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| Diana Taylor Hopes Voters See What She Sees in Mike Bloomberg | Diana Taylor Hopes Voters See What She Sees in Mike Bloomberg |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| PLEASANT HILL, Calif. — On a quick stop at Michael R. Bloomberg’s field office here on Thursday, Diana Taylor, who once served as New York State’s superintendent of banks, grabbed a pen and walked over to a wall festooned with Post-it notes on which volunteers had completed the phrase “I like Mike because …” | PLEASANT HILL, Calif. — On a quick stop at Michael R. Bloomberg’s field office here on Thursday, Diana Taylor, who once served as New York State’s superintendent of banks, grabbed a pen and walked over to a wall festooned with Post-it notes on which volunteers had completed the phrase “I like Mike because …” |
| Most of the testimonials were terse and prosaic, because this is Mr. Bloomberg we’re talking about: “he’s smart,” “he gets stuff done,” “he can beat Trump.” | Most of the testimonials were terse and prosaic, because this is Mr. Bloomberg we’re talking about: “he’s smart,” “he gets stuff done,” “he can beat Trump.” |
| Ms. Taylor, 65, had a different view. “I like Mike,” she wrote on her Post-it, “because I LOVE MIKE.” | Ms. Taylor, 65, had a different view. “I like Mike,” she wrote on her Post-it, “because I LOVE MIKE.” |
| The humorous, understated, almost scarily accomplished Ms. Taylor has lived with Mr. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, for nearly 20 years, and she is the first to acknowledge that he can be “sometimes awkward,” with his brusque engineer’s manner and instinctually nonemollient worldview. | The humorous, understated, almost scarily accomplished Ms. Taylor has lived with Mr. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, for nearly 20 years, and she is the first to acknowledge that he can be “sometimes awkward,” with his brusque engineer’s manner and instinctually nonemollient worldview. |
| “When I go to him with a problem, he immediately jumps ahead to offer solutions that work, whether that’s what I wanted or not,” she said in a speech earlier that day at the Assembly, a wellness and event space in San Francisco. “Sometimes all I want for him to say is, ‘I understand.’ But that’s not who he is. He immediately wants to solve the problem — and that’s who I want in the White House.” | “When I go to him with a problem, he immediately jumps ahead to offer solutions that work, whether that’s what I wanted or not,” she said in a speech earlier that day at the Assembly, a wellness and event space in San Francisco. “Sometimes all I want for him to say is, ‘I understand.’ But that’s not who he is. He immediately wants to solve the problem — and that’s who I want in the White House.” |
| With the Democratic presidential campaign accelerating into hyperdrive as Super Tuesday approaches, Mr. Bloomberg still remains an elusive political figure, a megabillionaire who has loomed far above the race, raining down money and advertising while withholding his name from the ballot until now. | With the Democratic presidential campaign accelerating into hyperdrive as Super Tuesday approaches, Mr. Bloomberg still remains an elusive political figure, a megabillionaire who has loomed far above the race, raining down money and advertising while withholding his name from the ballot until now. |
| His campaign has suffered in part because he seems so uncomfortable campaigning. While he is better in situations like town-hall-style meetings that appeal to his wonkish policy instincts, in debates he has the air of an enormously rich fish who, having been forced to leave the comforts of his pond, finds himself under attack by a herd of noisy, angry land mammals. | His campaign has suffered in part because he seems so uncomfortable campaigning. While he is better in situations like town-hall-style meetings that appeal to his wonkish policy instincts, in debates he has the air of an enormously rich fish who, having been forced to leave the comforts of his pond, finds himself under attack by a herd of noisy, angry land mammals. |
| Ms. Taylor — who, in addition to her state government job, has had a long career on Wall Street and now serves on a variety of corporate and nonprofit boards — is a stealth weapon on his behalf. | Ms. Taylor — who, in addition to her state government job, has had a long career on Wall Street and now serves on a variety of corporate and nonprofit boards — is a stealth weapon on his behalf. |
| She has been crisscrossing the country for the past five weeks or so, and her job is clear: to soften Mr. Bloomberg’s image. To remind the public of his extensive record supporting causes dear to Democrats, like climate change, gun control and reproductive rights. To present him as someone who, though unflashy and a little stiff, helped rebuild New York City’s economy and restore its psyche after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. And to rebut, contextualize and reinterpret his infelicitous remarks. | She has been crisscrossing the country for the past five weeks or so, and her job is clear: to soften Mr. Bloomberg’s image. To remind the public of his extensive record supporting causes dear to Democrats, like climate change, gun control and reproductive rights. To present him as someone who, though unflashy and a little stiff, helped rebuild New York City’s economy and restore its psyche after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. And to rebut, contextualize and reinterpret his infelicitous remarks. |
