She didn't support Mr. Thompson when he challenged Mr. Bloomberg in 2009.

WSJ: Regents Chancellor to Back Thompson

Mr. THOMPSON: I don't know how long Mr. Rumsfeld intends to stay but I do know this - he's not going to leave under fire.

NPR: Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Self-Defense

"No I would never do that... because it wouldn't be safe, " Mr Thompson said.

BBC: Death fall lift engineer was 'highly experienced'

Mr. Thompson didn't include specifics, such as how much money teachers would receive or how many would qualify.

WSJ: Thompson Proposes Plan for Teacher Merit Wages

Nothing is cluttered, nor does anything compete with Mr. Thompson, whose voice hasn't lost a bit of its quality.

WSJ: Still Electric After All These Years | Richard Thompson | By Jim Fusilli

Mr. Bratton said his availability to speak about Mr. Thompson's public-safety plan wasn't an endorsement.

WSJ: Thompson Turns to Bratton

Separately, private-equity firm Silver Lake hasn't taken its offer off the table and would be open to interacting with Mr. Thompson to understand his vision for Yahoo and assess ways to work together, a person familiar with the matter said.

WSJ: Yahoo Taps Scott Thompson as CEO

Representatives for Mr. Thompson's main Democratic rivals either declined to comment or didn't respond to requests for comment.

WSJ: Regents Chancellor to Back Thompson

Mr Thompson acknowledged that there were "some inaccuracies in the commentary that we shouldn't have had".

BBC: Mark Thompson: BBC has 'lessons to learn' from Jubilee