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Bloomberg wants to run both ways, left and right
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New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg appears to want to have his cake and eat it too.
On Friday, Bloomberg aides leaked that the mayor, who was twice elected as a Republican, but recently dropped all party affiliation was courting the support of the city's five Republican county chairs to support him in an effort to seek a third term later this year as a Republican. The Democrat turned Republican turned independent would need the support of at least three of the five county chairs to even run in a GOP Primary. Sources said that he will meet with all five county chairs on February 25 in a final effort to court their support, after which a decision would be announced.
But a report in today's Daily News says that the mayor is also seeking to run on the Working Families Party line, a labor-oriented party that generally leans to the left of Democrats.
The mayor is "welcome to apply" for the labor-backed Working Families Party line, said Dan Cantor, its executive director.
Still, Cantor called it "the longest of long shots."
And the mere application isn't likely to help Bloomberg's cause with GOP leaders, who are already reluctant to give the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent mayor their ballot line.
The News goes on to report:
The WFP led the charge last year against Bloomberg's successful effort to extend term limits. That victory has enabled the mayor to seek a third term this fall.
The party is also championing a personal income tax increase on wealthy New Yorkers, a move the billionaire mayor opposes.
Sources close to the mayor agreed the WFP line is a long shot but said nothing is being ruled out.
"That's nuts," state Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn) said when told of Bloomberg's WFP flirtation. "I don't think that's a winning formula for him."
Because he no longer is a member of any party, the mayor needs the okay of party leaders to run on any established party's ballot line. He could also run on his own independent line, but it would appear at the end of the ballot.
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