Mayor Bloomberg discussed yesterday's surprising departure of unpopular Schools Chancellor-for-95 days Cathie Black on his radio show this morning, calling her a "phenomenally competent woman" (though he, according to Black's friend, "threw her under the bus"), adding, "I think that anybody who is willing to put themselves in the public arena and tries to help deserves a lot of credit." He also couldn't say exactly what tripped up Black's short tenure, "The real answer here is to say ‘O.K., water over the dam, under the bridge, what are we going to do next?'" Yeah, like, what about the impression that his third term is a damn mess?
The NY Times runs down Bloomberg's big list of problems (CityTime! Blizzard response! Marchella Pierce's death!) and spoke to a former insider:
“His administrative style works best when he has really smart people working for him who understand that he’s the leader, and you cover the leader,” said one former aide, who insisted on anonymity to avoid damaging relationships with people still at City Hall. “He’s covering for everybody else. He didn’t have to do it that much in the first or second terms. I just find it so extraordinary that there are so many people he’s having to cover up for.”
The former aide cited Stephen Goldsmith, the deputy mayor for operations, who is in charge of snow removal, and John B. Mattingly, the commissioner of children’s services, adding: “How many dead babies do you need before you make a change?”
“You’re always dependent on the people behind you,” the former aide added. “Where are these people?”
The Daily News' Adam Lisberg writes, "By taking swift action to solve a festering problem, Bloomberg may have finally shown he's willing to confront the missteps and blown opportunities that have marred his third term. 'This could certainly be a turning point of changing that dynamic,' said someone who works with the mayor every day."
