The tale of two incumbants

[Peikko 1,575]

A few weeks back, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s aides told reporters that the mayor was flirting with endorsing one of Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s challengers, which would have been a significant rebuke for a governor he has worked with for years.

Whether Mr. Bloomberg was seriously contemplating such a step was hard to determine (he eventually remained neutral). But the mayor’s aides’ intent was clear: to irk Mr. Corzine.

Though they seldom arise in public, tensions churn between the two Wall Street titans-turned-politicians, who began their careers on strikingly similar tracks but have never been close, and diverge significantly when it comes to management, style, and the use of their money to advance their agendas.

As the two enter the final days of their respective campaigns, they face very different battles: Mr. Corzine, a Democrat, has dismal approval ratings and is in a close race, fighting to avoid becoming a one-term governor. Mr. Bloomberg, an independent running as a Republican, enjoys solid approval ratings and is expected to coast to a third term. “Because they were so rich, it was assumed that they were incredibly smart people, and they probably were," said Meredith McGehee, policy director of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan watchdog group. “But just having the money isn’t enough. You still have to run on your record, and you still have to find the talent for a good staff."

Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Corzine have come to epitomize the modern era’s extravagantly self-financing candidates. By the close of these campaigns, the two will have spent roughly $400 million combined running for office three times apiece, making them first and second on the list for most personal money spent on campaigns.

And given the many overlapping issues, they have to work together regularly, their constituents separated only by the Hudson River. But is an relationship based on necessity, not mutual affection or respect.

The mayor has sparred with the governor over several issues, and was especially incensed at Mr. Corzine’s role in scuttling one of his prized programs — his plan to charge drivers an $8 fee to enter Midtown Manhattan. Mr. Bloomberg, 67, is the sarcastic delegator, arrogant but sure-footed. He famously tells his top aides, using his trademark profanity, don’t mess things up. But his staggering wealth, now estimated at $16 billion, intimidates people who depend on his private foundation or on the city.

He can also come across as out of touch or insensitive, as when he declared that pharmaceutical company executives do not make that much money.

Mr. Corzine, 62, is the consensus builder, deadly serious but indecisive. He immerses himself in the minutiae of policy. Unassuming and folksy, giving little hint of his estimated $150 million fortune, he is famous for wearing the same navy blue sweater vest often. Yet he is an abysmal communicator in a state with few news media outlets.

“They’re like Mutt and Jeff," said Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania. “The mayor is used to running things by himself, and he’s got an extremely capable staff, and he gives them a lot of leeway. He’s the decision maker. With Jon, there’s a little bit of shyness. He is much like a partner at a law firm or a financial-underwriting firm, which tends to slow things down."

Campaign officials declined to make Mr. Bloomberg or Mr. Corzine available for interviews on their relationship, citing their need to continue to work with each other.

Mr. Bloomberg’s top political strategist, Kevin Sheekey, recently told New York magazine that Mr. Corzine had failed to make the transition from business to politics. Mr. Bloomberg, asked about Mr. Corzine at a recent news conference, agreed with the general idea that “there have been an awful lot of people who’ve spent an awful lot of money and weren’t successful."

Mr. Bloomberg, a former financial trader who founded his own financial services company, and Mr. Corzine, a former trader who became co-chairman of Goldman Sachs, were fixtures on Manhattan’s power scene well before they entered the world of politics. They also belonged to some of the same elite institutions, like the Atlantic Golf Club in the Hamptons.

But Mr. Bloomberg does not think highly of Mr. Corzine’s executive skills, according to people close to the mayor. Though Mr. Corzine, like the mayor, is intense, he “does not convey the impression that he knows he is the smartest guy in the room,” said one business executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve relationships with both men. After Mr. Corzine was seriously injured in a car accident in 2007, while he was not wearing a seat belt, Mr. Bloomberg reacted in a way that was not exactly empathetic: he criticized the governor for not wearing a seat belt, and he placed a sign in his official car saying, “Please fasten your seat belt."

Mr. Corzine has been more diplomatic, and has praised Mr. Bloomberg’s pursuit of unpopular policies, like an 18 percent property tax increase and stiff restrictions on indoor smoking. After spending $43 million of his own fortune to capture the governor’s office in 2005, Mr. Corzine talked about emulating Mr. Bloomberg’s data-driven approach and the mayor’s ability to recruit and retain top aides from non-political backgrounds.

But Mr. Corzine has been dealt the tougher hand, given New Jersey’s years of dismal financial management, layers of local government and a cutthroat Legislature. Mr. Bloomberg benefits from having instant news media attention and little political opposition. Their jobs do not correspond precisely, either: Mr. Bloomberg, with a feeble City Council, has more control over bread-and-butter issues like crime, education and housing.

Mr. Corzine also tends to function as a micromanager who gets “in the weeds" on policy details, current and former officials say, and jumps from issue to issue. Decisions take a long time, thanks to his obsession with getting all the information possible.

