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The Players : An Election Round-Up

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Public Advocate Bill deBlasio was victorious over such opponents as Christine Quinn and Bill Thompson in the Democratic race for mayor of New York City.
Public Advocate Bill deBlasio was victorious over such opponents as Christine Quinn and Bill Thompson in the Democratic race for mayor of New York City.
It has been an exciting election season for not only the candidates but the voters as well. There were a lot of options to choose from who to elect in the various New York City office. The primary was held on September 10, 2013.

Here are the election results. Please remember the votes will be recounted:

New York City Mayor Position to be filled.

As of now, it looks like Bill de Blasio won the Democratic primary by 40.3% of the vote. If de Blasio got 40% of the vote, he would have had a run-off. This is a sweet victory.

The runner-ups were William Thompson who came in at 26.2%, Christine Quinn at 15.5%, John Liu at 7%, Anthony Wiener at 4.9%, Erick Salgado at 2.4% and Sal Albanese at 0.9% of the vote.

Wiener’s loss is not a surprise as his campaign was marred due to his sexting scandal. Quinn also faced strong opposition as there was an Anybody But Quinn campaign against her. On the anybodybutqinn.com website, postings by Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein attack her work as Speaker of the New York City Council. He notes that nine New York hospitals, including St.Vincent’s, have closed down while she has been in office.

Joe Lhota won the Republican primary by 52.5% of the vote.

The runner-ups were John Catsimatidis, the billionaire supermarket and oil mogul, who at 40.7% of the vote was close behind and George McDonald who got 6.8% of the vote. Lhota is a former chairman of the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority and former deputy mayor under Rudolph Giuliani. It has been noted that these experiences have made Lhota look more experienced than Catsimatidis.

No Endorsement from Michael Bloomberg

Either Bill de Blasio or Joe Lhota will fill the Mayor’s seat on January 1, 2014. In November, New Yorkers will decide between the two candidates. Because New York is known as a Democratic state, Bill de Blasio has the upper hand. Our current mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has stated that he doesn’t plan to endorse either Lhota or de Blasio.

The Future Mayor of New York and the Jewish citizens of New York

Joe Lhota

Joseph Lhota, born on October 7, 1954 in the Bronx, New York, to a Jewish mother and Christian father. He was raised as a Roman Catholic but according to Jewish law he is Jewish. Jewish law clearly holds the view that the mother’s religion is the child’s religion. In the past he has stated that he is a Christian. While currently running for Mayor, he is saying that he is Jewish and has mentioned that he is willing to use the Jewish card if it will get him votes.

According to his campaign website, Lhota’s key priorities are 1) jobs and the economy, 2) education, 3) public safety and 4) government efficiency and fiscal responsibility. For jobs and the economy, Lhota wants to “ diversify the economy…[and] encourage and sustain job growth ”. For education, Lhota notes that he wants to “ promote innovation and reform”. For public safety, Lhota would like to “ develop new strategies and approaches ”. For government efficiency and fiscal responsibility, Lhota would like to make it “ more transparent…and not bureaucratic ”.

In June of this year, Lhota faced backlash from the Jewish media when he asked New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to resign over the Vito Lopez matter. The outrage was due to the belief that Speaker Silver, through enacted laws, has greatly helped the Jewish community.

A defender of stop-and-frisk, Lhota has criticized Port Authority police officers by calling them “ mall cops ”. When he offended the police unions for this comment, Lhota apologized.

With the loss of a famous 3-term Jewish mayor who received a large amount of the Jewish vote, will this man be our next Jewish mayor ?

Bill De Blasio

Warren Wilhelm was born on May 8, 1961 and later changed his name to Bill DeBlasio. He is married to an African American woman who at one time wrote an essay for Essence magazine stating that she was a lesbian. They have two children together. While DeBlasio is not Jewish, he has had strong support from Jews. Forty percent of Jews voted for him in the Democratic primary. If we are to do the math, does this mean that Lhota will get 60% of the Jewish vote in November ?

De Blasio is currently a New York City Public Advocate. His other office positions have included serving as New York City Council member representing the 39th District in Brooklyn.

Called by some as an anti-Bloomberg, according to his campaign website, he writes that the unemployment rate in New York is worse now than when Bloomberg came to office. He also writes that the middle class is vanishing and that New York may become a city that only the rich can afford if things don’t change. Similar to Lhota, he plans to help New Yorkers in the areas of jobs and the economy, education, public safety and government efficiency and fiscal responsibility.

The Comptroller Primary.

As for the Democratic primary Scott Stringer won over Spitzer. It was a close call as Stringer received 52.0% of the vote while Spitzer received 48%.

Stringer’s opposition for office now is Republican John Burnett, Julia Willebrand from the Greenparty, Libertarian Kristin M. Davis and Libertarian Hesham El-Meligy. Libertarian Kristin M. Davis has an interesting history as she has been a “ Manhattan Madam ” at an escort service and has alleged that she has sent prostitutes to Spitzer.

The Borough President Primaries

Manhattan – Gale Brewer – Democrat Primary winner.

Gale Brewer was the winner of the Democratic party with 39.7% of the vote, Jessica S. Lappin followed behind with 23.7%, Robert Jackson at 19.2% and Julie Menin at 17.4% of the vote. Gale Brewer now faces Republican candidate David Casavis, who is uncontested, for the Borough President position.

Brooklyn – New Borough President- Eric Adams –Democrat winner. Eric Adams will be taking over Marty Markowitz’s position.

Bronx – Ruben Diaz Jr. – Democratic Primary winner.

Incumbent Ruben Diaz Jr. received 83.8% of the vote while Mark Escoffery-Bey took in 16.2% of the vote in the Democratic primary. Diaz Jr. is now facing Republican candidate Elizabeth Perri, who is uncontested, for the position.

Queens – Melinda Katz – Democratic Primary winner.

Melinda Katz received 44.5% of the vote, Peter F. Vallone came close at 33.7%, Everly Brown was distant at 12.5% and Tony Avella received 9.3% of the vote. Ms.Katz is now up against uncontested Republican candidate Tony Arcabascio.

Staten Island – Louis Liedy v. James Oddo.

Uncontested Democratic candidate Louis Liedy is up against uncontested incumbent Republican James Oddo.

Other notable winnings….

City Council Primary. There were fifty district positions to be filled. Incumbent David Greenfield, a Democrat of the 44th District, received 90.6% of the primary vote. Jacob Flusberg lost with a 9.4 % vote count. He is now up against Republican Joseph Hayon.

Brooklyn District Attorney Primary. Kenneth Thompson won the Democratic primary with 55.4% of the vote. Charles Hynes took in 44.6% of the vote. While defeated in the Democratic primary race, Charles Hynes is still on the ballot as a Republican candidate.

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