Mike Gets His Groove On

January 3, 2005


Bloomberg Gets Endorsement From an Influential Black Minister
By MIKE McINTIRE

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg traveled to the Allen A.M.E. Church in Jamaica, Queens, yesterday to accept the endorsement of Allen's influential pastor, the Rev. Floyd H. Flake, a former Democratic congressman who backed Mr. Bloomberg's opponent, Mark Green, in 2001.

Mr. Flake said he was backing Mr. Bloomberg because of his record of improving the city's schools and his leadership in the years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"I like the mayor because he just goes about the business of doing his work," Mr. Flake said at a news conference, held after the church service at a nearby center for the elderly. "He has not pandered to blacks, to whites, to Jews or any race. He has stood firm and spoken on behalf of the citizens of New York. He is the best representative, I think, that we could possibly have."

For his part, Mr. Bloomberg was content to bask in Mr. Flake's kind words. He did not take any questions, and made only a few remarks.

"I'm not quite sure what to say," the mayor said. "I'll start with, 'Thank you.' I said to the reverend when he told me he was going to endorse me - I didn't call him and ask him; he called me - I said, 'All I can promise you is I will work as hard as I possibly can and do what I think is right.' "

Nowhere is Mr. Bloomberg's awkward connection to nonwhite voters more evident than on his visits to the city's black churches, where he almost always sits placidly, hands folded on his lap, as everyone around him leaps and sways to gospel music.

Yesterday, sitting in the front pew at Allen, Mr. Bloomberg, once again, was the last one on his feet clapping to the beat. But politically, at least, he seemed to find his rhythm with Mr. Flake's endorsement.

Mr. Flake's announcement was not surprising; the minister had signaled that it was coming two years ago during an earlier visit to Allen by the mayor, who, only half-jokingly, called it "my first endorsement for re-election." But it was significant nonetheless, given that Mr. Bloomberg has struggled to improve his standing among nonwhites since getting about 25 percent of the black vote in 2001. According to a recent Marist poll, Mr. Bloomberg received a 52 percent approval rating among whites, but only a 36 percent rating among blacks.

Douglas A. Muzzio, a professor of political science at Baruch College, said Mr. Flake's endorsement signaled that Mr. Bloomberg was not content to cede the votes of African-American and Hispanic New Yorkers to the Democrats.

"Clearly, he needs to cut into that vote," Mr. Muzzio said. "He needs to pick off votes, and the middle-class, homeowning black voter in Queens and other places in the city is a ripe target for the mayor."

Democrats seeking the nomination include Charles Barron, a city councilman from Brooklyn; Fernando Ferrer, a former Bronx borough president; C. Virginia Fields, the Manhattan borough president; Gifford Miller, the speaker of the City Council; and Representative Anthony D. Weiner. In addition, Steve Shaw, an investment banker from Manhattan, has announced his intention to challenge Mr. Bloomberg for the Republican nomination.

For Mr. Flake, who endorsed Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in 1997, backing a Republican candidate is nothing new. His sermons are heavy on the same theme of personal responsibility that Mr. Bloomberg likes to hit upon, as the mayor did again yesterday during remarks to worshipers at the church, where his promise to crack down on disruptive students in city schools drew loud applause.

Mr. Flake credited the mayor's "business acumen" for helping the city come through the economic downturn following Sept. 11, 2001, and said there were lessons for black voters in Mr. Bloomberg's emphasis on private initiatives and management style, as opposed to continued reliance on government programs.

"We can no longer as a people, and I'm speaking specifically now to African-American people," Mr. Flake said, "consider our plight and our future to be merely one where we will get what we want based on social and political processes. There must be an understanding of economics, and I don't think that anyone who will enter this race or is in this race has the ability to see the economic realities of this city better than the mayor who stands beside me today."

Mr. Flake's warm endorsement was also leavened with a dose of pragmatism: He openly thanked Mr. Bloomberg for his support of major redevelopment projects sponsored by Mr. Flake's church, including $1.8 million in city housing funds, awarded last fall, for a housing and retail development in Jamaica, and zoning approvals needed for construction of the senior center where the press conference was held.

"The mayor's office, as you know, is one that can have a lot of impact," Mr. Flake said, adding, "We just praise God for the opportunity to be an instrument that the mayor can use to help better the community and better the city."