Though 48 percent of New Yorkers like Michael Bloomberg personally, and 60 percent approve of the job he’s doing as mayor, the majority of city residents feel they’d like to see a new person in City Hall, the New York Times reported last night. 55 percent of respondents to a NY1/Times/Cornell poll said they’d like to give someone else a shot, while 40 percent said they’d like to see Bloomberg stay in power. Only 40 percent of people think the city is headed in the right direction.
Of course, as the paper points out, none of this really matters. Bloomberg has already spent $20 million on the race, and has indicated he’ll spend up to $100 million more. His main competition, Comptroller Bill Thompson, won’t be able to spend nearly that amount. And anyway, nearly three-quarters of respondents said they didn’t even know enough about Thompson to have an opinion on him. The only New Yorkers with the financial heft and influential might to stop Mayor Bloomberg now are Madonna, Alec Baldwin, and Elmo. And Madonna is going to be busy with that new baby, and Baldwin can never be allowed to leave 30 Rock, so …
