Gotham Gossipist: Will Alec Baldwin Run For NYC Mayor?
By Kimberly Rae Miller
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Alec Baldwin loves New York. In fact, he loves the Big Apple so much, he might want to run the place.
The "30 Rock" actor has always been vocal in politics, and when his contract ends with NBC, he may audition for a new starring role — as a New York City mayoral candidate.
Rumors started circulating that Baldwin would run in the 2013 election when fellow Democrat Anthony Weiner stepped down from his congressional post. It had been assumed that Weiner would represent the Democratic Party in the next Mayoral election.
According to an interview with Baldwin in The New York Times, that's not exactly the case.
The actor wants to take a bit of time to learn the ropes and study up on the job requirements.
It appears that Jack Donaghy is leaving TV and going back to school. Baldwin is currently contemplating attendance at a top university to obtain a master's degree in politics and government "to help me better understand what the fiscal imperatives of that job are," he said.
"What's the reality of the city unions, of contracts, agreements, teachers, infrastructure, decentralizing, everything? And utilities, Con Ed, the M.T.A. — how does it all work?"
What inspired Baldwin to put his politics where his mouth is? Mayor Bloomberg.
Baldwin is irate about Mayor Bloomberg's rewrites of New York's mayoral term limits.
"I don't have anything against Bloomberg, but there are term limits," he told the Times. "The whole point is, whether you liked him or didn't like him, he's got to go."
In the meantime, Baldwin thinks that his humble roots will aide his political run.
The Long Island native now lives on the Upper West Side, an area he insists is "more real" and mimics the middle class upbringing of his youth.
"There are people who make a lot of money who become rich people, and then there are people who make a lot of money, but they don't think like rich people do," he said. "No matter how much money they have, they are the same from their own upbringing. I would definitely put myself in the latter class."
If the Terminator can govern California, I don't see any reason why the guy from Beetlejuice can't take a stab at New York. That movie is a classic.
Kimberly Rae Miller is a writer, actress, and host living in New York City (kimberlyraemiller.com).
