I don't live in New York and have no idea what Bloomberg has done for the city.  But the mere fact that he supported Bush in 2004 is reason enough to oppose his re-election.  I don't care how much of a "liberal" Republican he claims to be.  You just don't do that!!

I remember back in 2004 at the RNC, Michael Moore wrote an excellet piece about how there was a time that moderate New York Republicans like John Lindsay and Fiorello de La Guardia actually helped influence the party by moving it to the Left.

It is tragic today to see the moderate NY Republicans like Bloomberg and Guiliani -- completely hostage to the most right-wing elements of their Party.  TRAGIC.

like Bloomberg because he's results oriented and, except for the convention, decidedly apolitical in his governing style. He's more a results oriented manager. It's hard to fight against this style of governance, and, if the rest of the Republicans were like this, we would have less difference with them than we do. I will still vote for Ferrer, but I won't fall apart if Blomberg wins either.

Personally, Bloomberg has been a much better Mayor than Rudy Guiliani. The results of his leadership is evident by the the support he is getting from a cross section of democrats.
When you see such a diverse group of Democrats, from grassroots, activists, liberal elites, Black Ministers, even atheletes & Liberal actors-IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT defeating this man.

As a Democrat, I personally support Ferrer. But when you have support from both White & Black NY Democratic leaders like Peter Vallone ( Former Dem. Mayor Candidate) & Charles Hynes, to Rev, Calvin Butts, Former Dem Mayor Ed Koch, to even prominent Liberal Democrats like Actress Whoopi Goldberg & prominent african american NBA stars- HE IS GOING TO BE VERY HARD TO BEAT.

What's s shame is Polls showed Ferrer had a Good Shot in the early stages of his campaign. But he made several MAJOR ERRORS such as his Stupid comment on Police Brutality in his attempt to pander to  White voters which cost him dearly
among Black Democratic voters.

You have to remember. Mike Bloomberg was a Lifelong Pro-Choice Jewish Democrat who ONLY switched parties in order to enhance his chances of being Mayor since there was such a CROWDED FIELD of Career Democrats in NYC who all wanted to be Mayor.

He saw how Guliani masterfully won the NYC Mayoral race as a republican in a Dem city & pretty much copied the blue print for success.

If the majority of Democrats weren't trying so hard to run to the right to poach GOP voters people like Bloomberg would not be able to appear progressive enough to poach Democratic votes. The only way that Bloomberg can appeal to progressive and moderate Democrats is because the Democrats are busy trying to appeal to the right wing reactionary wing of the GOP.

This is not Bloombergs fault. It is not the fault of the voters. Look to the Democratic Paty for the problem.

Thanks for the post.  I won't vote for Bloomberg b/c of the Repub convention but I can't vote for Ferrer which means I am not voting for Mayor.  Ferrer is a product of the Bronx machine, was handed both his council seat and Borough President's job without a fight, and has never run a tough race.  It shows - he is running an awful campaign.  Of all the bad nominees the Dems have put up in the past 12 years, he may actually be the worst and that says a lot.  I am a pretty loyal Dem but you have to earn my support.  Ferrer has not and makes me depressed.

When the New York Democrats stop nominating machine politicians, I will gladly vote for him.  Bloomberg isn't perfect, and since he is now a nominal "Republican," it means he has to sell out every so often and support Bush.  Nonetheless, Bloomberg has been a very good mayor, and there's no way I could support a tiny man like Ferrer against a guy who's doing a good job.

Marty Markowitz, much to the chagrin of the various Brooklyn dem clubs and politicians, has put his 2009 mayoral aspirations ahead of his principles by endorsing Bloomber.

Send him a massage by voting for Gloria Mattera, the Green Party candidate for Brooklyn Borough President, who has already picked up endorsements from Chris Owens and the Sierra Club (unheard of for a 3rd party candidate), with more coming in all the time.  She's also just reached matching funds, so she will have a quarter million dollars to spend of TV, radio, newspapers, mailings and GOTV to compete with Marty's millions from developers like Bruce Ratner.

I'm a very loyal democrat and I can't vote in the NYC election because I live just north of the city, but I work here everyday.  As much as I hate W, I don't think the mayor's lame and fleeting support of him should be the only reason to vote or not vote for any candidate.  One should vote for the best person for the job.  Bloomberg is actually a good mayor and a much better candidate than Ferrer.  Almost all of the people in my office are democrats and very few will be voting for Ferrer, who is viewed as a do nothing polititian and a product of the "machine." If the democratic machine were not so broken in NYC, Bloomberg would be running as a democrat, but they froze him out and he switched parties just a few months before his first election.

