SALON

Wednesday, Dec 5, 2012 5:30 AM UTC

NYC mayor knocks reports he eyed Clinton to run

By

Topics: From the Wires,

NEW YORK (AP) — Mayor Michael Bloomberg lashed out Tuesday at reports that he encouraged U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to run to succeed him, and he pointedly praised the city official who has long been seen as his pick for the job.

Asked about the media reports, which cited anonymous sources, Bloomberg didn’t directly deny a conversation with Clinton but retorted: “Did you hear me say that?” And in a bit of political optics, expected mayoral candidate and current City Council Speaker Christine Quinn stood by Bloomberg’s side while he described her as key to his administration’s success.

“This woman has made an enormous difference in the city, she’s a leader, and I have nothing but respect for her,” Bloomberg said. “… I don’t know who’s going to run, but if you want to start a fight between me and Chris Quinn, you’re not going to do it.”

Clinton aides, meanwhile, wouldn’t confirm such a call took place or discuss her plans. Clinton has said she expects to step down soon from her Department of State post.

The New York Times first reported Monday that Bloomberg, an independent, suggested a mayoral bid to Clinton by phone a few months ago, but Clinton wasn’t interested.

Clinton, for that matter, doesn’t live in New York City. She and former President Bill Clinton have a house in suburban Chappaqua. They bought the home shortly before her successful 2000 run for the U.S. Senate.

Bloomberg’s third term, the last under a term limit he persuaded the Quinn-led council to extend in 2008, ends next year. Quinn in recent polls has been leading several other presumptive Democratic candidates: former city Comptroller Bill Thompson, current Comptroller John Liu and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.

Asked whether she thought Clinton would make a good mayor, Quinn said she thought the former Democratic presidential candidate “would excel in any position she ever takes.”

Former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, who recently left the Democratic Party to become a Republican, is expected to run as a GOP candidate. Local newspaper publisher Tom Allon, another Democrat-turned-Republican, has announced he’s running.

___

Associated Press writer Bradley Klapper in Brussels contributed to this report.

More By Jennifer Peltz.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Paul Krugman’s right: Austerity kills. "In an economy where we’re all in the same boat, one person’s spending is another person’s income. So when the government cuts spending, it reduces people’s income, leading to less business, more unemployment, and a vicious spiral of slowing down the economy."
386 points387 points | 412 comments
vote
Paul Krugman’s right: Austerity kills -- radical cuts destroy economies and lives, and the honest numbers and economics keep proving it
188 points189 points | 27 comments
vote
Virginia state Sen. Mark Obenshain wants to send women to jail who don't report their miscarriages to the police
179 points180 points | 22 comments
vote
Corporate greed is poisoning America — literally
138 points139 points | 17 comments
vote
Facebook “like” on trial in Virginia
30 points31 points | 6 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations