1 MILLION DOLLARS! Mayor Bloomberg is looking forward to wielding his vast wealth as a private citizen. (
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Get ready for Bloomberg unleashed.
He’s one of the most powerful individuals in the city right now, but Mayor Bloomberg is looking to expand his influence when he leaves office, saying that whatever constrictions he has as an elected official will be removed when 2014 rolls around.
“My ability to promote certain things — candidates, issues, whatever — is limited because of my job,” the mayor said. “And I won’t have that two years from now.”
Bloomberg got to discussing life post-City Hall during a recent meeting with The Post’s editorial board.
The mayor indicated that he’s not sure what he’s going to do beyond overseeing his philanthropic foundation, even playfully asking if anyone at the table had any job ideas.
But it was clear he would continue deploying his vast resources to promote issues from immigration to health policy, and he didn’t rule out supporting opponents of his political enemies.
“I think if it’s something you wanted to do, it’s probably more appropriate when you’re not mayor,” Bloomberg said.
“One of the things I have to focus on [is] I represent you. If I feel very strongly about one guy, but it’s not good for the city, I’m sorry. I think I have an obligation [to the city first].”
His thinking aligns perfectly with that of longtime adviser Kevin Sheekey, a deputy mayor who now works for Bloomberg LP, the mayor’s information-services company.
“City Hall holds him back,” Sheekey told Newsweek a couple of months ago. “He stands to become something much bigger after he leaves office. Michael Bloomberg has the ability to be the best parts of Bill Clinton, Rupert Murdoch and Bill Gates all rolled into one.”
It might sound like little more than flattering the boss, but one source said he’s heard the mayor openly pondering how much influence he might exert as a private citizen.
“He was talking about someone he was having big problems with and questioned why anyone would go out of his way to make him an enemy [because of his clout after City Hall],” the source recounted.
No one should doubt that Bloomberg is more than willing to put his money where his mouth is.
On Thursday, he sent a $250,000 matching grant to Planned Parenthood to protest a decision by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation to stop funding the pro-choice organization.
During the gay-marriage debate last year in Albany, Bloomberg contributed $10,300 to each of 11 state senators who supported the measure at their political peril.
Out of the limelight a few months later, Bloomberg had three friends — Dan Doctoroff, Peter Grauer and Martin Geller — chip in another $60,000 to four Republican senators who still face a political backlash over their vote for gay marriage.
In looking ahead, Bloomberg realized he might come under attack no matter what he does.
“Nobody likes rich old guys to spend money,” he observed. “On the left, some people don’t like George Soros. On the right, some people don’t like David Koch. I will say if they’re willing to put their own money up to promote the views that they have, I don’t have a problem with that.”