NYC Mayor Bloomberg Endorses Obama

New York City mayor and Hamptons resident Michael Bloomberg endorsed President Barack Obama for re-election on Thursday afternoon, November 1, just five days before the election.

In an op-ed piece on Bloomberg View, part of his own news group, the mayor said the effects of Hurricane Sandy in New York and the increase in extreme weather around the world has made it clear that leadership on climate change is needed from the White House. While Bloomberg, an Independent, noted that Republican candidate Mitt Romney also has a history of tackling climate change, Obama has “taken major steps to reduce our carbon consumption.” He went on to say the president has had some failings, including devoting “little time and effort to developing and sustaining a coalition of centrists” on a variety of issues, and instead he “engaged in partisan attacks and has embraced a divisive populist agenda focused more on redistributing income than creating it.”

However, Bloomberg said Obama has “achieved some important victories on issues that will help define our future.” Among them, he pointed out the president’s Race to the Top education program, his support of a woman’s right to choose, defense of marriage equality and his stance on climate change. “When I step into the voting booth, I think about the world I want to leave my two daughters, and the values that are required to guide us there,” the mayor said, adding later, “If [Obama] listens to people on both sides of the aisle, and builds the trust of moderates, he can fulfill the hope he inspired four years ago and lead our country toward a better future for my children and yours.”