With outgoing deputy mayor Ed Skyler heading to Citibank, Mayor Bloomberg is replacing the 36-year-old with former Indianopolis mayor Stephen Goldsmith. Goldsmith, 63, is currently a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School and has previous stints as a domestic policy adviser for former President George W. Bush's 2000 campaign and an adviser to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's 2008 presidential campaign. Goldsmith will oversee agencies like the NYPD and FDNY.
The Daily News' Adam Lisberg says, "It gives Bloomberg an outsider's perspective on how New York operates and shakes up his inner circle even more -- but it also creates a steep learning curve for a Republican dropped into New York without a deep familiarity with it." The Post's Maggie Haberman notes, "He will be, as Skyler was, the lone Republican at City Hall... The selection of Goldsmith is a bit of a surprise, since Skyler had been a longtime Bloomberg aide before his own appointment and was already deeply trusted by the mayor. Initial speculation had centered on older government hands."
Hmm, this sort of smells like the mayor is angling for something in 2012 or 2016. Anyway, at the press conference announcing Goldsmith's appointment, Bloomberg made a term limits joke.
