Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have been playing nice with each other recently, despite some tension over the latest dire budget cuts. But the battle over the teacher firing policy "last-in, first-out" (LIFO) is tearing them apart, Lisa!
After the State Assembly blocked a bill that would require teacher layoffs based on merit and not on tenure, Cuomo swooped in with his own his own bill to reform the policy. But Bloomberg slammed his modified bill as useless today: "If it doesn't repeal LIFO as the law of the land, it simply kicks the can down the road - and it will kick some of our best teachers to the curb and that would be a travesty," Bloomberg said. Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto shot back by comparing Bloomberg's favored bill with the Wisconsin-style efforts to evade collective bargaining with the teachers union: "New York is not Wisconsin." Meow!
While Bloomberg has been an outspoken critic of LIFO, Cuomo has always held back from damning it the way the Mayor has. Even when he was agreeing with the Mayor that changes needed to be made, he was careful how he phrased it: "I think there is receptivity to the point that there should be objective, fair criteria that don't penalize seniority, but I also understand that there are other criteria to take into consideration." A source told the News that Cuomo feels assured enough in his standing that he doesn't have to cowtow to Bloomberg: "It's a pretty simple formula. You have the governor with an 80% approval rating and a mayor with a 40% approval rating. The governor can do what he wants."
Ever the politician, Cuomo denied that there were any tensions between himself and Bloomberg today, saying: "I didn't think he was critical of me. I think the mayor was frustrated in dealing with the legislative process in Albany." It was also reported that the two met today after a budget address in Staten Island and cleared the air about their respective positions on LIFO, repeating his mantra about the Mayor and their special relationship: “I understand where the mayor wants to go and I'm committed to helping in. I have know the mayor a long time and I consider him a personal friend."
