Bloomberg Deputy Mayor Quit Over Domestic Violence Arrest, Not the Snowstorm

Stephen Goldsmith, New York City's former deputy mayor of operations, resigned in August after spending time in jail on suspicion of domestic abuse. Until the New York Post reported the July arrest on Thursday, it had been widely believed that Goldsmith stepped down as a result of the city's disastrous response to the December blizzard of 2010.

As The New York Times pointed out, The Bloomberg administration did nothing to dispel that perception. Howard Wolfson, deputy mayor for governmental affairs in the Bloomberg administration, told the Times that City Hall did not have anything to add to Mrs. Goldsmith's account.

The Post published excerpts of the police report filed after Margaret Goldsmith called the police at around 11:30 p.m. on July 30 from the couple's home in the tony Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The report recounts in great detail a verbal altercation that turned ugly and ended with Stephen Goldsmith restraining his wife.

According to the report, the couple was having a heated argument when Margaret Goldsmith threatened to call the police. Stephen Goldsmith then snatched her phone and broke it on the ground before grabbing hold of his wife.

She kept screaming, 'Let me go, let me go,' as Stephen refused to let her out of his grasp, according to the excerpts of the report published in the Post.

She dug her nails into [Stephen's] forearms, causing him to release Margaret, who then ran to the other room to call police.

According to the report. Margaret Goldsmith expressed regret earlier in the argument that she had not previously done away with her husband. I should have put a bullet through you years ago! Margaret Goldsmith allegedly told her husband, later adding, You're not doing to do this to me again.

Still, the Goldsmiths -- who have been married since 1988 -- have not separated and both deny that any violence took place.

There was no domestic violence that occurred between my husband and myself, Margaret Goldsmith told the Post. Nor has there ever been in the history of the marriage.

It was a big mistake, she said of her husband's arrest. I can only tell you it was an enormous misunderstanding. It just got out of control.

Stephen Goldsmith explained to the Post that his resignation should not be interpreted as an admission of guilt:

Although Margaret, under oath, has affirmed the absence of violence and my actual innocence, I offered my resignation in order not to be a distraction to the mayor and his important agenda for the city.

Stephen Goldsmith resigned in August after only 14 months as a senior Bloomberg aide. Announcing his resignation in a statement on Aug. 4, Goldsmith said he was leaving the administration to return to academic work and to pursue opportunities in the financial sector, the Times reported, adding: Friends described his resignation as abrupt; he had been scheduling meetings and discussing policy proposals as recently as last week.

Goldsmith was out of town at his Georgetown home when the Dec. 26 blizzard crippled New York City. As people were stranded in life-threatening situations during the peak of the blizzard, Goldsmith posted a message on Twitter from D.C., congratulating city workers on a job well done.

Goldsmith later apologized for the city's poor response to the blizzard. His decision to split his time between Washington, D.C., and New York City was just one of the concerns other Bloomberg aides had about the former Deputy Mayor's ability to do his job effectively.

Announcing his resignation, Goldsmith said, The change will provide me, at age 64, with more flexibility for me and my family and a secure foundation for our future.