You have to remember that NYC voters are much more sophisticated than your average city or town.

Even with a 5 to 1 Democratic Party registration advantage, a significant enough number of Dems would NOT just BLINDLY support a Mayoral candidate just for having a D next to his name.

By most accounts, Bloomberg is doing an excellent job as Mayor. That explains why a significant number of NYC dem voters are crossing party lines.

If a politician is showing results, his party ID almost becomes insignificant. I don't think you can call Democrats who are supporting a Pro-Choice, Pro-Gay Rights, Pro-Affrimative action - going to the Right?

As for Ferrer, he is a career politician who has had a spotty track record in some of the decisions his made as the Bronx Big Boss.

Besides, where else can you find a Republican who is pro-choice, pro-gay rights, pro-affirmative action ? As I've said, Bloomberg was a Lifelong Jewish Democrat who switched parties in order to enhance his chances of becoming Mayor in a crowded field of Democrats? It was a strategic move that obviously worked magnificently.

This reminds me of another successful Republican Mayor who DID THE EXACT SAME thing as Bloomberg. Former Jersey City Mayor Republican Bret Schundler was a lifelong Democrat. He ran for  Mayor in a city ( I believe 1991) that had a 4 to 1 Democratic registration advantage.

While 8 Democrats slugged it out, he was the lone Republican candidate & pulled an upset victory.

During his reelection campaign, he again won this time in a landslide as many Jersey City Democrats crossed party line to vote for him.

Bloomberg, Schundler also can call Republican Sen. Coleman of MN as part of their Former Democrats Club. Coleman was a Lifelong Jewish Democrat who obviously switched party for personal political ambition.

And for all 3, it just happened to be a successful political move.

*Ferrer promises affordable housing. Bloomberg's Rent Guidelines Board has pushed through huge annual rent increases---higher even than under
Giulani.
*Ferrer wants mandatory affordable housing when developers ask for a tax break, Bloomberg doesn't.
*Ferrer wants to build 160,000 new housing units. Bloomberg has built around 10,000 units in 4 years.
*Ferrer wants to repeal the Urstadt law, which deprives New York City of home rule over rent regulation. Bloomberg doesn't.
*Under Bloomberg, according to the Coalition for the Homeless, homelessness has been the highest in our city's history.
*The real estate industry has given no money at all to Ferrer. Bloomberg has been too good to them.
*Ferrer wants universal healthcare for NYC kids. Bloomberg doesn't.
*Ferrer wants to increase the number of cops and increase their pay. Bloomberg has reduced their pay AND their numbers.
*Ferrer is for the Equal Benefits Law for spousal rights, while Bloomberg vetoed it.
*Bloomberg has a well-known history of locking up bicyclists and protesters.
*Bloomberg has let George Pataki and Joe Bruno have their way with my city for the last 4 years.
*Ferrer doesn't give millions of dollars to the Republican Party.

Homelessness in NYC is at an all time high and 26,000 tenants were evicted from their apartments last year, unable to pay higher rents. So back in May, Mayor Bloomberg told the NY Times that housing issues were now going to be a priority for his administration.

Yet the mayor REFUSED to discuss the Rent Guidelines Board's (RGB's) June deliberations on whether and how much to raise rents on close to a million apartments in the city.

Asked at a press briefing about the RGB's first vote, Bloomberg bravely responded: "Any raises will obviously be too much for tenants. Any raises will obviously be too little for landlords."

That's what the mayor said. What Bloomberg DID was appoint investment banker Marvin Markus as chairman of the RGB. Marvin Markus is a former Koch-administration chairman, affectionately known as Marvin "Markup" for the double-digit increases granted during his first tenure. This year, Markus kept the tenant representative position on the RGB unfilled until the last minute and then pushrd through increases of 2.75% for a one year lease and 5.5% for a two year lease. The best we can say about these increases is that at least they weren't as high as in 2003, when they hit 5.5 and 8.5%. That year Bloomberg replaced five of the nine members of that board just two weeks before the vote. Four of those five voted for the hike.

Mayor Bloomberg was notably silent in 2003 when the future of rent stabilization for 1 million NYC apartments lay in the hands of Joe Bruno's state senate. Of course, there wasn't much he could officially do to alter the outcome of the senate vote. However, back in 1997 when rent regulations were up for renewal, Mayor Giuliani aligned himself with tenants' groups and came out with lobbying guns blazing on our behalf.

