A Golden Revolving Door

New York City's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has an ongoing problem confusing his job as mayor, his ownership of a big media company, and his philanthropic activities. One of the symptoms of this problem is the unusual revolving door he provides for some of his closest advisers.

According to an article in today's New York Times, his deputy mayor for governmental affairs, who worked for Bloomberg the company from 1997 to 2001, is going back to work for Bloomberg the company after being Bloomberg the candidate's campaign adviser and lobbyist to the state and federal governments. The deputy mayor will be using what he learned working for Bloomberg the mayor to further Bloomberg the company's prospects as its government relations and communications director. He'll also be advising Bloomberg the philanthropist.

Of course, not many mayors are billionaires, but this sort of confusion of the governmental, the political, and the personal is very common. Mayoral advisers are often personal advisers, not government advisers. In other words, they advise the individual, not the office, and they equally advise the individual as candidate and as businessperson. It's the personal interest that matters, not the public interest.

A trusted adviser is great for personal loyalty, but personal loyalty is often not great for the public.

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics

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