Bill de Blasio is Mayor – Elect; Letitia James is elected public advocate; Scott Stringer is chosen to be comptroller

NEW YORK, NY (TIP): Bill de Blasio crushed his opponent Joe Lhota by a wide margin of 40 % to be elected New York City’s first Democratic mayor in two decades. De Blasio, 52, will take office on Jan. 1 as the 109th mayor of the nation’s largest city. He ran as the anti-Bloomberg, railing against economic inequality and portraying New York as a “tale of two cities” – one rich, the other working class – under the probusiness, pro-development mayor, who made his fortune from the financial information company that bears his name. “Today you spoke loudly and clearly for a new direction for our city,” de Blasio told a crowd of supporters at the YMCA in his home neighborhood of Park Slope, Brooklyn. “We are united in the belief that our city should leave no New Yorker behind,” he said. “The people of this city have chosen a progressive path, and tonight we set forth on it together as one city.” He decried alleged abuses under the police department’s stop-and-frisk policy and enjoyed a surge when a federal judge ruled that police had unfairly singled out blacks and Hispanics.

The candidate, a white man married to a black woman, also received a boost from a campaign ad featuring their son, a 15-year-old with a big Afro. “Inequality in New York is not something that only threatens those who are struggling,” de Blasio said Tuesday, November 5 night, flanked by his family. “We are all at our best when every child, every parent, every New Yorker has a shot. And we reach our greatest height when we all rise together.” President Barack Obama called de Blasio to congratulate him, according to reports emanating from the White House. Cuomo released a glowing statement, saluting his “true friend” on his victory. Lhota called de Blasio to concede about half an hour after polls closed at 9 p.m., according to a spokeswoman for the Democratic candidate. “It was a good fight and it was a fight worth having,” Lhota told a crowd of supporters in a Manhattan hotel before offering a word of caution to de Blasio. “Despite what you might have heard, we are all one city,” Lhota said. “We want our city to move forward and not backward, and I hope our mayor-elect understands that before Though polling shows New Yorkers largely approve of Bloomberg’s policies, those same surveys revealed the city was hungry for a change. While registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the city 6 to 1, the last time a Democrat was elected mayor was 1989, when David Dinkins, de Blasio’s former boss, was victorious. Democrats also captured the other two citywide races: Letitia James, a Brooklyn city councilwoman, was elected public advocate, while Scott Stringer, the Manhattan Borough President, was chosen to be comptroller.

“Today, you elected me the first,” she said, as the room erupted into wild cheers, “the first woman of color to win citywide office … I am so proud of what we accomplished together, and yes, I’m proud that we made history today”, said Letitia in her victory speech. Scot Stringer, with his wife by his side, promised in his victory speech to serve as controller “with honesty and integrity.” Voters in Boroughs, except for Staten Island, elected Democrats to govern them. . Gale Brewer, a Democrat from Manhattan’s upper West Side, will replace Scott Stringer as Manhattan Borough President. In Queens, voters chose former City Councilwoman Melinda Katz as their next borough president over Republican challenger Tony Arcabascio. And Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., a Democrat who ran with no major opposition in the general election, is set to serve a second term. Eric Adams will succeed Marty Markowitz as Brooklyn borough president Only in Staten Island did voters choose a Republican for their borough president. James Oddo, the minority leader in the City Council, beat out Democrat Lou Liedy for the role Tuesday.