Mayor Discusses New Super PAC On Radio Show
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Mayor Michael Bloomberg is talking for the first time about his plans to spend upwards of $10 million to help candidates and causes he supports in the general election, a last-minute push that he says may just be the beginning. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report.For Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is worth an estimated $25 billion, injecting $10 million into key races around the country is hardly a major investment.
But he suggested on his radio show Friday that his super PAC spending this fall is only the start of a new effort to back moderate candidates who support his agenda. It was the first time the mayor spoke publicly about his plan.
"We'll win some races, we'll lose some of these but it is to sort of get our feet wet," Bloomberg said. "I will be freer to do more in a couple of years."
The mayor will be freer, so to speak, because he will no longer be at City Hall. He is term-limited out of office at the end of 2013.
"Twelve years will be enough," he said.
However, the mayor clearly has no interest in fading from the public eye. He seemed to be trying to position himself as a moderate king-maker on the national stage.
Former Maine Gov. Angus King is one of the candidates the mayor's PAC will support. King is an independent.
"He could be, arguably, the most powerful senator," Bloomberg said. "The senate is going to be roughly equal and one vote can make all the difference in the world."
Just because the mayor is starting his own super PAC does not mean he is thrilled with the idea of them in general. He said he is fine with the fact that people are coming together to support candidates but added that the public has a right to know where the money is coming from.
"I just think it is an outrage that it's not disclosed. In this case, all this money comes from me," Bloomberg said.
The money will go to candidates who agree with the mayor's support for education reform, same-sex marriage and gun control.
He kept the focus on gun control Friday by inviting Nina Gonzalez to City Hall for a photo op.
Gonzalez asked the presidential candidates about assault weapons during Tuesday's debate.
"He just thanked me for bringing up the issue," Gonzalez said.
The mayor wants to make sure elected officials in Washington do the same.