By Dennis Holt
BROOKLYN — Well, finally. Or almost finally. Mike Bloomberg is going to let us in on his once-secret decision to seek a third term. How long ago he made that decision we may never know, and who really cares.
The always-fragile New York domino board has been swept clean, and it is unknown when it will be reset. People who will have to make new decisions, or stick to earlier ones, don’t have to say anything publicly for awhile.
One dodge for City Council members will be to wait until the actual bill will be written, and one thought that seems to be bobbling about says the new law will relate only to office holders whose terms are up in 2009. For what it’s worth, that makes no sense, since the city would face in 2014 a complete turnover of the Council, or close to it.
So don’t expect sudden announcements. But as of this writing, we know two things. Borough President Marty Markowitz is on record as saying that if he could, he would run for a third term. This may well change the plans of others such as City Councilman Bill de Blasio, who has already announced his candidacy for borough president.
It is unlikely that de Blasio would take on Markowitz. Somebody wanting to gain name recognition might do so, however.
The other thing we “know” is that City Comptroller William Thompson, who had plans to run for mayor, doesn’t like the way things are going. In a prepared statement, he said, “I am opposed to any extension of term limits by legislative fiat ... Any attempt to change term limits must be done by voter referendum. A backdoor deal undermines the will of New Yorkers.”
What this doesn’t say is what will Thompson do. It suggests he won’t run for re-election as comptroller. He might run against Bloomberg, but you also have Anthony Weiner, who doesn’t have anything to lose. He’ll be re-elected this fall to the House and can take on Bloomberg without costing him an elected office.
Thompson’s playing that domino may or may not determine what kind of domino Jo Anne Simon might play. She has planned on running for the City Council seat now held by David Yassky. Yassky was planning on running for comptroller. What will he do now?
Simon could run for Yassky’s seat nevertheless, but Yassky is solid with the Hasidic voters in the Williamsburg part of the district. To complicate things, a former Yassky aide from Greenpoint has said he would also run. Would that former aide run if Yassky runs for his seat again?
This “will he, won’t he” dynamic can go on forever, because the political musical chair game is almost endless. One decision can lead to three other decisions and so on. And keep in mind that no public decisions need to be made for some months yet.
And there is one other decision that could lead to others not yet known. Who will Bloomberg support for president? If he sits it out or backs McCain, he can expect a most spirited campaign. Bet on him backing Obama; otherwise he faces problems he doesn’t have to have.
Ain’t politics fun?
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© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2008
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