NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg Endorses Obama: 'He Can Fulfill Hope Inspired 4 Years Ago'

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thursday announced that he is endorsing President Barack Obama for a second term in the White House.

Citing Hurricane Sandy’s reshaping the presidential election and what he said was Obama’s success on the climate front, Bloomberg revealed his endorsement on Bloomberg View, which he owns, under the headline “A Vote for a President to Lead on Climate Change.”

“We need leadership from the White House -- and over the past four years, President Barack Obama has taken major steps to reduce our carbon consumption, including setting higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks,” Bloomberg wrote. “His administration also has adopted tighter controls on mercury emissions, which will help to close the dirtiest coal power plants (an effort I have supported through my philanthropy), which are estimated to kill 13,000 Americans a year.”

Bloomberg admitted that while Romney made some strides in tackling climate change as governor of Massachusetts -- signing a regional cap-and-trade plan designed to reduce carbon emissions 10 percent below 1990 levels -- the Republican nominee has “reversed course, abandoning the very cap-and-trade program he once supported.”

“We need determined leadership at the national level to move the nation and the world forward,” Bloomberg wrote. “I believe Mitt Romney is a good and decent man, and he would bring valuable business experience to the Oval Office. He understands that America was built on the promise of equal opportunity, not equal results. In the past, he has also taken sensible positions on immigration, illegal guns, abortion rights and health care. But he has reversed course on all of them and is even running against the health care model he signed into law in Massachusetts.”

Bloomberg, an independent, did highlight some weaknesses in both White House hopefuls, noting that neither has specified exactly how they plan to get the economy back on track while balancing the budget.

“But in the end, what matters most isn't the shape of any particular proposal; it’s the work that must be done to bring members of Congress together to achieve bipartisan solutions,” he stated. “Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan both found success while their parties were out of power in Congress -- and President Obama can, too. If he listens to people on both sides of the aisle and builds the trust of moderates, he can fulfill the hope he inspired four years ago and lead our country toward a better future for my children and yours. And that's why I will be voting for him.”