14 C R Y D E R P O I N T SEPTEMBER Public Advocate Bill de Blasio garnered around 40 percent of the vote over Bill Thompson’s 26 percent. COMPTROLLER Photo courtesy of Twitter/@Stringer2013 Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer bested former Governor Eliot Spitzer in the race for comptroller. Photo courtesy of Twitter/@deBlasioNYC primary Thompson ends mayoral bid Bill Thompson’s mayoral campaign has come to an end. The former city comptroller announced Monday morning, September 16 that he was dropping his bid for the Democratic nomination, throwing his support behind primary winner Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. MAYOR “If this were a general election with consequences about the fundamental direction of our city, you can bet I’d fight until the very last vote. But Bill de Blasio and I want to move our city forward in the same direction. We share the fundamental same views and values. This is bigger than either one of us,” he said at the announcement in front of City Hall. Though Thompson said he still believes every vote should be counted, in reality, the time it would take to count those ballots would have made it impossible to campaign, and remaining in the race would have been a “disservice” to voters. Joining Thompson at the announcement was de Blasio as well as Governor Andrew Cuomo, who, according to reports, played a role in convincing him to step aside. Thompson’s exit, however, doesn’t mean there won’t be a mayoral runoff on the October 1 ballot. According to election law, Thompson had until midnight Friday to withdraw from the race. Since he didn’t quit before that deadline, the city will still need to include the two candidates in next month’s runoff if de Blasio doesn’t reach the 40 percent threshold needed after all votes are counted. De Blasio received 40.3 percent of the vote in the primary on Tuesday, September 10 and Thompson 26.2 percent, according to unofficial results. Thompson’s decision to withdraw from the race comes after the city’s Board of Elections (BOE) rechecked the primary results of lever voting machines. The BOE was set to start tallying a reported 78,000 paper ballots. Thompson, after meeting with key supporters, publicly stated he would remain in the race until every vote had been counted. That promise came after there was mounting pressure for him to drop his bid and as some former supporters endorsed de Blasio. The city’s Campaign Finance Board, anticipating a runoff wouldn’t be necessary, decided not to release runoff public matching funds to de Blasio and Thompson. De Blasio will now go on to face the winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary, Joe Lhota, in the general election on November 5. 14 cryder point courier | SEPTEMBER 2013 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM IT’S STRINGER OVER SPITZER BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA Eliot Spitzer’s comeback failure was Scott Stringer’s political triumph in the comptroller primary. The Manhattan borough president beat the former governor, earning 52 percent of the vote with 98 percent of the precincts reporting, according to unofficial results. “I will bring integrity to this office. I will bring experience and leadership. I will make sure that I make you proud,” said Stringer in his election night victory speech on Tuesday, September 10. “And to the people of this city as I continue to get to know you, I want you to know I believe that public office can make a difference. I’ve believed that since I was a little kid. I believe it more than ever tonight.” Stringer was looking at a guaranteed Democratic nomination until Spitzer decided to throw his hat in the ring. Following on the heels of Anthony Weiner’s political comeback attempt, Spitzer entered the race less than a week before he had to collect the 3,750 signatures needed from registered Democratic voters to make it onto the ballot. He was able to meet that July 11 deadline with more than enough support. Initial polls showed Spitzer ahead of Stringer, but in the days before the election, they showed the race was too close to call. Though the former governor had the stigma of a prostitution scandal that forced him to resign in 2008, some argued his name recognition would give him an advantage. Stringer will go on to face Republican John Burnett, who has worked on Wall Street; Libertarian candidate and activist Hesham El-Meligy; and Green Party candidate and former school teacher Julia Willebrand in the November 5 general election. In an additional twist to an already interesting election season, another potential opponent was former madam Kristin Davis. Running as a Libertarian candidate, Davis spent time in jail for running her prostitution business, and said she provided women to Spitzer, though those claims were never verified. She was arrested in August for allegedly selling prescription drugs, and reportedly never filed petitions to get on the ballot.
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