Updated 04/06/2009 11:24 AM
Independence Party Endorses Bloomberg
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Mayor Michael Bloomberg has found a ballot line home, as he officially picks up the backing of the controversial Independence Party.
Last night, 93 percent of the members of the New York City Independence Party voted to back the mayor's bid for a third time.
Bloomberg was a Democrat who turned Republican before dropping all party affiliations two years ago.
If he's re-elected, Bloomberg would be the first independent to lead the city.
"My hope is that come Jan. 1, 2010, on the steps of City Hall, New York City will experience its first-ever swearing in of an independent mayor," said Bloomberg yesterday upon receiving the endorsement.
The party's endorsement of Bloomberg came after he delivered remarks vowing to try to establish nonpartisan elections in the city.
"There is a momentum in the direction of nonpartisan politics and nonpartisan governance and I think Mike Bloomberg has been a partner in trying to get there," said New York City Independence Party Jacqueline Salit. "I think he's laid a lot of the foundation for that and hopefully we'll be able to do that in the third term."
Bloomberg's chief political opponent, City Comptroller Bill Thompson, blasted the mayor for promising to lobby for nonpartisan elections, even though New Yorkers voted against them in 2003.
"This is a mayor who ignored the will of the people in the past and overturned term limits through the New York City Council in a back-door attempt," said Thompson. "And appears as if now, as part of this political deal he is going to revisit nonpartisan elections in the future and again attempt to undermine the will of New Yorkers."
Independence Party founder Fred Newman and his supporters have faced accusations of anti-Semitism and cult-like behavior over the years. Party leaders have dismissed these accusations as false.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg may still end up on the Republican Party line, where he won his first two terms.
He already has the backing of two of the five county GOP committees and needs just one more to get his name on the line this fall.