New York’s mayoral race

Be that as it may, we find it difficult to understand why Bloomberg wants to follow two successful terms with a third when he really should be looking at the bigger picture.
In short, New York State needs Mike Bloomberg. If anyone could sort out the shenanigans in Albany it is this no-nonsense political leader who doesn’t style himself a politician.
Perhaps Bloomberg, who has certainly been a friend to the immigrant Irish community, has found his comfort zone in the five boroughs.
But can all New Yorkers afford such comfort? Frankly, there has to be more to the future of a man who, not so long ago, was being widely mentioned in terms of a presidential bid.
One of Bloomberg’s campaign ads boasts of his job creating record in the private sector.
Well and good, but just as Staten Island needs jobs, so too does Schenectady, and Syracuse, and a multitude of other communities in the state.
Bloomberg has indeed been a friend to Ireland and matters Irish. So, too, has his rival, outgoing Comptroller Thompson.
Thompson has delivered on everything asked of him by those striving to improve the economic condition in Northern Ireland.
By agreeing to invest the pension funds of ordinary New Yorkers in projects that would underpin the peace, he significantly raised the bar for those who will follow him in office.
That office, New York City Comptroller, has, over many years, earned an unrivalled record in promoting equality of opportunity in the North through the MacBride Principles.
But it was Thompson who, crucially, turned goodwill and political support into concrete funding through a $150 million investment announced in May 2008. Moreover, he insisted those funds be targeted at the neighborhoods that, though suffering the most during the years of warfare, found the peace dividend passing them by.
It’s hard to imagine, therefore, a greater ally of Ireland, north and south, than Comptroller Thompson.
Mayor Bloomberg, of course, has been no slouch on Irish issues either. Like Thompson, he attended the investment conference in Belfast in May of last year and he has operated an open door policy when politicians from Ireland come calling.
So when we look at the mayoral race through an Irish lens what have we got? Two significantly better than average political leaders.
Mayor Bloomberg has been hammering away at Thompson on education issues but a New York Times story on Thompson’s school board record last week knocked back much of the criticism.
It’s difficult to get the blood up for the fight between these two men. Bloomberg has been a cool, calm and collected figure and will go down in history as easily one of the city’s better mayors.
Thompson is a pretty cool, calm and collected figure as well. In times like these, we need all the half decent political leaders we can get. So can we afford to lose either of these men? The answer is no.
It’s a pity then that Bloomberg didn’t ride hard for Albany, carrying either the flag of Independent or Republican, while leaving New York City to Thompson, a man who, like the incumbent he is seeking to oust from the job, quite clearly has what it takes to be mayor.