“We talked a lot about the Bloomberg model for New York as being a potential model for New Jersey — get all the dirty work in your first year, then pray for prosperity after that," said one Corzine administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to upset the governor, adding that the plan did not work, because “the governor wants to please everybody to a fault.”

“I don’t think the mayor is as interested in pleasing people as much," the official said.

Mr. Corzine and Mr. Bloomberg have worked collaboratively on certain issues, like domestic security and regional transportation projects.

“They’re both quick learners," said Anthony R. Coscia, chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “I’m always amazed that Mike Bloomberg can hear a presentation from a group of people who’ve been working on something for weeks and after 15, 20 minutes ask a question or raise an issue that no one had thought of. And Corzine can come up with an option that no one had thought about."

Their highest-profile clash came over congestion pricing. It was Mr. Bloomberg’s signature transportation proposal, but Mr. Corzine attacked it as unfairly penalizing New Jersey drivers.

Mr. Bloomberg was livid when he learned that Mr. Corzine had boasted of his role in torpedoing the plan at a fund-raiser where several of the mayor’s supporters were in the audience.

The two also have different fiscal records. Both have been fairly generous with labor contracts and have made little headway in containing soaring pension and health benefits costs. But perhaps surprisingly, given their party affiliations, Mr. Corzine has been much more of a fiscal hawk, paring the state’s overall budget to $29 billion from $31 billion since his arrival in Trenton. Mr. Bloomberg’s budget has climbed to $60 billion from $53 billion during the same period, infuriating fiscal conservatives.

“There’s no question Corzine’s been the more miserly of the two," said Fred Siegel, a visiting professor at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. “But the political culture is such that you can get away with that in New York."

Both play checkbook politics. Through his foundation, his family and his own resources, Mr. Corzine has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to key power brokers, like Democratic party leaders and black ministers. Mr. Bloomberg, whose contributions have been far larger than Mr. Corzine’s, has been criticized for using his fortune to buttress his political aims. He has provided hundreds of millions of dollars from his philanthropy to civic groups and others — some of whom were then called upon to testify in favor of the mayor’s term limits proposal last year.

Mr. Bloomberg is now on track to add up to another $140 million to the $159 million he spent in his previous elections, while Mr. Corzine is on pace to add $30 million to the $103 million of his own money that he spent in his two races.

Mr. Bloomberg will almost certainly get a four-year return on his investment. Mr. Corzine could come up short.

“Both of these men rode the 25-year wave on Wall Street, first to personal wealth, then to political wealth,” Mr. Siegel said. “Now the water is emptying out of the pool, and the difference is in New Jersey you’ve got barracudas in there with you, and Bloomberg’s got minnows.”

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[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

If Bloomie doesn't like Jon, maybe I should vote for him after all. Bloomie's a narcissist.

[Peikko 1,575]

I am not sure that the political process needs either of these guys Be that as it may, just being rich should not be the only credential required to run for office, in my opinion.

Obviously this only pertains to certain areas. There are governors and mayors of small states/cities that don't require the same financial investments.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I am not sure that the political process needs either of these guys

I love how you can be so certain about people you probably have not heard about before today.

[Peikko 1,575]

I am not sure that the political process needs either of these guys

I love how you can be so certain about people you probably have not heard about before today.

I know, good isn't it?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I am not sure that the political process needs either of these guys

I love how you can be so certain about people you probably have not heard about before today.

I know, good isn't it?

I am in more awe of you today than ever.

[Peikko 1,575]

However, I was not quite as ignorant of these two fellows are you are inferring

But, no I am not pretending that I know as much as you do about them, that would be silly.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The re-election campaigns in both NYC and NJ are really vicious. The TV ads they're running are merciless.

"he's a liar"

"no! he is!"

"he's fat and throwing his weight around!"

"he's an epic fail!"

There's not a sniff of what any of the candidates intends to do - other than "more jobs, lower taxes, check corruption and special interest spending" - as if anyone would not want any of that.

The same high-sounding nothings that you get in the presidential elections.

Edited October 30, 2009 by Gene Hunt

[DeadPoolX 9]

I am not sure that the political process needs either of these guys Be that as it may, just being rich should not be the only credential required to run for office, in my opinion.

Obviously this only pertains to certain areas. There are governors and mayors of small states/cities that don't require the same financial investments.

Of course it SHOULDN'T, but that's hardly realistic. Waging a political campaign costs a ton of money. It always has, even though we're fed BS about how "anyone can become president." Sure... anyone with the necessary finances.

[Peikko 1,575]

Election reform?

I know the US is on a much bigger scale but it should not just be a rich man's hobby.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Vive le aristocracy!

[DeadPoolX 9]

Election reform?

I know the US is on a much bigger scale but it should not just be a rich man's hobby.

I wouldn't be against it, but how would it be implemented? That's the real problem.

[Peikko 1,575]

It makes you think!

[Susita 175]

The re-election campaigns in both NYC and NJ are really vicious. The TV ads they're running are merciless.

I see them on the TV all the time, they're rediculous. I'm glad I don't have to vote in those elections, Long Island is a different animal LOL