Political Insider: Local: Will Bloomberg And Silver Go To War?
Posted By Adam DickterPolitical Insider: Local: Will Bloomberg And Silver Go To War?
Key members of the state Assembly insist there was not enough support for the city's congestion pricing plan to pass, and Speaker Sheldon Silver shouldn't bear the blame.
Observers have noted that legislators are loathe to touch a hot-button issue whose impact and level of public support is unclear in an election year.
But editorial pages have been whacking Silver for not scheduling a vote on the bill, leaving him open to criticism that he let it die, either willfully or passively. It brings to mind the bruising Silver inflicted on Mayor Michael Bloomberg two years ago when he declined to support funding for a West Side stadium, a cornerstone of the city's Olympics bid, after persistent lobbying of Silver by Bloomberg and other officials.
All this has prompted speculation that Bloomberg might have revenge on his mind. If so, the billionaire mayor might be looking at this fall's Democratic primary. Two unknowns are challenging Silver in his Lower East Side district, and fundraising for them, or writing them a huge check himself, would probably be a waste.
But one political operative who knows Bloomberg well has another scenario.
"Margarita Lopez is the best chance of taking out Silver," says the operative, referring to the former Lower East Side councilwoman whom Bloomberg appointed to a top job in the city Housing Authority in 2006. Lopez has battled Silver before and came out on top, defeating Silver's chief of staff, Judy Rapfogel, in her 1997 Council bid.
"Do you think more Jews have moved to the Lower East Side since then?" asks our source.
The operative conceded that such a scenario is unlikely, since it would mean "open war" between Bloomberg and Silver. The mayor would have to give up any other projects that need backing from Silver or the Assembly. Also, Bloomberg, who is not known for playing political hardball, can't be entirely sure Silver was to blame for the congestion plan's defeat.
Silver has close to $3 million in his campaign war chest, so he probably isn't losing sleep. But Bloomberg can easily raise that much from rich friends. And the New York Observer recently reported speculation that Silver commissioned a poll of constituents to assess own his weaknesses (read the story here). Silver, in that item, did not deny hiring the polling firm.