Good riddance!

(CBS) NEW YORK CBS 2 HD has learned New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is leaving the Republican party and has announced he is currently unaffiliated with a political party.

The move will clearly begin advancing rumors that the mayor is gearing towards a presidential run, which he has denied in the past.

In a statement, however, the 65-year-old billionaire mayor indicated this doesn't change his plans for his political future.

"I have filed papers with the New York City Board of Elections to change my status as a voter and register as unaffiliated with any political party. Although my plans for the future haven’t changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our City."

On Tuesday, Bloomberg was in California attending a conference at the University of Southern California along with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The pair appeared on this week's cover of Time magazine.

The California trip is part of a recent series of out-of-state trips, which has added to the speculation that he may run. On Monday, he visited the Google Inc. campus in Mountain View, Calif., a trip that four other announced presidential candidates have made.

He was also in Los Angeles on Monday where he bashed partisan politics in Washington, saying it was putting "our future in jeopardy." He hinted at the problem with party affiliation when said the nation's "wrong-headed course" if politicians could work together across party lines.

In his statement Tuesday, Bloomberg went on to discuss his progress in leading New York City.

Excellent! One less rotten RINO lumbering around knocking stuff off the shelves and leaving big steaming piles of dung on the carpet.