| Her very existence may be her biggest asset of all. She is elegant where Mr. Bloomberg is schlumpy. She is expansive while he is terse. She is funny, relaxed, empathetic and personable while he is … less so. | Her very existence may be her biggest asset of all. She is elegant where Mr. Bloomberg is schlumpy. She is expansive while he is terse. She is funny, relaxed, empathetic and personable while he is … less so. |
| “You can tell a lot about a man from the women they surround themselves with and from their significant others,” said Deborah Jackson, the co-founder of Plum Alley, a venture firm that invests in female entrepreneurs, who has been a friend of Ms. Taylor’s since their days together at Columbia Business School in the 1970s. | “You can tell a lot about a man from the women they surround themselves with and from their significant others,” said Deborah Jackson, the co-founder of Plum Alley, a venture firm that invests in female entrepreneurs, who has been a friend of Ms. Taylor’s since their days together at Columbia Business School in the 1970s. |
| “When you think about Mike,” Ms. Jackson said, “I have to say I respect him for choosing Diana as a long-term partner.” | “When you think about Mike,” Ms. Jackson said, “I have to say I respect him for choosing Diana as a long-term partner.” |
| Katha Hartley, president of the Democrats of Rossmoor, a group in Walnut Creek, Calif., where Ms. Taylor spoke later on Thursday, said that people were curious less about what Mr. Bloomberg sees in Ms. Taylor than about what she sees in him. | Katha Hartley, president of the Democrats of Rossmoor, a group in Walnut Creek, Calif., where Ms. Taylor spoke later on Thursday, said that people were curious less about what Mr. Bloomberg sees in Ms. Taylor than about what she sees in him. |
| “Why is she so supportive of him?” Ms. Harley asked. “What is it about her that they have had this relationship for 20 years? I think it’s like Bill Gates and Melinda — she brings that softer side that he is missing.” | “Why is she so supportive of him?” Ms. Harley asked. “What is it about her that they have had this relationship for 20 years? I think it’s like Bill Gates and Melinda — she brings that softer side that he is missing.” |
| For Ms. Taylor, there is also the need to provide an alternative narrative to the one that voters heard in the past two Democratic presidential debates, when Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and others vying for the party’s nomination questioned Mr. Bloomberg about allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination at his company, and related nondisclosure agreements. | For Ms. Taylor, there is also the need to provide an alternative narrative to the one that voters heard in the past two Democratic presidential debates, when Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and others vying for the party’s nomination questioned Mr. Bloomberg about allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination at his company, and related nondisclosure agreements. |
| Ms. Taylor is vehement on the subject. | Ms. Taylor is vehement on the subject. |
| “The thing I actually find really interesting,” she said in an interview, “is that the only things Michael’s opponents have come up with to disparage him with are things that happened a long time ago, and were part of the culture then, and are nothing to do with anything he’s done.” | “The thing I actually find really interesting,” she said in an interview, “is that the only things Michael’s opponents have come up with to disparage him with are things that happened a long time ago, and were part of the culture then, and are nothing to do with anything he’s done.” |
| “You need to look at people’s values and what they have done,” she continued. “A couple of words that somebody said to somebody many years ago is not who they are today. You regret it, you apologize, you make it right, you move on and you live your life according to the values of what you have.” | “You need to look at people’s values and what they have done,” she continued. “A couple of words that somebody said to somebody many years ago is not who they are today. You regret it, you apologize, you make it right, you move on and you live your life according to the values of what you have.” |
| In a way, it is odd that Ms. Taylor should find herself in the spotlight solely for the purpose of supporting a man’s ambitions. | In a way, it is odd that Ms. Taylor should find herself in the spotlight solely for the purpose of supporting a man’s ambitions. |
| She has spent a lifetime navigating a world of men, always succeeding on her own. At Dartmouth, she was in the second class of women to graduate, one of just 200 women among 3,000 men. (When she brought Mr. Bloomberg to her 40th reunion, she said, she got an award for “best trophy date.”) | She has spent a lifetime navigating a world of men, always succeeding on her own. At Dartmouth, she was in the second class of women to graduate, one of just 200 women among 3,000 men. (When she brought Mr. Bloomberg to her 40th reunion, she said, she got an award for “best trophy date.”) |
| She made her own way at Columbia, working nights and weekends at two different jobs, after her father refused to pay the tuition on the grounds that she would just marry anyway, and then went on to Wall Street, where she worked at companies including Smith Barney and Lehman Brothers. | She made her own way at Columbia, working nights and weekends at two different jobs, after her father refused to pay the tuition on the grounds that she would just marry anyway, and then went on to Wall Street, where she worked at companies including Smith Barney and Lehman Brothers. |
