New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is naming former Indianapolis mayor Stephen Goldsmith as deputy mayor to oversee the police and fire departments and other key agencies, reports the New York Daily News. Goldsmith, 64, replaces Ed Skyler. The move, says the newspaper, “creates a steep learning curve for a Republican dropped into New York without a deep familiarity with the city.”
Goldsmith was chief prosecutor in Indianapolis for a dozen years before serving as Indianapolis’ mayor from 1992 to 2000. He won accolades for rebuilding the city’s central core, cutting taxes, and improving government efficiency, though critics said he paid for it with borrowed money and increased the city’s debt load.