Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg's bromance has gotten off to a rocky start. Cuomo wowed Albany by passing a money-saving budget on time, Bloomberg deemed the resulting cuts to New York City "an outrage." The two have vehemently disagreed in the past on the Last In First Out policy for the state's teachers, which the mayor said kicks "some of our best teachers to the curb," while the governor compared Bloomberg's favored bill to the one limiting collective bargaining efforts in Wisconsin. Now, sources tell the Post that the mayor is cutting Cuomo out of the planning efforts for the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in part because the governor removed Christopher Ward—"a Bloomberg guy"—from the head post at the Port Authority.
While relations between the Albany and City Hall have historically been worse, Cuomo has only been in office five months, and one of his staffers chalks the conflict up to previous governors being soft: "They've never had a powerful governor here. They want their way and they're used to having their way. And that's not how it is anymore." More revealing are their approval ratings. While Cuomo is still riding a 60% approval wave, Bloomberg is sporting a 60% disapproval rating. As long as the balance of power is shifted towards the governor, look for him to "do what he wants." But wait, an olive branch! Bloomberg "likes" Cuomo on his Facebook page, perhaps in light of the two agreeing on Cuomo's plan to limit state pensions. How much longer can you kick a billionaire when he's down, governor?
