City Council Wants To Know When Mayor Bloomberg Is On Vacation

Mayor Bloomberg is well known for his globetrotting.

He spends several weekends a year at his five vacation homes in places like Vail, Colo., and London. Bloomberg has not been forthcoming about when and where he is at all times. Now, a bill in the City Council would require the mayor to tell the public when he is away from New York City.

From the New York Times:

In the complicated marriage between Mr. Bloomberg and those he governs, there had always been an unspoken understanding: He ran the city well, and they resisted the urge to poke into his private life.

But with his mishandling of the Dec. 26 snow storm, the City Council and the public are much less willing to give Bloomberg the largely unprecedented amount of privacy he has previously been afforded.

It was unclear during the blizzard which city official was in charge of handling the storm, and Bloomberg has repeatedly refused to disclose where he and other top officials were when the snow brought New York to a standstill.

Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. is sponsoring the bill that would require the mayor to say when he is leaving town, and who is in charge during his absence.

"During such a crisis, no time should be wasted trying to figure out who is in power," Vallone Jr. said.

The Times points out that former mayors like Ed Koch have disclosed when and where they are while on vacation. Even President Obama makes where he spends much of his free time available to the public.

Bloomberg's spokesperson, Stu Loeser said the mayor has earned his privacy.

"The mayor is at work by 7:15 most mornings, and entitled to hours off and a private life, Loeser said. "And whether he's in Bayside, Bay Ridge, or visiting his mom in the Bay State, he's always reachable and always in charge."

Loeser said the Mayor never fully relinquishes power when he leaves New York.

Vallone's bill would not require the mayor to disclose where he was on vacation, but to simply acknowledge his absence and disclose who is in charge while he's away.

"I almost always believe that a more open and transparent process works better," Vallone said.

Marsha Zoback of Bay Ridge agrees.

"I completely support it," Zoback said. "If you don't want to tell people where you are going, don't be in public office."

Comments

[ecrichert12]

10:39 PM on 02/08/2011

I don't think he should have to say where he's going, he should be entitled to that privacy.

He should have to make a generalized announcement when he's outside the city for more than 24 hours though, just in case anything happens.

Ditto for all governors/mayors, present and future.

[unique]

06:18 PM on 02/08/2011

Really, the Mayor takes $1.00 a year salary and the City Council wants to know where he is on vacation.
Why not where he is 24/7/365? Why can he not have privacy?

[leaddog1965]

03:43 PM on 02/08/2011

Just a quick question that is a bit off topic.
Can anyone see the comments when they are in white print?

[unique]

06:19 PM on 02/08/2011

No they have to be approved.

[Last chance]

02:35 PM on 02/08/2011

Wasn`t he at Davos ?...he is a billionaire, ya know.

[Max19th]

07:35 PM on 02/07/2011

I dont think Mayor Bloomberg should have to log his vacation time. I think he should BLOG his vacation time!

[Hardyman1966]

03:57 PM on 02/07/2011

An excellent idea that should apply to EVERYONE in public office from mayors all the way up to senators!

[annis]

02:17 PM on 02/07/2011

The Governor of S.C. disappeared & lied about his whereabouts.

Mayor Bloomberg is, if nothing else, a responsible administrator. He has put in place a succession of command & he has a complex communication structure built to be informed as though he were at home. I'm not scared! I didn't even know he was away so much. Fine by me. I haven't noticed!

I would much rather he listened more about issues such as Education and Transportation. It would also be much nicer if he would care less about tourists and more about residents - of all economic strata.

[MahatmaCoat]

03:30 PM on 02/07/2011

Nonsense. Utter nonsense. Please tell us who was running New York on December 25. No one in his succession of command was in NY and, cutting-edge technology or not, it takes a leader who is physically on-site to coordinate and command NYC's response to an emergency. That he may very well be in constant communication with the city via telephone and the internet is great, but in no way imaginable is this a substitute for a clearly defined person of authority capable of running the city. Circumstances aren't always as we wish them to be, nor is his ability to communicate from Bermuda, etc always going to be a substitute for a leader on the ground. No one is looking to embarrass Bloomberg. But we do expect to know who to turn to in times of crisis, where one's presence becomes of utmost importance. If we don't know where the chain of command ends during a blizzard, it'll be utter chaos if anything truly serious (i.e. terrorism) occurs. Bloomberg at a remote location teleconferencing into Ray Kelley just won't cut it.

[1donewrong]

09:55 PM on 02/07/2011

ohh yes the snow removal was 1st class

[rikster]

01:37 PM on 02/07/2011

he's figuring out a way of taxing the living daylights out of NYC and make it look like it's NYC's fault

[Lisa Hanock-Jasie]

12:17 PM on 02/07/2011

Every Mayor works for the city, and every city has a right to know where there Mayor is/is not during his term. If city workers punch in/out on their jobs, then he should do so. More to the point, if the Mayor believes he has the right to tell us what to do/not do in our personal lives (e.g. eat/smoke), he can darn well inform us when he takes a day or two off from city work in his own personal life.

[BlackYowe]

11:32 AM on 02/07/2011

He bought NY he doesn't have to tell anyone anything.

[NYC07]

11:04 AM on 02/07/2011

Bloomberg is nothing but another City employee; he should have to punch a public time clock just like every other city employee.

[Aldyth]

10:58 AM on 02/07/2011

There is nothing unreasonable about holding public officials accountable for their time. I'd like to see this requirement applied to Congress and my state legislature.

[MIKEinNYC]

09:37 AM on 02/07/2011

The man is entitled to a private life. It's not as if he's guilty of any dereliction of duty.

This a sour-grapes attempt to humiliate the man just because he's rich. I don't remember anyone asking Giuliani, Dinkens, Koch, et. al. to report all of their whereabouts.

[mivogo]

09:45 AM on 02/07/2011

I totally agree. He's not a guy like Bush who went on vacation 50% of the time, and he's entitled to a private life. And you wonder why no one wants to go into public service?
Another Mike in NYC

www.newyorkgritty.net

[me again]

10:55 AM on 02/07/2011

But you don't know for a fact how much time off he really takes. That has been kept secret.

[MahatmaCoat]

10:52 AM on 02/07/2011

This has nothing to do with Bloomberg's wealth and everything to do with his dereliction of his duty to the citizens of New York. Michael Bloomberg's policy obfuscates the chain of command and -- as proven by the storm in December -- leaves the city without a clear individual ON HAND to take responsibility and manage the city in times of crisis. The technology that allows Bloomberg to communicate with his Deputies, while great, is in no way an adequate substitute for someone running the show from within the City.

No one had to ask previous mayors to report their whereabouts because they always did so of their own free will -- just as Governors and Presidents all do. As the NYTimes article notes, not only did Koch share his vacation itineraries, he held teleconferences with the media from where he visited. Other than an excessively large ego, what makes Bloomberg any different from elected officials when it comes to secrecy?

The fact of the matter is that while Bloomberg deserves a private life like anyone else, when you opt to run for PUBLIC office, where you are and where the DO matter. If you accept the job, you also accept certain limits on your personal life. No one needs to know where Bloomberg travels to, but NYC does need to know when he is away from the city and who is on-hand to run the show.

[Theatrixnyc]

09:36 AM on 02/07/2011

Under the covers, eh, Bloomie, and ya didn't want to be disturbed?