Republican candidate says New York mayor offered him job to keep out of ra

[DoYouEverWonder]

January 25, 2005, 10:34 PM EST

NEW YORK -- Former City Councilman Thomas Ognibene said Tuesday that aides to Mayor Michael Bloomberg offered him a lucrative job so he would not challenge the mayor for City Hall.

Bloomberg and his aides denied the charge vigorously, saying they had simply offered Ognibene a position with the Bloomberg campaign and had been unaware that the former councilman was interested in being mayor.

"He was not running when we had contact with him, and when we read in the paper he was running, we had no further contact," Bloomberg said.

But Ognibene, a Queens Republican who served in the City Council from 1992 to 2001, said that the Bloomberg administration knew about his plans because one of the mayor's aides, Richard Wager, had attended a recent speech in which Ognibene announced he intended to run.

"I'm not for sale," Ognibene said Tuesday.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/state/ny-bc-ny--mayorsjoboffer0125jan25,0,1906560.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

[mark414]

1. that's actually

pretty damn respectable if i do say so myself

really damn respectable

[cornermouse]

2. Gotta admire those republicans.

Class through and through. (sarcasm)