Bloombergism

[Valin]

City Journal:

Looking back on a mayoralty of accomplishment, overreach, and ambiguity

Tevi Troy

Winter 2014

 

As the Michael Bloomberg era comes to an end, what it will be remembered for remains as yet unclear. Bloombergs multi-term predecessors in City Hall were outsize figures: Ed Koch (197889) was known for his humor and self-promotion and for saving New York from bankruptcy (see The Last Sane Liberal, Winter 2012). Rudy Giuliani (19942001) was known for his pugnacious style, his successful anticrime crusade, and his achievement in making New York livable again. But after 12 years as mayor, Bloomberg is noted more for his less significant side projectshis national antigun advocacy and his efforts to crack down on smoking and unhealthy foodthan for his major policies, which, in areas such as public safety and welfare reform, were unarguably impressive. The departing mayor plans to devote some time to his new consultancy, which will attempt to do for other cities what he did for New York. But New Yorkers can be forgiven if they lack a clear picture of Bloombergism as a governing philosophy, if such a thing even exists. What does the Bloomberg legacy add up to?

 

The early biography of New Yorks first billionaire mayor is by now well known. Born in Bostonan electoral liability for any Gotham politicianBloomberg attended Johns Hopkins and then Harvard Business School. Landing on Wall Street, he became a general partner at Salomon Brothers until the company bought him out for $10 million in 1981. With that money, he created Bloomberg L.P., a financial information firm that soon became an empire, today worth $31 billion.

 

In his late fifties, Bloomberg launched his second career: politics. He was first elected mayor in 2001, in the aftermath of 9/11. Bloombergs campaignhis introductory foray into the public arenawas marked by an opportunism that would characterize his approach to politics. Until the race began, Bloomberg was a Democrat, if not a particularly partisan one. But in a city in which Democrats hold a five-to-one advantage in voter registration, Democratic primaries are invariably crowded, with candidates often seeking an edge by championing particular racial or ethnic groups. In the 1977 primary, for example, heavyweights Mario Cuomo, Ed Koch, and Bella Abzug all sought to unseat Abe Beame, the incumbent mayor, with each appealing to different constituencies. Entering a Democratic primary in New York is an uncertain business. Bloomberg saw a far easier route through the sparse Republican field. In other political contexts, Bloombergs social liberalism and pro-gun-control stance might have proved insurmountable obstacles to claiming the GOP mantle. But New York Republicans have always been more socially liberal than the national party, and the self-financing candidate won the nomination.

 

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