Mayor Bloomberg is going to face resistance if he tries to secure the Republican Party line again for his third-term run.
But even those who criticize the mayor for abandoning the GOP say he’s likely to prevail in the end.
Guy Molinari, the former Staten Island borough president and a Republican elder statesman, told The Post he would speak out against giving Bloomberg the party’s support unless the mayor agreed to adhere to its principles and to appoint Republicans to the administration.
After winning with GOP support in 2001 and 2005, Bloomberg’s appointments committees “didn’t know the word ‘Republican,’ ” Molinari charged. Last year, the mayor switched his registration to independent.
Aides insist Bloomberg hasn’t decided whether he’ll even seek a major-party line and say he might just run as an independent.
One senior GOP official said that doesn’t make much sense.
“The more lines you have, the better off you are,” he said.
Another source maintained that Bloomberg could do just as well by convincing Republican leaders to take a dive by nominating a no-name candidate who draws few votes.
That would disqualify billionaire John Catsimatidis, who has been actively courting GOP leaders for months.
Tom Ognibene, the former Republican councilman who tried to take on Bloomberg in a 2005 primary, said there’s still plenty of resentment against the mayor within the party.
But Ognibene said he doesn’t take it at face value.
“The feedback I get is he betrayed us,” said Ognibene. “I just smile. I know Mike Bloomberg. I know his resources.”
“As far as being mayor, I don’t know there are better choices out there,” he said.
When he was rounding up votes on congestion pricing seven months ago, Bloomberg made a strong pitch to City Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens), who was listed as undecided.
Bloomberg indicated in a March 27 meeting that he could be supportive of Monserrate’s bid for the state Senate if the councilman backed a controversial proposal to impose an $8 fee on motorists entering Manhattan’s business districts.
On March 30, the council voted 30 to 20 to go along with Bloomberg. Monserrate went with the majority.
On April 2, campaign records show, Monserrate’s state Senate campaign received a $5,400 contribution from Martin Geller, the mayor’s longtime pal and accountant.