Mayor Teams Up With Another Famous Maverick

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The New York Sun

SUNNVYALE, Calif. — Mayor Bloomberg joined forces yesterday with another maverick Republican, Governor Schwarzenegger, to deride Washington for allowing political partisanship to stymie action on issues such as climate change and stem cell research.

Officially, their joint appearance at a Silicon Valley company working to develop fuel cell technology was to announce new efforts by the New York City government to address global warming. The session was also aimed at showcasing historic legislation Mr. Schwarzenegger plans to sign next week, requiring lower carbon emissions in California.

However, both lawmakers were quick to transform the event into a populist assault on what they described as entrenched political parties unwilling to pursue the public interest.

“We cannot sit around and wait for Washington do something,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “I’m trying to go around the country and support those who have the vision to take this country forward and not fall into the trap of partisan politics and the gridlock which I see throughout this country.”

Mr. Schwarzenegger also railed against leaders in the nation’s capital, though neither man singled any out by name. “It is unbelievable. They are frozen. They can’t do anything in Washington because it’s Democrats against Republicans, Republicans against Democrats. Rather than, ‘Let us solve the problems of this country,'” the governor said.

The decidedly anti-Washington tone was a resonant one for further discussion of a possible independent presidential bid by Mr. Bloomberg in 2008. When asked by a reporter about the possibility, Mr. Schwarzenegger seemed to feign shock.

“What? I can’t believe that. This is unbelievable,” the governor said. Mr. Schwarzenegger never opined publicly on the wisdom of a run for the White House, but he did lavish the mayor with praise.

Mr. Bloomberg reciprocated, saluting the governor for standing up to campaign contributors and political insiders.

“Nobody will ever accuse Arnold Schwarzenegger of being conventional, and that’s why he’s been a good governor,” Mr. Bloomberg said.

The notion of the Hollywood star and the New York billionaire as political populists may be difficult for some to swallow, but the two seemed convinced of the concept’s appeal.

At one point, Mr. Schwarzenegger turned to Mr. Bloomberg and gushed, “He’s my soul mate. He’s the man.” The locker-room slap the former Mr. Universe then delivered to Mr. Bloomberg’s shoulder looked for a moment as if it might knock the mayor off his feet.

While he may have been physically outmatched, Mr. Bloomberg was not bashful about holding the spotlight yesterday. He spoke at length about the city’s climate change policies, including plans to start a new office focusing on long-term land use planning and environmental sustainability. He also said a city-led effort is under way to estimate all greenhouse gas emissions generated in New York.

Mr. Bloomberg also lent a hand to Mr. Schwarzenegger’s re-election bid by appearing at two closed-door fund-raisers. About 20 people attended a discussion with the two at the Four Seasons Hotel in East Palo Alto. A larger event was scheduled for later in the day at the home of the owner of the San Diego Chargers, Alex Spanos.

Attendees emerging from the afternoon event said they’d look favorably on a presidential bid by Mr. Bloomberg, though they said it wasn’t explicitly discussed at the session. “Politicians have become essentially nonstarters,” a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, Raymond Lane, said. “He’s very executive. I would be a huge supporter if he did it.”

A hotel owner, Katherine Alden, said she came away impressed with the mayor’s problem-solving skills and would also support him making a presidential run. “He’s a very creative thinker, but he’s also a very good executer,” she said. “I think this is kind of raising his profile.”

The mayor, who has given the maximum $44, 600 gift to Mr. Schwarzenegger’s campaign, certainly seems to have found a political ally on the West Coast. However, Mr. Bloomberg’s political eclecticism being what it is, his only other campaign donation on file in California was in 2001, to the Democrat now making an against-the-odds effort to unseat Mr. Schwarzenegger, Phil Angelides.


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