By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Mayor Michael Bloomberg may not spend much time picking out his socks or his shoes, but lately, he's been making a very conscious effort to pick out his tie.
The mayor has worn the same purple tie during a multi-day national media blitz, putting it on once again Monday in advance of a speech at the launch of "No Labels," a bipartisan coalition of politicians pushing for centrist policies.
"Purple is made of two colors: red and blue. Red and blue seem to have political significance," Bloomberg told reporters at City Hall when asked about his recurring neckwear, which blends the primary colors that have come to represent Republicans (red) and Democrats (blue).
The mayor has firsthand experience blending the parties, after spending time as a member of all three political parties: first as a Democrat, then a Republican, and now an Independent.
"It's a good chance to say, you know, a third of people aren't in either of the two major parties and they deserve representation as well," he added.
Over the weekend, Bloomberg donned the same tie on an appearance of "Meet the Press," in which he blamed partisanship for gridlocking Washington. During that interview, Bloomberg once again insisted he has no intention of running for president.
He opted for a striped red and blue tie at a speech last Wednesday, outlining his plan for spurring jobs and economic growth.
More than 1,000 Republicans, Democrats and Independents were expected to join Bloomberg Monday at Columbia University for the "No Labels" event. Among the featured speakers in attendance were New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, who earned the animosity of some Democrats by losing the primary as a Democrat and going on to win the seat by running as an Independent.
"Our political system is clearly broken just when we need it the most," reads the group’s mission statement. "Our political discourse increasingly offers up cynical, petty partisanship at the expense of practical solutions to the challenges facing our national well-being."
Gillibrand described the event as a "call to action to demand bipartisanship."
"People on both sides are measuring success by the amount of bills they block, not the number of solutions they find,” she told the revved-up crowd when she took to the podium.
The group touts policies including reining in the deficit, securing Social Security and Medicaid, and "encouraging free and open markets, tempered by sensible regulation."
Bloomberg said he also wanted to shed light on the neeed for non-partisan redistricting.
Several of the featured guests, including Delaware Rep. Michael Castle and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist were both beaten by Tea Party insurgents during the midterm elections.
