There is a power vacuum in Albany. Who better to fill it than Michael Bloomberg?
Not to suggest that Bloomberg run for governor next year—that trial balloon has thankfully drifted far, far away since its first implausible appearance in the aftermath of his failed presidential bid last year. Instead, Mike Bloomberg can reach out to the city’s Albany overseers and make sure that the city’s agenda not get lost in the great state government morass. In the process, he may be able to, from the outside, provide what New York so desperately needs.
Time and again Bloomberg has watched his dreams for the city dashed upon the rocky shoals of Albany. The list is so painful to recount he barely mentions them anymore. (R.I.P. congestion pricing; Ditto, West Side Stadium; We miss you, commuter tax.)
As the mayor begins a third term with big ambitions, he can take advantage of a need for an agenda and the leadership vacuum in the State Capitol and exert himself over a place that is in need of some exerting.
Anyone who has read a newspaper in the last year knows there is a leadership void in Albany. And though people of good faith can disagree with the mayor’s policies and tactics, he has been a steady managerial hand. At a time when Albany is crying out for a responsible adult, Bloomberg may be the one. As Democrats joust with Gov. Paterson over the budget, Bloomberg has the opportunity to inject himself in the conversation, so long as they produce positive results for the city.
By focusing on Albany, Bloomberg could help forge consensus on a host of issues that now inflame passions across the aisle up there. Doing so would provide a world of good for our broken state, and anything that repairs the state will repair the city.
In the meantime, Bloomberg should also stay clear of the politics. No more checks to the Senate GOP. No more endorsements. With four more years to put the finishing touches on his ambitious legacy, Bloomberg needs to elevate himself far above the muck.
The mayor’s team began to show that he had figured out the Albany riddle when they abandoned his “my way or the congested highway” approach on mayoral control of schools. Then, thanks to the measured lobbying of Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott and others that were not Joel Klein, Bloomberg got the win. Going forward, Bloomberg can begin by reaching out to John Sampson and the Senate Democrats. They have provided far more legislative opposition to the mayor’s agenda than the docile City Council, and unlike their city colleagues, the Senate Democrats stood nearly universally against the mayor during the campaign.
There remains bitterness about all his support for the Senate Republicans over the years, including that $500,000 he threw them last year as the Democrats battled tooth and nail to grab the majority. Now that the Democrats are in control, Bloomberg can and should mend fences with them, while turning back to the Senate G.O.P on issues important to him and trying to get something for his money.
The mayor has begun to step up on gay marriage, an issue he believes is of vital importance to the city’s future. But he could provide a more targeted, directed lobbying effort aimed at persuadable Republicans to ensure this bill’s passage, if that is really what he wants.
He could do the same on a Domestic Worker’s Bill of Rights, on authorities reform, on issues related to immigration, energy and the environment that are critical to the city’s future—and do so with the kind of intelligent, soft touch that will help, not hinder progress.
And he will, of course, need to be a strong and effective advocate as the budget cuts roll in, threatening city programs and priorities.
The power vacuum in Albany could not have come at a worse time. Bloomberg won another term on a promise to steer New York through the next four years and the economic mess that prompted him to push for the term-limits extension. The place to start is the place he never wanted to go again.
