RSS
Home
Politics as usual? No thank you.
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
The results are in... Mikey likes it!
For many of us, the headlines in the newspapers this morning came as no surprise. Mayor Michael Bloomberg won last night's election, and will remain as New York City's mayor for a third term. Now, I'm not a political analyst by any means, but it seems to me that this mayoral race was nothing more than another victory for big business.
Bloomberg spent an estimated $100 million out of his own pocket- a record in personal campaign spending. His opponent, William (Bill) Thompson, only spent approximately $6 million. According to the New York Times (who enthusiastically supported him), Bloomberg outspent his rival by a 14 to 1 spending margin. Suffice to say, a mayor who claims that he wants to help the working-class, sure knows how to put them in their place with his bulging wallet. And with all the budget cuts and unemployment, don't you think Mike could have cut back on some of his lavish parties, or say, donated half of that campaign money? Just a thought.
Michael Bloomberg is someone who said that he would NOT seek a third term as mayor. Our sneaky suspicions that he may have been fibbing became an "I told you so!", as he pushed to change the term limits, and won. Labeling this as an abuse of power may be too harsh of a remark, but unfair certainly is not. But in the end, maybe New Yorkers like me, who found this news saddening today, have only themselves to blame.
It was estimated that only 1.1 million people in the five boroughs voted out of about 4 million registered voters. There still remains approximately 2 million unregistered voters in the city. Considering that Bloomberg won 51% of the vote and Thompson 46%, had people actually voted, the results would most certainly have been different. It's the same old story in many ways though; People complain about the city and the administration, but conveniently didn't find the time to get out and put in their two cents at the voting booth. And if their candidate won, they are happy and supportive. But if their candidate lost, they lower their heads and curse the system. The only problem with the system in this case is not putting a cap on campaign spending, and allowing a change to term limits in the first place.
Thompson and Bloomberg both have their good qualities and questionable ones. I'm sure everyone got a good taste of them during the campaign. However, the city is in desperate need of some help. Unemployment has risen to a stunning 10.3%, and we are facing a deficit of over $4 billion. This is not a time for our leaders to be tossing around money to try and crush a worthy adversary. We are not impressed by their celebrity friends and newspaper endorsements. We need fresh ideas and solid strategies to build the city up again; To live up to the hype that we are one of the greatest cities in the world, but most importantly, a stable home for the millions of hard-working people that live here.
Mayor Bloomberg, you've shown us all that you can change the rules and spend the most. We are flattered you care THAT much, but really, what we want is changes in the way the city handles itself and for you to spend a little time listening to the citizens, so that maybe we can sleep better knowing you didn't just defeat someone with money....that you truly are the better candidate.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
