Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Bloomberg Tells Staten Island Voters He Can Do For America What He Did For NYC
By
Ross Barkan
Published Dec 5, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Ross Barkan / Gothamist
By
Ross Barkan
Published Dec 5, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Michael Bloomberg made his first New York City appearance as a presidential candidate on Wednesday night, boasting of his various mayoral accomplishments at a Staten Island civic association dinner.
After cracking jokes about Staten Island’s coyote problem and the time a local groundhog bit his hand, the billionaire former mayor delivered a short speech with a familiar theme: his policy victories in New York can be replicated nationwide if he’s elected president. Though Bloomberg is running as a Democrat, he struck a nonpartisan chord in front of a crowd with a sizable number of Republicans.
“I’ve always thought the president of the United States should be the leader of the entire country, not the leader of a political party,” Bloomberg said, netting his most significant applause line. “We need to bring this country together and I know we can do that.”
Bloomberg pitched himself as a pragmatist who could, unlike any other politician existing today, defy the polarization of Washington. “All I know is that I’ve spent my career bringing people together to tackle big problems,” he said. “I know it can work in Washington as well.”
Though he ran three times for mayor as a Republican, Bloomberg is now competing as a Democrat, setting up an odd contrast with the rest of the left-leaning field. The billionaire is skipping the early voting states, hoping to vault into contention by spending massive amounts of his own cash in larger states that vote later next year. He has already spent close to $40 million on a TV blitz across America. On Wednesday, he announced a new wave of advertising spending, reportedly for a comparable amount of money.
Bloomberg significantly trails three of the leading candidates, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, in the polls. Warren, a progressive, took direct aim at Bloomberg by running an advertisement on his own TV station, denouncing the billionaire for trying to “buy” the election.
Back home, Bloomberg may have picked up his first local endorsement last night—from Dr. Mohamed Khalid, the longtime president of the Iron Hills Civic Association, the group that hosted Bloomberg on Wednesday. Dr. Khalid, who called Bloomberg a “great man,” proclaimed Staten Island would “help him win the White House.”
There was a light smattering of boos in the ballroom when Dr. Khalid took a jab at President Donald Trump, who is a popular figure on Staten Island. “In my opinion, the country needs [Bloomberg] right now because I’ll tell you he’s everything that our current president is not,” the civic leader said.
After Dr. Khalid’s introduction, Bloomberg spoke for a little over ten minutes, ticking off a range of achievements during his 12 years as mayor: reducing crime and incarceration rates, combating gun violence, cutting New York’s carbon footprint, boosting job growth, and opening a major park at the former Great Kills landfill. Though Bloomberg said he supported the constitutional right to own a gun, he also reminded the crowd he founded a prominent national organization, Everytown for Gun Safety, to fight for stiffer gun control laws.
“I’m going to run for president of the United States because I know we can do exactly the same things we did in New York City across this entire country,” Bloomberg said.
As a Republican, Bloomberg carried conservative Staten Island in all three mayoral elections. For each campaign, he held his kickoff event in the city’s smallest borough. Early in his tenure, he recalled visiting the Staten Island hospital where two NYPD detectives were taken after suffering fatal gunshot wounds.
The well-dressed crowd was receptive to Bloomberg, though it’s unclear how representative of the Democratic electorate they will be. “Out of all the Democrats, he’s a good guy,” said Connie Mauro, a Republican who said she would consider voting for Bloomberg over Trump. “When he was mayor, you weren’t afraid to go out at night.”
State Senator Diane Savino, a Staten Island Democrat who has yet to endorse a candidate, watched Bloomberg deliver his speech. A lawmaker who once partnered with Republicans in the State Senate, Savino called Bloomberg an “interesting development” in the race.
“If we don’t have a viable candidate who can appeal to the middle of the road Democrat as well as moderate Republicans, we’re going to end up with Donald Trump again,” she said. “I’m open to hearing to what he has to say.”
Tagged
election 2020
michael bloomberg
staten island
Ross Barkan
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 5:26 p.m. ET
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
Kyle Taylor, a dean at Mott Bridges Academy, says he made a legal bus transfer.
By
Carol Chen
News
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
Kyle Taylor, a dean at Mott Bridges Academy, says he made a legal bus transfer.
By
Carol Chen
National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter
By
Rosemary Misdary
Bruce Blakeman joins Gov. Hochul in support for expanding NY rape law
By
Jon Campbell
2 men accused of stabbing off-duty NYPD detective in the Bronx plead not guilty
By
Charles Lane
and
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .