And this is a reference to the wave of progressive administrations that has ushered in a so-called "pink tide" across Latin America in the 10 or 15 years relatively populist governments concerned with redistribution, such as Morales in Bolivia, Correa in Ecuador, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil.
The rezoning, which was widely criticized in the letters column of the local paper as an 11th-hour sellout to developers more interested in enriching themselves than in serving local needs, added momentum to a wave of anti-administration sentiment.
Paulose, at 34 the nation's youngest chief federal prosecutor, was part of a wave of Bush administration insiders dispatched to run U.S. attorney's offices around the country, in what Democrats and other critics said reflected a strategy by then-Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to inject politics into the administration of justice.
Of the roughly 8,000 politically appointed positions in the federal government, hundreds have been vacant since a wave of departures last spring, administration officials said.
Facing court challenges and a wave of criticism, the administration backed down from several of the original restrictions when it issued the revised version in March.
White House officials say the wave of prosecutions show the administration is tough on corporate crime and beholden to no one.
With the clock ticking down on Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's time in office, the inevitable wave of departures from his administration may have begun.
Such a claim would come as the Obama administration is set to begin examining the pay packages and, if accepted, could set off a new wave of criticism from the administration and from lawmakers already incensed over recent Wall Street pay packages.
In 2011, facing a wave of political opposition, the administration backed down.
