Gov. Paterson refused to say a single bad word about Mayor Bloomberg yesterday as he endorsed Comptroller Bill Thompson, his Democratic rival, for the mayor’s job.
In fact, moments after Thompson attacked Bloomberg for allegedly catering to the rich at the expense of the middle class, Paterson contradicted him.
“We can’t go down the same path we’ve gone down the last eight years,” declared Thompson, standing in Madison Square Park with Paterson and Stu Applebaum, of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.
Moments later, Paterson said the opposite.
“I said last summer that I thought Mayor Bloomberg has done a good job in his two terms,” the governor told reporters. “He hasn’t done anything in the last year that necessarily persuades me otherwise.”
Paterson said the reason he was backing Thompson was that it was time for “new blood” at City Hall in the wake of a termlimits extension enacted by the City Council that the public “didn’t buy.”
That was too much for the fiery Applebaum, an outspoken Thompson supporter, who jumped in against the mayor.
“Look at his economicdevelopment policies!” said Applebaum. “They’re geared towards enriching the wealthy and keeping working people in poverty- level jobs.”
Bloomberg, who yesterday won the backing of Rep. Nita Lowey and Planned Parenthood, shot back at Thompson for engaging in class warfare.
“We don’t have the class distinctions that they do elsewhere, and I’m not going to allow us to degenerate into that kind of political campaign — at least, I’m not going to participate in it,” said the mayor.
david.seifman@nypost.com