Will the most expensive campaign ever help NYC mayor Bloomberg?
Published: 31 October, 2009, 08:38
Edited: 01 November, 2009, 21:36
US: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks after receiving the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy October 15, 2009. (Stephen Chernin/Getty Images/AFP)
(16.0Mb) embed videoNew Yorkers will go to the polls on Tuesday to elect their next mayor. Many voters are furious that the current mayor, billionaire Michael Bloomberg, is moving the goalposts – after having already served twice.
In a city home to more than eight million people, one man Рwith piggy bank billions Рwields ̡ lot of influence. Eight years ago, Michael Bloomberg took the helm of New York City. Now he's campaigning to keep his crown for four more years.
Bloomberg’s extended political ambitions have ignited significant backlash among New Yorkers. This comes after the mayor successfully convinced city lawmakers to extend term limits without a referendum. The move undermined the results of two previous referendums, in which New Yorkers voted overwhelmingly to stop elected officials from serving more than two consecutive terms.
Bloomberg's opponents are painting the media mogul as a dictator in their campaign ads.
Attorney Gene Russianoff from the New York Public Interest Group says the billionaire has effectively bashed democracy:
“It’s politically and morally wrong what happened in the city. They were put on notice, and they still pursued the strategy. We still don’t know what the mayor gave to the council people in exchange for their voting for extending term limits.”
Amid last year’s economic crisis, Bloomberg argued that his business savvy was needed to keep the Big Apple afloat – yet unemployment and homelessness are at record levels.
New York’s richest man is bankrolling the most expensive campaign in US history, spending over one hundred million dollars in his quest to stay in office – twenty times more than his opponent from the Democratic Party, Bill Thompson.
In response to Bloomberg’s actions, actor Daniel Sunjata believes leaders have established a pattern of ignoring the will of the people.
“Is he Mayor Bloomberg or Hugo Chavez? Or Castro? You can point to any number of individuals that have maintained a stranglehold on power for much longer than people would have liked if given the opportunity to vote on the issue,” he asks.
Hugo Chavez, like Bloomberg, wanted to extend term of office limits, but the Venezuelan president was voted down in a referendum.
Unfortunately, unlike Chavez, the voters of New York will have to use the election as their own referendum to decide if he deserves a third term at the core of the Big Apple.
31.10.2009, 06:23
6 comments
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BLOOMBERG is a prime example of how a billionaire can buy his/her way into any office in the United States, including the presidency. How can democracy be preached all over the world, when money buys nearly all political offices in America? We need to start telling it like it is and stop being phoney about it. What does it cost to buy yourself a comfortable seat in the U. S. congress? Would you need millions of dollars to even compete? Where would you get this huge chunk of money to run for congress? SPECIAL INTEREST DONATIONS, of course. In this world does anyone or any company just give away free money for no ulterior motive, or do they expect to multiply that contribution a hundred times over through earmarks from their patsy CON{gress}man. High political office pays off very well and once they take office it is almost impossible to get them out, even if they lie, cheat and steal the tax payer's money thru special interest deals. It is time to vote all current office holders out and quit voting for rich people, both democrat and republican. Help save America.
The US is not a democracy with rights for human beings. It has taken the population of "humans" and manufactured a bio-engineered species, a mutant if you will. Thus, there is an apathy which cannot be fired up enough to awaken those who cannot eat other than the poisons called "food." Then, the drug addiction is completely out of control. It is a very sad place, "America." AND the worst part -- our court system is 99.9% the delivery agent for the criminal operation called government ... .... to use the people as nothing but disposable commodities. Ugly? The 2020 date can't come soon enough!