Mayor Bloomberg developed a reputation as an eager party planner when he ran Bloomberg LP. So, perhaps it’s no surprise that parties are central to his re-election bid.

Usually when politicians throw parties, they’re trying to raise campaign cash, but as a billionaire who’s financing his own campaign, Mr. Bloomberg hopes his parties will simply be fun – and that fun will equal votes.

Last Tuesday, the night of the Democratic primary, he hosted a party at the Brooklyn Marriott featuring a live band, an open bar, and an array of food. Meanwhile, most guests at the Democrats’ “victory” parties had to pay top dollar for drinks, and were offered little or nothing to eat while they listened to music piped over loudspeakers.

Tuesday’s Bloomberg-fest was just the beginning.

Tomorrow, his campaign is working with volunteers to organize 1,000 house parties across the city, at which supporters will gather to talk politics and listen to a conference call with the mayor. It’s a far cry from the Democratic mayoral candidates’ “house parties” over the summer, when they went door to door asking New Yorkers for campaign funds and support, a technique popularized more than 60 years ago when John F. Kennedy visited Massachusetts homes during his race for the Senate.

People familiar with political fund raising say throwing multiple simultaneous house parties – with speakerphone hookups to the candidate – is a technique that has been used in modern presidential races, including Senator Kerry’s, but they say Mr. Bloomberg’s effort is the biggest yet.

On Thursday, another house party is scheduled. The founder and CEO of Bunk1.com, Ari Ackerman, is planning to host 300 young people at his Chelsea apartment to show support for Mr. Bloomberg’s re-election effort and to hear remarks from the featured guest, Mayor Koch.

The last major politics-themed party Mr. Ackerman threw was a fund-raiser for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee during the Republican National Convention last summer. Governor Pataki stopped by, and as guests sampled fancy hors d’oeuvres and desserts, they listened to a speech by Senator McCain.

This Bloomberg party, Mr. Ackerman said, will be different.

He is not allowed to spend more than $500 because under campaign finance law, a house party that costs more than that must be reported to the Campaign Finance Board. So, Mr. Ackerman said, “It’s just a real bare-bones get-together of people who just want to come out and say, ‘Go Bloomberg.'”

He said that although guests would probably not get more than a small glass of cheap wine and some chips, it would be worth it.

“It’s more to rally his support,” he said, “and just to get people to register to vote and to vote for Bloomberg.”

People involved in the world of political fundraising and political party planning say Mr. Bloomberg’s billions clearly give him an advantage when it comes to throwing big bashes, like his campaign launch at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill and the event at the Brooklyn Marriott last week. They said it also could give him a leg up when it comes to low-budget parties, as the premise of the gatherings would not be soliciting donations.

“On one hand, a political event that has no fund-raising aspect lacks some of the passion, because it attracts a lot of people who don’t care that much – they’re just there for the fun of a free party. A room full of actual contributors is more likely to have a shared purpose, commitment, and passion,” a money manager at Eagle Capital who is a frequent host of political fund-raisers, Boykin Curry, said. “On the other hand, a lot of political contributors, especially at the municipal level, are there to buy favor with the candidate. Look at Scott Stringer’s list of contributors – it is all real estate developers who just want him to do stuff for them – so eliminating the fund-raising aspect can get rid of the horrible people. So it can go either way.”

Mr. Curry added: “Like the rich kid at college who buys everyone beer, Bloomberg walks a fine line between being the cool guy and being the lame patsy. If he picks his friends carefully, then the money frees him from the constraints of special interests and fund raising, but if he turns it into a gravy train for political consultants and freeloading losers, then it starts to feel yucky.”

A Democratic political fund-raiser, Jill Straus, said house parties aren’t new to Democratic politics. In fact, she said, most house parties are “a lot less about fund-raising than about generating enthusiasm and getting volunteers.”

She said Mr. Bloomberg’s parties would likely serve a useful purpose to his campaign.

“People like to do them,” she said. “It’s the kind of thing when people walk away and they feel touched by the campaign. And they didn’t have to make a sizable contribution.”

A longtime political consultant, Hank Sheinkopf, said the parties might serve another purpose as well: showing that Mr. Bloomberg knows how to connect with everyday citizens.

“It’s a way to further reduce the argument that has been used against Mike Bloomberg – that he is somehow distant from the electorate,” he said. “It’s a very smart tactic. … All of the stuff he is doing is not elite-driven but rather constituent-driven, and that’s the difference.”

The director of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute, Maurice Carroll, said he sees another plus for Mr. Bloomberg: Throwing parties makes the campaign fun while revving up support.

“Politics is sort of fun,” he said. “I’ve always thought if you can have a campaign rally, you might as well have a band. … Anyone who can afford to do it would be nuts not to.”