Bloomberg Narrowly Wins NYC Mayoral Race

michael bloomberg won a third consecutive term as mayor of new york city, defeating former city comptroller william thompson by less than 55,000 votes. bloomberg won 51% of the vote, compared to thompson, who received 46% of the surprising highly contested, albeit racially polarized vote. in total, the expected low turnout was comprised of about 1.1 million folks on a brisk tuesday.

bloomberg was victorious in three of the five boroughs, manhattan, queens & staten island. his opponent won 73% of the african-american vote. it was estimated bloomberg spent $180 per voter. thompson accused bloomberg of running the most negative campaign in the history of new york city's mayoral election. among other things, bloomberg accused thompson of gambling with the city's money as comptroller - taking contributions unethically. his campaign theme was progress, not politics as usual.

thompson faulted bloomberg for usurping his power over the city council to change the term limits from two terms, as citizens voted, to three terms. winning the boroughs of brooklyn & the bronx, thompson sought to discredit bloomberg's character & paint him as a man with a lot of money but little common sense. the bespectacled african-american also tried to align himself with president obama as a man of change, yet the incumbency proved too much for him to overcome.

there was hardly any excitement about a mayoral race in the city that never sleeps. bloomberg & thompson debated twice, yet the indifference among jaded new yorkers was evident at the polls. moreover, the myriad of complex issues facing working class folk - escalating rents, faulty school system, high unemployment, incompetent transportation boards, poor economy, rising taxes, i.e. - was not enuf to generate interest in our political future. is it true when they say money talks & bullshit walks?