Bloomberg Going for 3

George Madisson November 21, 2008

SP 100 - 711

Imagine the following: your country is facing its worst economic crisis in over twenty years. People have lost their jobs, their houses, and their retirement funds.

Financial institutions that have been in business for over a century are going out of business left and right. Now apply what I have just told you to your city, your community, even to your next-door neighbor. This is what is happened across the world. With that in mind, in a couple of days Mayor Bloomberg will face off for reelection for a highly controversial and criticized third consecutive term. I

would like to take this opportunity to inform you why New Yorkers stand to benefit from Mayor Bloomberg being elected for a third consecutive term. This is of personal interest because these are challenging times and I believe we need someone who can continue to lead and think of innovated ways to keep our city afloat. Below I have outlined his proven track record as Mayor, looking at several areas he has succeed in, as well as previewing some key initiatives he plans on implementing to help New Yorkers face the current economic challenges.

Since Mayor Bloomberg took office in 2001, he has been successful in several major areas, here are a few In an article, Ted Phillips noted that in 2007 the NYC budget had a surplus of $2.0 billions, compared to the $6.6 billion deficit he faced when he came into office. He was able to balance the budget through higher property taxes and cuts to city agencies distributed equally with the exception of the Police and Fire Departments. According to a press release on the official Mayor’s website, www.mikebloomberg.com, High School graduation rates have risen since 2003.

Last year alone, the city reached a new high of 55.8 percent for High School graduates. Mayor Bloomberg, along with schools’ Chancellor Joel Klein have been able to continuously increase the High School graduation rate, as it has every...