| In 2010, the Republican Party recruited her to run for the United States Senate in New York, but she turned down the offer. (She has also since switched to the Democratic Party.) Even though her relationship with Mr. Bloomberg, who was mayor at the time, meant the public knew her mostly as New York City’s unofficial first lady, Ms. Taylor said, she did not feel relegated to second place. | In 2010, the Republican Party recruited her to run for the United States Senate in New York, but she turned down the offer. (She has also since switched to the Democratic Party.) Even though her relationship with Mr. Bloomberg, who was mayor at the time, meant the public knew her mostly as New York City’s unofficial first lady, Ms. Taylor said, she did not feel relegated to second place. |
| “I’ve never thought about it,” she said at the end of many hours of campaigning, from San Francisco to Walnut Creek and in between. | “I’ve never thought about it,” she said at the end of many hours of campaigning, from San Francisco to Walnut Creek and in between. |
| “I am who I am,” Ms. Taylor said. “I’ve always had my own career and my own stuff that I was working on.” | “I am who I am,” Ms. Taylor said. “I’ve always had my own career and my own stuff that I was working on.” |
| It is her firm sense of herself that redounded to Mr. Bloomberg’s benefit all day, as her charm made him seem more charming by proxy. Cory Colligan, 66, who heard Ms. Taylor speak at the Rossmoor meeting, said that while Mr. Bloomberg might be “a little stiff,” Mr. Taylor’s warmth and obvious love for him “brought out his more personal side.” | It is her firm sense of herself that redounded to Mr. Bloomberg’s benefit all day, as her charm made him seem more charming by proxy. Cory Colligan, 66, who heard Ms. Taylor speak at the Rossmoor meeting, said that while Mr. Bloomberg might be “a little stiff,” Mr. Taylor’s warmth and obvious love for him “brought out his more personal side.” |
| The year was 2000. Ms. Taylor and Mr. Bloomberg each had been married before — hers a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it starter marriage, his a two-decades-long union that produced two daughters — when they were seated together at a lunch for one organization and then both found themselves attending a dinner for another. | The year was 2000. Ms. Taylor and Mr. Bloomberg each had been married before — hers a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it starter marriage, his a two-decades-long union that produced two daughters — when they were seated together at a lunch for one organization and then both found themselves attending a dinner for another. |
| “He asked her to go for a drink afterwards, and they’ve been together ever since,” said Barbara Shattuck Kohn, an investment banker and longtime friend of Ms. Taylor’s, who was at both events. | “He asked her to go for a drink afterwards, and they’ve been together ever since,” said Barbara Shattuck Kohn, an investment banker and longtime friend of Ms. Taylor’s, who was at both events. |
| A year later, Mr. Bloomberg was nearing the final stretch of his unlikely campaign to become New York’s mayor. Primary Day was Sept. 11, 2001. | A year later, Mr. Bloomberg was nearing the final stretch of his unlikely campaign to become New York’s mayor. Primary Day was Sept. 11, 2001. |
| Everything changed for them, as for so many others. She moved to his townhouse, on East 79th Street in Manhattan. “After 9/11, I never spent another night in my apartment,” she said. | |
| Ms. Taylor and Mr. Bloomberg are happily unmarried and do not plan to start now, she said, even if he becomes president. “We’ve been together 20 years,” she said. “That would be a little disingenuous.” | Ms. Taylor and Mr. Bloomberg are happily unmarried and do not plan to start now, she said, even if he becomes president. “We’ve been together 20 years,” she said. “That would be a little disingenuous.” |
| She has no children, because she was never with the right man at the right time, Ms. Taylor said. | She has no children, because she was never with the right man at the right time, Ms. Taylor said. |
| “That was a choice,” she said in her San Francisco speech, on the subject of women in the workplace — where they are, where they should be, what Mr. Bloomberg can do to help them. | “That was a choice,” she said in her San Francisco speech, on the subject of women in the workplace — where they are, where they should be, what Mr. Bloomberg can do to help them. |
| “It was my choice,” she said. “I have a really close family, and I’m proud of the life I’ve created for myself.” | “It was my choice,” she said. “I have a really close family, and I’m proud of the life I’ve created for myself.” |
| Friends of the couple say that the former mayor is immensely proud of Ms. Taylor. But he is not prone to grand gestures. | Friends of the couple say that the former mayor is immensely proud of Ms. Taylor. But he is not prone to grand gestures. |
| “His idea of a romantic dinner is cooking at home and making Shake ’N Bake chicken,” Ms. Taylor said, referring to the retro bread crumb mix, which is spread over chicken pieces in a plastic bag. | “His idea of a romantic dinner is cooking at home and making Shake ’N Bake chicken,” Ms. Taylor said, referring to the retro bread crumb mix, which is spread over chicken pieces in a plastic bag. |
