Bloomberg Wins A 3rd Term; Liu 1st Asian American Comptroller

Mayor Michael Bloomberg won re-election to a third term yesterday, defeating city Comptroller William Thompson Jr. Mayor Michael Bloomberg won re-election to a third term yesterday, defeating city Comptroller William Thompson Jr., according to unofficial and incomplete returns.

All other results reported in this story are also based on incomplete and unofficial returns.

In the other citywide elections, John Liu easily won the race for city Comptroller, becoming the first Asian American to win such a high-ranking citywide office. Liu defeated Joseph Mendola.

Brooklyn Councilmember Bill de Blasio easily won the contest for Public Advocate, beating Alex Zablocki.

Borough President Helen Marshall won re-election to a third term, defeating Robert Homack of Astoria, and Robert Schwartz of Forest Hills.

In the races for City Council seats, Democrats swept 10 of the 14 races.

John Liu easily won the race for city Comptroller, becoming the first Asian American to win such a high-ranking city Incumbents in this grouping who won reelection were Julissa Ferreras (Corona), Peter Vallone Jr. (Astoria), James Gennaro (Fresh Meadows), Leroy Comrie Jr. (St. Albans), Thomas White Jr. (Jamaica) and James Sanders Jr. (Far Rockaway).

Newcomers who won council seats in the Democratic sweep were Mark Weprin (Hollis), who moved from the office of Assemblymember to take his brother David’s seat in the council; Daniel Dromm (Jackson Heights); James Van Bramer (Woodside), and Karen Koslowitz (Forest Hills), a former councilmember making a comeback.

The other four council seats involved in yesterday’s elections were hotly contested races between Democrats and Republicans. In these contests:

•Kevin Kim, Democrat, was opposed by Dan Halloran, Republican in the 19th District (Bayside).

The winner was Dan Halloran.

•In Flushing (20th District), Democrat Yen Chou was opposed by Republican Peter Koo. This election was won by Peter Koo.

•In the 30th District (Glendale), where incumbent Councilmember Liz Crowley, a Democrat, was opposed by Republican Tom Ognibene, the winner was Liz Crowley.

•In Howard Beach/Ozone Park (32nd District), where incumbent Eric Ulrich, a Republican, was challenged by Democrat Frank Gulluscio, the winner was Eric Ulrich.

In the race for mayor, charges by Thompson that Bloomberg flip-flopped in the term limits issue and was using his bank account to buy another term appeared to have made no impression on the electorate.

The mayor, meanwhile, early on in his campaign started spending what eventually surpassed $85 million to saturate mail and airwaves with his campaign message. This was built around his successes after gaining control of the school system and using his expertise in financial matters to help the city weather a financial crisis brought on by the national recession. The mayor was also able to point to low crime rates and preparation to ward off terrorist incursions since 9/11.

Thompson was hurt by the mayor’s charges that his opponent would raise taxes across the board for rich and poor alike. The major factor, however, was Thompson’s lacking of a war chest to wage a meaningful campaign against a mayor who was widely recognized as having built a record of successes in his first two terms and should not be replaced when the economy still posed serious problems for the city.

In the city council races swept by Democratic incumbents, Ferreras was winning her first full four-year term, and Vallone Jr., Gennaro, Comrie, White and Sanders were winning their third terms.

Also in the 34th Council District, where both the Brooklyn and Queens portions of Ridgewood are included; incumbent Diana Reyna was the winner.

Incomplete returns of the Supreme Court and Civil Court races on yesterday’s ballot were not available as the Gazette went to press. They will be reported in next week’s issue.