Bloomberg is a Democrat? News to me!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bloomberg
2001 election
In 2001 the incumbent mayor, Rudy Giuliani, was prevented by term limits from running for re-election. Several well-known New York City politicians aspired to succeed him.
Bloomberg, a lifelong member of the Democratic Party, decided to run for mayor as a member of the Republican Party, reportedly to avoid the crowded field in the Democratic primary.
Voting in the primary began on the morning of September 11. Later that day, however, because of the disruption caused by the attacks on the World Trade Center, the voting was canceled and the primary postponed. In the rescheduled primary, Bloomberg defeated Herman Badillo, a former Congressman, to become the Republican nominee. The Democratic primary did not produce a first-round winner. There was a runoff, in which the nomination went to New York City Public Advocate Mark J. Green.
In the general election, Bloomberg had Giuliani's endorsement. He also enjoyed a huge spending advantage. New York City's campaign finance law restricted the contributions a candidate could accept, but Bloomberg exercised his right to opt out of this law, though this also attracted some criticism. He spent some $73 million of his own money on his campaign, outspending Green by five to one. [1] One of the major themes of his campaign was that, with the city's economy suffering from the effects of the attacks, it needed a mayor with business experience.
In addition to being the Republican nominee, Bloomberg had the ballot line of the Independence Party. The latter proved to be important, as Bloomberg's votes on that line exceeded his margin of victory over Green. (Under New York's fusion rules, a candidate can run on more than one party's line and cumulate all the votes received on all lines. Green, the Democrat, also had the ballot line of the Working Families Party.) Bloomberg won by 50% to 48%. (See Election results for mayor of New York for complete totals.)
Bloomberg declined the mayor's salary, accepting remuneration of $1.00 annually. He is considered a liberal Republican, who is pro-choice, in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage and an advocate for stricter gun control laws.
