed in a basket and lowered on a rope through a window. As technology evolved and Bloomberg rose through the corporate ranks, he increasingly advocated using computers.
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