Despite the hotly contested third-term controversy, I thought Mr. Bloomberg deserved to be re-elected. Using private sector strategies, the city has seen gains in the areas of the environment, education, crime, security, and public finances. While his job creation claims are a bit dubious, it is clear that NYC is still a great place to live and work. Despite the massive financial collapse NYC’s unemployment rate is holding steady with the national average, no small feat considering NYC was disproportionally damaged by the financial crisis.
Perhaps Bloomberg’s greatest achievement is in education. By increasing the number of charter schools from 17 with 3,200 students when he took office to 78 with 24,000 students today, Bloomberg is further experimenting with ideas that will come to revolutionize education in America. Results vary for charter schools in NYC but are overwhelmingly positive. Education is the single most important issue in local politics and should remain so due to its unique ability to influence other issues (i.e., crime, housing, public financing, and the economy). Only by closing the achievement gap will our society regain a leadership position in primary and secondary education. Michael Bloomberg has arguably made the most significant contributions to making New York City’s schools a model for other urban school systems.
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