Bloomberg: Round Three

US Federal Government
Mayor Bloomberg at a press conference.

New York City Mayor Bloomberg was re-elected on November 3, 2009. Michael Bloomberg, running as an independent Republican, beat Democrat city Comptroller William Thompson 51 to 46 percent, with a total of 557,059 votes.

On October 23, 2008, New York City Council voted on a bill to extend term limits, which therefore allowed Mayor Bloomberg to seek re-election for a third term.  By referendum, the City Charter was amended.  Bloomberg argued that his political and business experience will help free New York from deficit.

“The reason I ran for Mayor is because there’s no other job where you can have such a direct and meaningful impact on the day to day lives of so many people. Over the past eight years, we’ve taken every opportunity to do just that, whether it’s driving down crime, fixing our public schools, creating new jobs, making our streets and parks cleaner and safer, or improving our environment and public health,” said Bloomberg on his campaign blog.

Only about 1.1 million people voted, 200,000 less than in 2005. According to the studies of political science, low turn out-elections are dominated by people with intense feelings, while others are apathetic and choose not to vote.

According to Bloomberg.com, in the beginning of the fiscal year, which began July 1st, NYC had an approximate $5 billion deficit.  Bloomberg made promises to improve schooling and municipal services during the next four years.

However, according to the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), schools have been suffering budget cuts of 10 percent and upwards.

“What does the Union hope for from Mayor Bloomberg? To stop cutting school funds. Our school as well as others had their budget cut severely this year. The sad thing is, this is only going to get worse next year. Cutting our budget means there will be very little money available for school administrators to use to enhance student learning,” said science teacher and UFT Chapter Leader Ms. Kim Lombardi.

The Bloomberg Administration claims that, by 2013, New York City will have the best public school system of any big city in the United States.

“The budget cuts in school will have a strong impact on my education. There aren’t even enough textbooks for everyone in class,” said freshmen Jacqueline Armao.

In addition, to improving public schools, Bloomberg plans on reducing crime, planting over one million trees in the city, making public transit more efficient, and investing in public colleges.

“I have no doubt that our best days are still ahead,” said Bloomberg in his victory speech.

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