“I run New York!”
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In feudal times, the king ruled. He was the one who controlled the most land, as well as any wealth that came about because of that position.
Today, there might not be kings in the United States. But who are the richest men in New York City? One of them is Michael R. Bloomberg—who also happens to be the mayor.
In 2007, he earned Forbes magazine’s designation as New York City’s richest man, then worth over $13 billion. In 2008, he was edged out by oil billionaire David Koch.
Bloomberg has a lot in common with the kings of old. He is listed as top 10 of Forbes 400 richest people in the United States. He is the Mayor, the decision maker of the financial capital of the world. He controls the New York Police Department, a veritable standing army of 30,000 troops. Like every Roman emperor, he gets an honorable seat at every Yankee or Mets game.
Now the “king” of New York will be allowed to run for a third time—despite New York City laws imposing term limits on the mayor and city councilors. On Oct. 23, after much arm-twisting and unknown amounts of grafts and payoffs, the City Council passed a bill to allow city officials—including Bloomberg and half the City Council members ending their second terms—to run for a third term.
Bloomberg literally bought his way to a third term. Many reports detailed the mayor showering cash on key council members in charge of the decision to extend term limits.
Bloomberg, the head of a multibillion-dollar media chain, met with members of the editorial boards of the city biggest dailies before announcing his plan to run for a third term in order to line up support. These are the same newspapers that condemned Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s efforts to extend his term as “steps toward dictatorship.”
Many viewed the move as the height of hypocrisy. Bloomberg once claimed to oppose the extension of term limits, describing it as “disgraceful.” Now that he sits on the throne, Bloomberg dropped the moralistic tone and made an about-face.
Bloomberg portrays himself as a steady hand in troubled times. But there is no doubt about which side of the class divide he rules for. The same man called striking transit workers “greedy, thuggish bus drivers” during his attempt to crush the 2005 strike against the Metropolitan Transit Agency. For almost a decade now, Mayor Bloomberg has supported pro-rich, racist gentrification policies.
Bloomberg’s power bid comes at the outset of a massive economic crisis. The mayor has already threatened massive cuts and layoffs. How his electoral bid will play out against the looming struggles ahead is far less certain than his media backers would have New York workers believe.
