By Chinelo Onwualu

National-World News Co-Editor

Media mogul, Michael Bloomberg, is the newest Mayor of New York city and is one of several political newcomers who will take office across the nation in the next year.

Bloomberg, a Democrat turned Republican, had promised voters that he would keep up the momentum of out-going mayor, Rudloph Giuliani, who could not seek re-election because of term limits. By stressing his business expertise, the tycoon played on the economic worries of New Yorkers for whom tourism has declined sharply since the Sept. 11 attacks.

According to the documents filed by the City Board of Elections, Bloomberg spent an estimated $50 million of his personal fortune. In July, critics accused Bloomberg of buying the election by outspending his opponents in television and radio ads. His reluctance to disclose certain aspects of his income and tax information also caused a minor controversy.

Now, the billionaire will need every modicum of the business acumen that helped him build the media company that bears his name. An estimated 100,000 jobs have been lost since the attacks and a slowing economy, falling revenues and a multi-billion dollar budget deficit are among some of the challenges the new mayor will face.

According to the BBC, the new mayor steps in with Giuliani's full support saying that Bloomberg has ``the financial and economic expertise New York needs. He understands business. He understands jobs. He has the right plans to rebuild.''

Among his first deeds, Bloomberg must negotiate with government agencies, businesses and unions to direct the rebuilding of lower Manhattan and to fill in the gaps in the city's budget. New York is facing a revenue shortfall of $1.6 billion for the end of the fiscal year. A proposal raised by the New York congressional delegation estimates that the city would experience an additional $105 billion dollars in losses over the next two years. It is unlikely that the new mayor will be able to raise the money by raising taxes on businesses and may have to turn on the city's bureaucracy.