***Mitt to mix it up with New York’s political elite***
http://news.bostonherald….rticleid=100043
By Dave Wedge
Monday, August 29, 2005 - Updated: 10:02 AM ESTWilliam F. Weld may be gearing up for a run for New York governor but it is Bay State Gov. Mitt Romney who has scored a plum speaking gig at the Big Apple’s most influential conservative think tank.
Romney, who is expected to make a 2008 presidential run, will speak next month at New York City’s posh Harvard Club to members of the elite Manhattan Institute. The think tank is home to many of the city’s political movers and shakers and is a close ally of Romney’s potential 2008 GOP opponent, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
“Our institution liked his ideas and asked him to speak and he accepted,” Manhattan Institute press officer Clarice Smith said of Romney’s Sept. 12 engagement.
Asked if former Massachusetts Gov. Weld would address the Institute in the future, Smith said: “That may be something for us down the line, but right now, no.”
Founded in the 1970s, the Manhattan Institute is funded through $9 million in annual donations and is widely viewed as New York City’s most influential political group. The Institute publishes the City Journal, an urban magazine considered a must-read in the New York political scene.
Romney is touted in an invitation to the event for his work at Bain Capital and cleaning up the scandal-plagued 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. He is slated to speak at the two-hour luncheon on health care, homeland security and the economy. Recent speakers include author Tom Wolfe, New York Times columnist David Brooks and 9/11 victims compensation fund manager Kenneth Feinberg of Brockton. Billionaire magazine mogul Steve Forbes is also booked for next month.
New York University Professor Mitchell Moss said the event is a clear indication that Romney is trying to up his national profile.
“Romney coming to New York is no accident,” he said. “It’s a premier platform and an opportunity to get exposed to potential donors to his campaign and to the media.”
Moss said it’s “striking” that Romney is speaking at the Institute, especially since Giuliani is a likely opponent.
“He’s got a very attractive persona,” Moss said of Romney. “This is a very interesting thing that New York is kind of becoming a receiving ground for Massachusetts governors.”
© 2005 The Boston Herald
