We Can Work With That

Bloomberg gets Colin Powell — who hasn’t lived in New York since he was growing up in the Bronx — but even with that high-profile “endorsement,” Bill Thompson is now just ten points behind:

City Controller William Thompson has narrowed the gap between him and big-spending Mayor Bloomberg to 10 points in a new Quinnipiac University poll — down from a 22-point margin just a month ago.

Bloomberg would win 47% of the vote in a hypothetical matchup compared with 37% for Thompson, the poll found — versus the 54-to-32 lead he had in mid-June.

“Now there’s a little life in the mayoral race,” said Quinnipiac pollster Maurice Carroll. “Thompson is closer than Democrat Fernando Ferrer was at this point in 2005.”

Bloomberg’s campaign shrugged off the poll numbers, saying they seemed to be influenced by a wording change. Last month’s poll called the mayor an independent, but the new one noted he is running as an independent and a Republican.

And then there’s Tony:

Some colleagues question Mr. Avella’s temperament and world view. He often acts, they say, as if he is the smartest person in the room, and he has a temper. He also evinces little interest in national or international affairs.

They act like that’s a bad thing! A mayor isn’t supposed to be interested in international affairs. A mayor needs to be primarily interested in fixing potholes. Any port in a storm . . .