In an effort to increase the accountability of politicians across the nation, Mayor Michael Bloomberg released his third Campaign Credibility Report on Monday. Standing alongside representatives from the Citizens Union of the City of New York, Mayor Bloomberg not only released copies of the report to the press, but discussed the state of political credibility today and continued to dispel rumors about his own political ambitions.At a press conference held at the new High School for Construction Trades, Engineering, and Architecture in Ozone Park, Bloomberg released a list of his 2001 and 2005 campaign promises, stating whether or not they had been fulfilled. Listed promises were classified in five categories that denote the status of the initiatives: "Done," "Launched," "To Launch," "Not Done," and "Reconsidered." Of the 100 campaign promises made in the Mayor's 2005 campaign, 96 percent, by his count, have been fully implemented or are currently being undertaken.
Before he addressed the press, Bloomberg toured the school campus, guided by Principal Quentin Cedeno and trailed by the school's student government. The mayor decided to hold the press conference at the school because he considered it to be a fulfillment of one of his campaign promises, specifically to build 250 new schools by 2008.
"I believe that when you make a promise, you should keep a promise," said Bloomberg, "and that any elected official should do this. I have some 960 more days in office, and I'm determined to get as many of these things done as possible."
Promises from both of Mayor Bloomberg's election campaigns were released, and the greater number of "Reconsidered" items from his 2001 campaign were chalked up to an altered, post-9/11 New York.
The mayor was joined at the podium by representatives of the Citizen's Union of the City of New York, Chairman Richard J. Davis and Executive Director Dick Dadey, who spoke about holding politicians at all levels of government accountable for their promises.
"We are announcing an effort to call upon all city elected officials to undergo the same evaluation as Mayor Bloomberg," said Davis.
"Our goal is to make information available to the public, and we want to commend Mayor Bloomberg for reporting back to voters." Davis and Dadey explained that they were not there to offer their unequivocal approval for the mayor, but to recognize his self-evaluation and political accountability, and encourage other politicians to follow suit.
Bloomberg stated that his position as mayor demands a higher level of accountability than any other political office at the state and federal branches of the government, which led the discussion to the mayor's long-rumored and long-denied presidential candidacy. "My presidential ambitions are nothing more than speculation by the news media," he said, but it was clear that Bloomberg was having fun with the crowd, and was more than happy to discuss his nonexistent presidential plans.
After a member of the press questioned whether Bloomberg's analysis of his own mayoral success and honesty should be trusted, the mayor explained that it was not his responsibility to hold himself accountable, and that it is the media who must keep him and other politicians in line.
"The Fourth Estate must hold politicians to certain standards," he said, and then criticized the press for not doing a good enough job questioning politicians. On his way out of the building, the mayor was spotted criticizing the media in attendance to students, saying that he was only asked about what he hadn't done, instead of discussing what he had done.
"It is important to hold our politician's feet in the fire," said Bloomberg, "because that will bring about good democracy.
