Michael Bloomberg

Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is the current Mayor of New York City. He was listed as the eighth-richest American, with a net worth of US $16 billion, in the Forbes 400 on September 17, 2008, making him the richest resident of New York City, ahead of David H. Koch. He is the founder and 88% owner of Bloomberg L.P., a financial software services company.

A lifelong Democrat before seeking elective office, Bloomberg switched his registration in 2001 and ran for mayor as a Republican, winning the election that year and a second term in 2005. He was frequently mentioned as a possible independent candidate for the 2008 presidential election and fueled that speculation when he left the Republican Party in June 2007 to become an independent. There was also speculation that he would run as a vice-presidential candidate. Bloomberg did not, however, seek the presidency nor was he selected as a running mate by any of the presidential candidates.

In the fall of 2008, Bloomberg successfully campaigned for an amendment to New York City's term limits law, in order to allow him to run for a third term in 2009. On September 30, 2008, reports emerged that Bloomberg was seeking to amend the law, and on October 2, 2008, he announced plans to request the removal or extension of term limits for elected officials. On October 23, 2008, the New York City Council voted in favor of extending the term limit for elected officials to three consecutive four-year terms, thus allowing both Bloomberg and other council members to run for office again. During the amendment campaign, Bloomberg's administration requested the support of certain nonprofit groups, which attracted some criticism because these groups have received threats from the mayor in the past.

Bloomberg is the Republican and Independence Party's nominee for the 2009 NYC mayoral race. Bloomberg's Democratic opponent is current City Comptroller, Bill Thompson (also endorsed by the Working Families Party).