Mayor Bloomberg said Friday that his biggest regret after 12 years in office was his inability to bring non-partisan elections to the overwhelmingly Democratic city.
Hizzoner’s admission came while he was waxing nostalgic on his final appearance on WOR Radio’s John Gambling Show.
“That’s maybe my biggest regret as mayor because most people don’t have a vote in this city,” said Bloomberg, who has been a registered as a Democrat, then Republican and finally independent.
“It’s only the primary that matters and only the most committed – the left wing of the Democratic party, the right wing of the Republican party – they’re the ones that vote,” he added.
“And the average person that’s not registered in a party just doesn’t get a real practical chance [to vote].”
As far as other issues, however, Bloomberg said he had a roughly 89 percent success rate in getting his campaign promises accomplished.
That includes launching the 311 customer service call center, making the city more bike-friendly and abolishing the “dysfunctional” Board of Education – which was replaced with mayoral control of schools.
“Some things we worked on that were problems for 20 or 30 years – and got them done,” said Bloomberg.
Gambling, whose voice wavered with emotion throughout the final broadcast of his own long-running show, also asked the mayor what it was that people misunderstood the most about him.
“I think nobody expected me to like people. They didn’t know how a guy that’s been in the financial sector would deal with parades and town meetings,” he answered.
“I like people – never walking into a building without shaking hands with the doorman… I would never walk by a cop on the street without stopping, shaking hands and saying thank you for keeping us safe.”
Bloomberg rewarded Gambling with a gift normally reserved for visiting dignitaries: a Tiffany crystal apple bearing the city seal and mayor’s signature.
“You are a New York institution,” said Bloomberg.