The video below is of a panel discussion on Michael Bloomber’s tenure as mayor. This event was organized by Andrew White for Milano’s Center for New York City Affairs. Among the number of interesting points raised was this one made my columnist Robert George: “Bloomberg is a volunteer and therefore doesn’t see himself as responsible to the city of New York.”

George explains that his contention is a reference to Bloomberg’s decision to work for $1 a year. As George suggests, while it’s noble for a billionaire to defer a salary for holding public office, it also defies our traditional expectations of politicians. George’s point speaks to a claim made by all the other panelists that Bloomberg is a unique Mayor in the sense that unlike his recent predecessors Edward Koch, David Dinkins and Rudolph Giuliani who toiled in the dregs of city government before ascending to Mayor, Bloomberg had seemed fairly aloof to city politics until deciding to run for Mayor. George’s point that Bloomberg is the city—if not the state’s—most powerful volunteer (or un-paid intern) is one well worth exploring because it speaks directly to the often dissonant realities of public service: a paycheck is as valuable a tool in keeping politicians in check as a vote.

In flouting conventional political order, Bloomberg’s tenure as Mayor is a quixotic mix of Shirley Chisholm’s famous “unbought and unbossed” mantra, and a far less regal but often exhibited petulance of a person who never fails to point out that since they’re not being paid for their work, they can quit at any time.

George’s point also helps explain why Bloomberg has been such a staunch advocate of community service and healthier lifestyles during his tenure as mayor. Consider for example, that in spite his success in stemming crime in New York, Giuliani was dreadful in inspiring civic participation. Bloomberg has no less of a totalitarian streak than Giuliani (i.e. mayoral control of city schools), but he repeatedly finds ways to enlist people in civic participation campaigns that soften his image. Therefore projects like the bid for the 2012 Olympics and the Million Trees campaign that at face value appear completely unrelated eventually serve the same purpose.

A few months from now we will see whether mayor Bloomberg has succeeded in achieving what so many volunteers/interns strive to accomplish, making oneself so valuable that they have to hire you fulltime.

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