Here's an interesting New York Times article on the publicly prickly relationship between New York City comptroller John C. Liu and mayor Michael R. Bloomberg: Many Clashes, Few Kind Words Between Mayor and Comptroller.The two politicians have made it pretty clear to everyone that they do not care much for each other -- professionally, personally, and every way in between.
To the mayor, Mr. Liu has become a union mouthpiece intent on using him as a foil for a campaign for the mayor's office in 2013.They have a working relationship. Barely. Definitely not best buddies. You have to figure the tension between mayor and comptroller is somewhat inherent to the job -- the comptroller's job is basically making sure City Hall isn't wasting taxpayer dollars. But the enmity between Liu and Bloomberg has become rather notorious. I kind of love it.
After one recent report by the comptroller's office, one senior administration official said: "It's fair to say the mayor is not particularly pleased. From the mayor's perspective, there is plenty of taunting and jabbing going on. You cannot partner with John. We understand that we're being used as a platform in his mayoral campaign."
To Mr. Liu, Mr. Bloomberg, who is in his third term, is simply unaccustomed to aggressive scrutiny. The comptroller is just doing his job, his allies say, by exposing questionable contracts and insisting on transparency from City Hall.
"If the mayor is saying that we need to tighten our belts and we all have to be accountable, then what John is doing is, 'I'm trying to make sure the city is being held accountable,' " said Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, who has clashed with Mr. Bloomberg over plans for teacher layoffs. "Why the mayor would have a problem with that is beyond me."
Asked to characterize their relationship, Mr. Mulgrew said, diplomatically, "I've seen better."