From Metro 3/29/09:

Mayor Bloomberg opened campaign offices in all five boroughs over the weekend, showing an eagerness to begin a race that may be his alone to lose. In 2005, he waited until June to open his first outpost away from Manhattan.

A recent Quinnipiac poll gave Bloomberg a 15-point lead over Democrat William Thompson. City Comptroller Thompson has opened just one office.

The billionaire mayor bankrolls his own campaigns, spending $155 million on his first two outings and so far more than all of his challengers combined.

The $155 million is not the whole story. It only includes the amount of money Bloomberg gave directly to his previous two mayoral campaigns/purchases. It didn't include surges of charitable giving around election time, both of his money and of company money from his media empire.

The man who became a billionaire by promoting irresponsible behavior on Wall St. has found a way to silence traditional constituencies who have opposed far right politicians like Bloomberg (e.g., advocates for the poor, artists).

His omnipresent media buys also have had a corrosive effect on the integrity of the New York press. NY 1 was the worst example. They had news anchors constantly saying that Bloomberg was doing a good job. Maybe Bloomberg was doing a good job improving the balance sheet of their station, but they neglected to mention many specifics to back up such extraordinary claims. It got so bad I started calling them "Bloomberg 1" and stopped watching them.

Of course, NY 1 was just the most blatant. The corporate media bent backwards, forwards, and to the sides to pander to Bloomberg. We have the worst elections and press money can buy.

On a lighter note, Bloomberg isn't too choosy about who he has involved in his campaign offices. Convicted drunk driver and former GOP Staten Island congresscritter Vito Fossella was there for the opening of Bloomberg's Forgotten Borough office.

Photo: 廷鈞