Opinion: Is the next Mike Bloomberg hiding in plain sight?

The upcoming Democratic primary for mayor is still very unsettled and fluid. Polls show that someone who’s not even in the race yet is way ahead. 

The incumbent mayor is usually a shoo-in for reelection. Even Bill de Blasio easily won in 2017, despite his low favorables. But Mayor Eric Adams is near the bottom of the pack in this eight candidate race (if you believe early polls).

Although petitioning is a mere month away, there are those who think the next mayor is not even in the race yet. Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo is widely expected to jump in by late February and will instantly become the front-runner. Smart insiders and pundits are confidently predicting a Cuomo comeback and a term in Gracie Mansion for him starting on Jan. 1, 2026.

Perhaps these prognosticators are correct. Cuomo’s experience, name recognition and ability to raise both campaign funds and Super PAC money are unmatched by any current contenders.

But there is another long shot scenario that few are talking about.

What if Adams either gets pardoned or has his federal corruption case thrown out by President Donald Trump, and the two fast friends/aggrieved politicos decide that the mayor could be useful to the president in his administration? Ambassador to Turkey is already filled (Sorry, Eric!), but the globetrotting mayor could become ambassador to another far-flung country or, if he prefers, just serve as Trump’s urban public safety advisor.

With her current boss out of the race, new NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch could step in. She’s a no-nonsense technocrat like Kathryn Garcia (who only lost to Adams by 7,200 votes in 2021), but with a family net worth well into the ten figures.

Tisch probably won’t drop $73 million on a first campaign like Bloomberg did in 2001, but her or her family – her father James Tisch is the billionaire CEO of Loews and mother Merryl is the esteemed chair of the SUNY Board of Trustees – could easily self-finance a robust campaign that could double or triple the war chests of the other candidates. 

Many city voters are now expressing buyer’s remorse over the 2021 mayoral race. Those who voted for Adams over Garcia have often lamented to me that they believe she would have run a tighter, drama-free and competent government. That’s what Tisch and her track record seem to offer.

She has impressive government experience, dating back more than a decade to when former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton tapped her to spearhead the technological revamping of our policing system. She had successful stints as commissioner of the City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, commissioner of the Sanitation Department and most recently as the clean-up commissioner at the NYPD.

She moved boldly and aggressively in her first weeks as NYPD Commissioner to root out allegedly corrupt top cops like Jeffrey Madrey. She’s now cracking down on overtime abuse and moving lots of cops off of less vital desk jobs and onto beats walking the streets and subways, where New Yorkers crave a more proactive blue presence.

Mike Bloomberg had a similar style in his successful three terms as mayor. He hired great people, wasn’t flashy or seeking the spotlight and eschewed the unnecessary cronyism and back room politics of governing. Mike Bloomberg had an MBA degree from Harvard and was the first mayor who used his sophisticated management background to help make New York’s sprawling bureaucracy work to bring down crime, expand waterfront development, unlock new neighborhoods like Hudson Yards and many other notable achievements.

Like Bloomberg, Tisch has a Harvard MBA (as well as a Harvard law degree). And like Bloomberg, she may not be the most dynamic public speaker or have the moxie of Eric Adams (or Ed Koch), but it seems like voters are yearning for competence and leaders who can manage some of the city’s chronic issues and come up with creative solutions. Less swagger, more hands-on competence. 

I don’t know whether Jessica Tisch wants to leave the NYPD and run for mayor (although I’ve heard rumors about this desire recently), but I think that, as a government veteran with a sterling track record who is also a scion of one of New York’s iconic families, she’d offer voters another good choice this June (or November if she chooses to skip the circus-like Democratic primary and run as an independent). 

For those pining for the golden Bloomberg era in New York from 2002-2013, Tisch might be just what voters are looking for, if she’s willing to take the leap in the next few months and challenge her current boss – or try to stop the Cuomo steamroller.