Draft-Bloomberg Organizers Plan a Rally

Leaders of an effort to draft Mayor Bloomberg to run for president are planning to hold a rally in New York City on February 2 to drum up support for his candidacy.

A local organizer, Karin Gallet, said a venue has not yet been selected, but she said she is aiming to find one that will hold thousands of supporters.

"The whole purpose would be to rally for Bloomberg to step into the ring," she said yesterday.

Organizers are meeting in the city this weekend to hammer out plans for the event.

Mr. Bloomberg is considered a possible presidential candidate who could launch a self-financed campaign in 2008. But he has said repeatedly that he is not running for president.

Ms. Gallet said she and other supporters of Mr. Bloomberg are trying to coordinate their efforts to create a more unified draft movement. The New York Observer's political Web log, the Politicker, reported that Ms. Gallet held a conference call with supporters on Sunday.

Andrew MacRae, the designer of uniteformike.com, a Web site calling for a Bloomberg presidential run, said the goal of the February rally is to show voters that there is an alternative to Super Tuesday, February 5, when more than 20 states hold primaries.

If Mr. Bloomberg announces he is planning to run for president, he is likely to do it in February, Mr. MacRae said.

The rally would signal that there is an effort on the ground to promote change, he said.

"The voters are not going to have another choice unless we create a choice," Mr. MacRae said. "We are moving forward with something different. Something that is a break from the past."