Mayor Defends Donation To Senate Republicans

Mayor Bloomberg is defending a donation he made to state Senate Republicans and implying that he would give money to anyone who supports the city's agenda in Albany.

"I've said repeatedly, I will help those who help us," Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday in Florida, speaking to reporters attending a conference of the organization he founded, Mayors Against Illegal Guns. "They have stood up for the city a number of times — when we needed to have a voice in Albany and we didn't have that voice from the Assembly or from the governor, whether it was the last governor or this governor. Now sometimes the Assembly and this governor and the last governor are with us and we want more of that. And I'd like to encourage that," he said.

Mr. Bloomberg, who left the Republican Party in June, took issue with the idea that his donation of $500,000 to Senate Republicans, first reported in the New York Times, would hurt his agenda in Albany, particularly congestion pricing. "You are saying that those decisions are made based on politics rather than what's best for the city," he said.