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September 12, 2013-
Mayor: Bill de Blasio won with 40% of the vote, apparently avoiding a runoff election. However, senior members of the Democrat party, including former president bill Clinton, are calling for Bill Thompson to step aside. It is expected that de Blasio will easily defeat Joe Lohta the Republican in the November election. De Blasio is rapidly rising to become a national star of the political party.
Bill Thompson, the controversial former comptroller and BPCA Chairman, came in second, as mentioned above. His top administration aid, Anne Fenton, remains employed at the BPCA. The local advertising flier, the Broadsheet, supported Thompson.
Christine Quinn came in third with 15%. Anthony Weiner came in last, with 5% of the vote, even behind John Liu.
The current comptroller, Liu, is stalling progress in our neighborhood by holding up funds to allow Pier A to proceed. In a pure political stunt, he claimed that the $5 Million for Pier should be used for affordable housing, pandering to his voters.
City Comptroller: Scott Stringer pulled off an underdog win over Eliot Spitzer. He is expected to easily win in November. (Wall Street bankers are happy, because Spitzer promised to do most of the money managing in-house, obviating $500 Million in underwriting fees.)
City Council District 1: Margaret Chin defeated Jenifer Rajkumar in City Council District 1 (BatteryPark.TV endorsed Chin)
Manhattan Borough President: Julie Menin (Former Chair of CB1) came in dead last. Gayle Brewer won. (BatteryPark.TV is a strong critic of most CB1 members). Menin had the endorsement of most BPC Democrats, including the Lower Manhattan Democrats club.
Public Advocate: Daniel Squadron narrowly lost to Letitia James despite Senator Schumer’s endorsement. There should be a primary runoff election.
District Leader: Jenifer Rajkumar defeated Robin Forst despite campaigning for City Council instead of this position. In contrast. Robin Forst heavily campaigned for the job, with her face on posters around BPC and receiving the endorsement of Menin and others. Forst even runs the Lower Manhattan Democrats, and her loss exposes the lack of relevance of that club.