NEW YORK—Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened his Manhattan campaign office Sunday afternoon, wrapping up a weekend of campaign office openings in all five boroughs. The one time Democrat, turned Republican, turned Independent—and two term mayor now cleared to run for a third after a turn over of term limits restrictions—is so far leading in polls against all contenders.
At his Manhattan campaign headquarters on W. 40th St. on Sunday the atmosphere was pure Americana, with a quartet of musicians—including a plucky banjo player—vendor carts with hotdogs and pretzels, red white and blue balloons, and hundreds of ardent Bloomberg supporters shouting “Four More Years!”
Former NYC Mayor Edward Koch, who held the office for 12 years, opened the festivities with a round of lighthearted jokes but spoke more seriously as he compared his time in office as New City Mayor as another tough time in the City’s history. Koch came into office when the City was on the verge of bankruptcy. However, former mayor Koch said that it is now an even tougher time for New York.
“The job that the next mayor will have is far tougher. When I came into office there was only one city in the country asking for help, and that was New York City. Today every city in the country is asking for help.”
“We expected and we got support. The problem today is many times tougher. The people of New York want a mayor they know is experienced, who knows what they are doing, and that is why I have no doubt that we are going to win and we are going to win big,” Koch said. He also added a word of caution about taking this election for granted, saying that if it is taken for granted they will lose.
Following an introduction by campaign supporter and Harlem native Audrey Smalls, the Mayor took the microphone but was immediately shouted down by a small group of vocal protesters shouting, “Mayor Mike you’re out of touch, we can’t survive these budget cuts!” The group members, who were protesting budget cuts to HIV/AIDS supportive housing programs, were quickly escorted away by security as they were shouted down by the Mayor’s supporters with another boisterous round of “Four more years!” It was a lively afternoon indeed.
The Mayor spoke for close to 10 minutes, recounting past successes of his previous two terms, going back to 2001 in post 9-11 New York and describing those days as “pretty bleak,” the Mayor touted the comeback of New York City as “roaring back faster and stronger than anybody ever thought was possible, and we didn’t do it, Democrats or Republicans or Independents, we did it as New Yorkers.”
The Mayor talked about the current troubles that New Yorkers are facing, saying that with economic recovery program, a lot of hard work, and a lot of luck the City can create or save about 400,000 jobs.
“We have got to make sure the next four years are the best in this City’s history, with non-partisan leadership, we can keep all five boroughs going,” said Bloomberg.
The Mayor recapped his previous term’s successes as follows: “We’ve reduced crime to record lows. In the first quarter of this year crime is down another 15-20 percent. We’ve raised graduations rates to record highs, we have lower violence in the classrooms.” The Mayor also touted the 311 city information number, increasing smoking restrictions in public spaces, and decreasing ambulance response times.
The Mayor finished his speech by rallying his supporters and volunteers to get every vote, referring to the protesters that had earlier disrupted his speech, saying, “We’ve got to get their votes, that’s our job.” As Bruce Springsteen’s song “Born to Run” blared from the loudspeakers, the Mayor had a hot dog and shook hands all around the room.
