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Mayor Michael Bloomberg wins backing of Independence Party
Photo credit: Urbanite
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. AP photo
Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s name will be at least one of the first three on the November ballot, after getting the nod Sunday from the Independence Party.
Bloomberg, who is not affiliated with a political party, is also trying to get the Republican line.
“I’ve never believed any party has a monopoly on truth or good ideas,” Bloomberg told a meeting of the Independence Party’s executive committees at a midtown hotel.New York City allows candidates to run on more than one ballot line and Bloomberg, who twice ran as a Republican, also received the Independence Party’s backing in his first two elections. The ballot will list the Democratic, Republican and Independence nominees left to right.
A lifelong Democrat, Bloomberg switched to the GOP before running for mayor in 2001 and then became an independent last year while reportedly mulling a presidential run.
The Independence Party, which has 106,000 members in the city, champions non-partisan elections. Bloomberg led an unsuccessful drive to eliminate partisan elections in the city in 2003.
Though he stopped short yesterday of promising another ballot initiative, he reaffirmed his support for the issue.
After a closed door question-and-answer session with Bloomberg, a spokeswoman for the Independence Party, Jacqueline Salit, said there had been discussions with the billionaire mayor about financial support for the party but did not offer details.
Bloomberg has won the backing of the Staten Island and Brooklyn Republican parties and needs one more to appear on that line.
The Manhattan GOP will vote May 6 on whether to support him.
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