City Council Speaker Gifford Miller continued his move towards running against Mayor Bloomberg in 2005, as he manufactured the political soundbite of the week: It "doesn't make any sense to have a red-state mayor running a blue-state city like New York." And, of course, the Democratic attendees at his fundraiser last night raised the roof when they heard that. Miller continued to link the Mayor to President Bush's victory, proving that there's a scapegoat in every corner. Now, Gothamist may have been pissy about the Republican National Convention being held in NYC, but we really don't consider Mayor Bloomberg the reason why President Bush won - we're not even sure if Mayor Bloomberg has ever been to Ohio! That said, it should be interesting to see whether there's any traction in linking Mayor Bloomberg, who seems to actively decline photo ops with more prominent Republicans on the national stage, to the President. But the hook of calling him a "red state mayor" might be fun, though every else about Bloomberg is decidedly blue.
Last night's fundraiser coincided with Miller's 35th birthday; the event raised about a half a million dollars, which is what Mayor Bloomberg probably earns in interest while he sleeps. The NY Times looked at Miller's attempts to make himself mayoral yesterday, and here's Miller's reelection blog.
