Not only is New York Mayor and media business mogul Michael Bloomberg hitting President Obama on insufficient gun control... today, news that a key deputy mayor is leaving his job. From Bloomberg news, "Edward Skyler, New York City's deputy mayor for operations, will leave Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration next month to lead internal and external communications for Citigroup Inc., said the mayor's office and the bank. Skyler, 36, joined the administration as the mayor's press secretary at the start of Bloomberg's first term in January 2002, after serving in that role for his campaign. He will depart at the end of April."
An April Fools joke tricked me on cityhall.com, saying Mayor Bloomberg
bought a lakefront house in New Hampshire, in the same town as Mitt Romney's New Hampshire residence.
As reported today by cityhallnews.com, '"Michael Bloomberg has purchased a vacation home on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, according to property records obtained by City Hall."
Administration sources dismissed any significance to the mayor's purchase of the 14-acre $11 million estate in the state that will cast the first votes for the 2012 presidential nomination.
And at a midtown press conference, Bloomberg quickly dismissed any speculation himself.
"Look, sometimes buying a vacation home is just buying a vacation home, and there isn't more to it," Bloomberg said with an eye roll. "Just because the house is an early-primary state and a swing state for the general, a state with a history of electing reform, and attracting independent-minded people, and a place where they value common-sense, nonpartisan governance over ideological extremism doesn't mean there is some kind of hidden motive going on here."
"Jeez," the mayor added.'"
This, Cityhall.com also says of Bloomberg, "after the election in November, he announced that veteran campaign strategist Howard Wolfson would join City Hall. In early February, he released a draft of his own version of the federal budget, timed to coincide with President Obama's. Earlier this month, he purchased BloombergForAmerica.com,DraftBloomberg.com, and VoteMikeBloombergforPresident2012.com."
I've said it before and I'll say it again. It feels like a third party candidate election in 2012. And this feels like a candidate. Jokes aside, I think Mayor Bloomberg is running.