Mayor Ken Miyagishima supports Bloomberg for president, will attend campaign event in NYC
Michael McDevittLAS CRUCES - Mayor Ken Miyagishima took a detour through New York City on his way to the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. to attend a campaign event for his preferred pick for the next president — billionaire and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Miyagishima and other "Mayors for Mike" will attend a special campaign briefing Tuesday, Jan. 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST at the campaign's new Times Square headquarters. Bloomberg's campaign staff will provide the mayors an overview of their strategy to win the nomination and give an inside look at the campaign's field, state and digital efforts.
An email sent to the invited mayors, Miyagishima included, obtained by the Sun-News, indicates Tuesday's campaign event is meant for mayors who "stood up as one of our earliest supporters."
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The event is also for mayors who "have signaled strong openness to joining Team Mike," according to the email.
The Bloomberg campaign wasn't able to confirm any details other than that an event was happening Tuesday. The event is private, the campaign said.
Bloomberg announced a bid for the Democratic nomination on Nov. 24. He was a late entry into the race, coming in after several contenders had already dropped out.
According to a RealClearPolitics average of polls, Bloomberg is polling at about 7 percent nationally, in fifth place behind former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Why the mayor supports Bloomberg
Miyagishima said he supports Bloomberg because he's been a successful businessman and has successfully run a major metropolitan city.
"It's a two for one," Miyagishima said. "I think he has the ability to bring people together to solve America's problems."
Miyagishima said he's not sure yet what his role in Bloomberg's campaign will look like — as simply a supportive mayor or a surrogate with a larger role.
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Miyagishima said he's met Bloomberg several times at meetings of the conference of mayors. He said he's always wanted him to run for president.
Bloomberg built a media empire after finding success in technology that provided investors and traders with financial data. He was a three-term mayor in New York and only rejoined the Democratic Party in 2018 — he registered as a Republican in 2001 ahead of his mayoral bid, then switched again in 2007 and won his third term in 2009 as a registered independent.
He's running as a moderate, rejecting more progressive policy proposals such as "Medicare for All" and the Green New Deal.
Miyagishima said Bloomberg campaign staff reached out to him before Bloomberg announced his candidacy for president. The Las Cruces mayor said he told them he'd absolutely support Bloomberg.
In December, Bloomberg called Miyagishima to thank him for his support, he said. He even tweeted about it at the time.
After the event, the mayors in attendance will hop on a bus to D.C. to make it down there in time for the annual conference of mayors meeting, which starts Jan. 22, according to the email.
The email also says: "We are eager to offer our help with your travel and accomodations if we are able."
The campaign couldn't confirm if it was paying for the mayors' travel and lodging, including the bus to D.C., but said travel expenses are legally campaign expenses. The campaign also couldn't confirm how many and which mayors were attending Tuesday's event.
Bloomberg and Buttigieg will both address the conference over the course of the, meeting's three days — Bloomberg on Jan. 22 and Buttigieg on Jan. 23.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is a nonpartisan organization made up of mayors from cities with populations of more than 30,000.
Michael McDevitt can be reached at 575-202-3205, mmcdevitt@lcsun-news.com or @MikeMcDTweets on Twitter.