Just in case Anthony Weiner or William Thompson Jr. were getting any big ideas,
the Bloomberg campaign released its finance reports today, revealing that the mayor has spent a record $18.6 million of his own cash on getting elected to a third term. (As of March, Weiner and Thompson had only raised $10 million.) At this point in his 2005 campaign, Bloomberg had only spent $9.8 million, but if he’s going to go for a third term, he’s going to go hard. He also hadn’t started advertising by this time in 2005, but this time around nearly half of the campaign’s current spending is on television, radio, and print ads (speaking of, we’ve gotten at least two glossy Bloomberg pamphlets in our mailbox this week — really, one is more than enough, especially when you’re using such quality card stock). And, of course, he’s taking care of “small expenses” for staffers, like covering employees’ parking tickets, and he’s spent “tens of thousands of dollars” on food. Not that anybody cares.
Meanwhile, his only would-be challengers are Anthony Weiner, who might not even be running, and William Thompson Jr., who’s fighting rumors of an imminent dropout. But if Bloomberg runs unopposed (it’s a possibility, like it or not), will he continue spending at this rate? We want to say yes, just because the dude’s a show-off — but if he does curb spending, you can bet that the lo mein dinners will be the first to go. Low-level staffers aren’t supposed to be eating, anyhow.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg Has Spent $19M on Campaign So Far [AP via NYP]
Related: Nobody Cares How Bloomberg Spends His Money
Anthony and the Giant [NYM]
