February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The Republican mayor was speaking last Thursday night at the Davy Stockbrokers fifth annual Irish Equity Market Conference, an event organized by Irish brokers to attract U.S. investors to Ireland.
According to a report in the Irish Times newspaper last weekend, Bloomberg assured Irish investors with interests in Wall street that Governor Spitzer, a Democrat, would not be permitted to over-regulate the stock market in New York.
Referring to Spitzer’s tight market regulation policies while he was Attorney General, Bloomberg reportedly told the conference that the Governor would be “on a chain” in his new role.
The event, which took place in midtown Manhattan’s Club 21, was attended by representatives of over a dozen Irish firms, including Ryanair, Anglo Irish bank and Bank of Ireland.
Likely in reference to Spitzer’s financial investigations into powerful Wall Street banks, insurance companies and the music industry as Attorney General, Bloomberg also said that Spitzer could not simply go around issuing subpoenas to people, but would have to “beg and cajole,” before acting against the market.
The Mayor said Spitzer’s market regulation policies were “very aggressive,” and that his actions against the market came about because of failures on the part of the Federal Commerce Commission to regulate.
The comments came in the wake of several clashes between Bloomberg and Spitzer in recent years over market regulation issues and Spitzer’s opposition to a number of development projects in the city.
“I’m not disputing the quotes, but both we and the Governor would be surprised to learn that there’s an ongoing tiff between us,” said Bloomberg’s spokesperson Stu Loeser when contacted by the Echo yesterday.
“They live around the corner from each other, they get on very well. These are comments Bloomberg has made repeatedly on his radio show. Being Governor of New York is a tough job. The Mayor has said that the Governor is going to have to focus. Spitzer did great work as Attorney General, but he is going to have his hands more than full as Governor,” said Loeser.
“I think those comments have to be seen in the context of the obligations that come with being Governor of New York State, and of turning upstate New York’s economy around. That is more than enough responsibility, even for a Governor as talented as Spitzer.”
Calls to Governor Spitzer’s press office were not returned.