| “We do it together,” Ms. Taylor said. “He makes the chicken, because he loves doing the shaking, and I do the vegetables.” Mr. Bloomberg does the dishes. | “We do it together,” Ms. Taylor said. “He makes the chicken, because he loves doing the shaking, and I do the vegetables.” Mr. Bloomberg does the dishes. |
| During Mr. Bloomberg’s years in City Hall, Ms. Taylor became known for her slinky designer gowns, often paired with heels that put her far above the much-shorter Mr. Bloomberg. | During Mr. Bloomberg’s years in City Hall, Ms. Taylor became known for her slinky designer gowns, often paired with heels that put her far above the much-shorter Mr. Bloomberg. |
| But Ms. Kohn said Ms. Taylor was actually an immensely practical person. Ms. Kohn recalled a dinner party in East Hampton when Ms. Taylor arrived very late to the table, brushing dirt off her white suit; it turned out that she had become trapped in the bathroom when the doorknob fell off. | But Ms. Kohn said Ms. Taylor was actually an immensely practical person. Ms. Kohn recalled a dinner party in East Hampton when Ms. Taylor arrived very late to the table, brushing dirt off her white suit; it turned out that she had become trapped in the bathroom when the doorknob fell off. |
| “So she climbed out of a pretty small window, landed on the air-conditioning units, jumped off them and onto the ground and walked back in to the party,” Ms. Kohn said in an email. | “So she climbed out of a pretty small window, landed on the air-conditioning units, jumped off them and onto the ground and walked back in to the party,” Ms. Kohn said in an email. |
| She and Mr. Bloomberg agree on most things, Ms. Taylor said, except whether their two dogs can sleep on the bed. (No, she says, unless he is away, in which case, yes.) The dogs were her idea. For Christmas in 2007, she presented him with a photograph of two puppies. | She and Mr. Bloomberg agree on most things, Ms. Taylor said, except whether their two dogs can sleep on the bed. (No, she says, unless he is away, in which case, yes.) The dogs were her idea. For Christmas in 2007, she presented him with a photograph of two puppies. |
| “He looked at the picture and he looked at me and he said, ‘I don’t have any choice, do I?’ And I said, “Yes, you do, but choices have consequences.” (Those dogs have since died, but they have been replaced by two others.) | “He looked at the picture and he looked at me and he said, ‘I don’t have any choice, do I?’ And I said, “Yes, you do, but choices have consequences.” (Those dogs have since died, but they have been replaced by two others.) |
| The couple have taken only one meaningful vacation together — two weeks rafting, golfing and fishing in New Zealand after he left the mayor’s office. More recently they toured World War I battlefields in France. | The couple have taken only one meaningful vacation together — two weeks rafting, golfing and fishing in New Zealand after he left the mayor’s office. More recently they toured World War I battlefields in France. |
| At home, he reads nonfiction books about the First and Second World Wars. “I can count the times we’ve turned on the TV in 20 years on one hand,” she said, although they did watch the British detective drama “Foyle’s War,” which is set during — a pattern is developing here — World War II. | At home, he reads nonfiction books about the First and Second World Wars. “I can count the times we’ve turned on the TV in 20 years on one hand,” she said, although they did watch the British detective drama “Foyle’s War,” which is set during — a pattern is developing here — World War II. |
| After his first Democratic debate last month, when Mr. Bloomberg gave a fractious response to questions about the nondisclosure agreements signed by women who had sued his company, Ms. Taylor got into trouble of her own. She snapped, CBS News reported, that people should “get over it.” | After his first Democratic debate last month, when Mr. Bloomberg gave a fractious response to questions about the nondisclosure agreements signed by women who had sued his company, Ms. Taylor got into trouble of her own. She snapped, CBS News reported, that people should “get over it.” |
| Ms. Taylor said she had directed the comment at the reporter, not at the women. | Ms. Taylor said she had directed the comment at the reporter, not at the women. |
| “He asked the question three times,” she said. “I answered it and I said, ‘That’s not who Michael is.’ And he kept asking the question, and then I basically told him to get over it.” | “He asked the question three times,” she said. “I answered it and I said, ‘That’s not who Michael is.’ And he kept asking the question, and then I basically told him to get over it.” |
| In reflecting on the subject of the agreements, Ms. Taylor recalled her time on Wall Street in its misogynistic heyday. | In reflecting on the subject of the agreements, Ms. Taylor recalled her time on Wall Street in its misogynistic heyday. |
| “I lived with that stuff,” she said, with a sudden fierceness. “I would never in a million years be with someone who would treat me like that. I have choices. I don’t need to be here. I’m here because I want to be.” | “I lived with that stuff,” she said, with a sudden fierceness. “I would never in a million years be with someone who would treat me like that. I have choices. I don’t need to be here. I’m here because I want to be.” |