Additionally, Bloomberg vetoed the "Tenant Empowerment Act," a measure to give tenants in some affordable housing programs an opportunity to buy their buildings and opposes a repeal of the Urstadt law, which deprives New York City of home rule over rent regulation.

I'm just an ordinary middle-class NYC renter. I can't wait any longer to become a priority for Michael Bloomberg.

After Ferrer graduated from NYU, his first job  in politics was as a tenant organizer in the 1970s.

Next he became an aide at the assembly, getting a staff job on a state commission studying rent regulations. Then he served two terms as a city councilman.

He took over as Borough Pres when Stanley Simon got caught in a bribery scheme. Ferrer instituted a code of ethics, brought in auditors, and had his staff file statements of personal finances. He was praised by reform pols and the newspapers for cleaning the place up.

During his term as BP, the Bronx turned around. Over 60,000 new housing units were built and neighborhoods were revived.

In the early 1990's, city planners wanted to bulldoze much of a 33-block area near Yankee Stadium.  Ferrer persuaded City Hall to give ground. He helped come up with a new plan for the area, called Melrose Commons, that allowed the residents to stay put.

From the NYTimes, "Many people also credit Mr. Ferrer with the wisdom to back off himself. Some of the people active in housing issues in the 1990's say that Mr. Ferrer rarely tried to delay projects or steer contracts to his friends."

That's why he was re-elected three times as Bronx BP, always by at least 110,000 votes. You're gonna hold that against him?

So Ferrer comes from the Bronx. Is his clubhouse any grubbier than Bloomberg's? Google Bloomberg+Related Companies to find out who some of Mayor Mike's clubmates are.  

For all of the Democrats who are thinking of voting for Bloomberg over Ferrer just remember that under Bloomberg your real estate taxes have gone up by 18.49% right off the top and then an additional amount due to somewhat artifically increased assesment rates.  Some people are paying as much as 47% more in real estate taxes then they were in 2002.  The $400 rebate from the Mayor does not make up for this but Ferrer's HOPE plan does.  His plan which is paid for with NO NEW TAXES will give home owners with homes valued under $800,000 an automatic deduction off real estate tax bill that will reduce tax bill by $973 a year, those with homes valued over that would still get $400 rebate, and those who rent whould get relief as well.  Oh and BTW in 2001 Bloomberg attacked Green for failing to promise that he would not raise taxes under any circumstances and then Bloomberg, who swore he would not, did so but only AFTER Pataki was re-elected.

Let's get serious about what anyone can mean about the New York City Democratic "machine."  Democratic candidates might be elected to positions within the NYC government, but none - let's repeat that to be clear, NONE - of them have any power in the current city structure.  Because they have no power, they are worthless in terms of building a record on which   to run.  That is the problem which belabors Ferrer and any of the other nominal leaders of the Democratic Party in NYC.  About the only elected position which might offer a candidate a chance to build a record of accomplishment is Comptroller and who thinks about accountants for Mayor anyway?

This state of affairs has arisen because of the changed City charter.  The Borough Presidents were stripped of any authority in NYC's governance and the positions have been reduced to primarily ceremonial posts.  Once they used to weild power through the Board of Estimate, but no more.  Now, they cut ribbons and issue declarations.  The City Council has limited authority compared to the Mayor, even over the city budgets which the Mayor prepares, proposes and can force through even against Council opposition.  The Council members are term limited, so no one has any power compared to the Mayor.  With NYC's "strong mayor" (more like "Godzilla mayor") form of government, only the Mayor receives any attention from the press and the public.

The net result is that the only folks who can really run for the position are billionaires like  Bloomberg or politicians with a record from outside the NYC government, like Koch or Giulliani.  This wasn't always the case, but with the current NYC charter it is likely to stay that way.  Marty Markowitz slit his own throat with his declaration for Bloomberg and he really doesn't even know it.   He has no future outside Brooklyn.  

FACT: Candidate Bloomberg swore "no new taxes" even after 9/11 attacks and mocked Green for not making same pledge

FACT: ONLY AFTER Pataki was safely re-elected did Bloomberg push through the HIGHEST Real estate tax increase in NYC history.  Did he raise taxes on wealthy and corporations?  No he did it on backs of all NYers

FACT: Bloomberg then had Department of Finance change assessment value rules so assessment values went up

FACT: Bloomberg gives back 2 rebates of $400 each while claiming to have given 3 real estate tax breaks

FACT: Ferrer's plan for real estate tax relief calls for an automatic savings of $973 per person and not just $400 if home valued below $800,000 and $400 if it is over.  And renters get a break too...