Bloomberg spends more than $77 million on re-electionY'know, he could have just bought me a couple of cases of beer, and I'd have been OK to vote for him. I wonder how many people would have gone for that? :-)
BY DAN JANISON
STAFF WRITER
December 6, 2005
The gilded 2005 campaign of Mayor Michael Bloomberg ended up spending more than $103 for each vote he got, topping the record he set four years ago.
New disclosure forms show that Bloomberg had experienced campaign volunteers flown into town to work the final week, and even gave his canvassers tens of thousands of dollars' worth of MetroCards.
"It is what it is," Bloomberg said Monday at a Manhattan news conference. "I spent my own money. I had a big message to get out and we did get the message out. ... I'm very proud of the campaign we put together."
The $77,894,878 cost figure posted by the Bloomberg camp Monday is 12 percent higher than the $69,843,000 he'd shelled out by this time in 2001.
In this past election, Bloomberg received 753,089 votes on the Republican and Independence lines, to 503,219 for Democrat Fernando Ferrer, whose campaign as of Oct. 28 had spent a relatively small $7,655,005.
The Ferrer camp Monday said its spending number would total about $9.5 million, or about $19 for each vote he got.
Seriously, $78MM is about 2% of his estimated net worth. Estimates for the upcoming Senate race in which Hillary Clinton will defend her job versus SomeDumbSchmuck will come in at about the same level.
I know Bloomberg said he didn't want to run for higher office, at least at this time. It makes you wonder why he felt he needed to spend so much? Is vanity a legitimate motive, especially in a mayoral race?
And I note his excuse, or rather, non-excuse: "It is what it is."
I wish that worked in more places. Imagine coming home late at night, reeking of alcohol and someone else's scent?
"It is what it is."
Truly, a Zen moment in American politics.
Tags: Actor212, New York, New York City, Politics
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