The Long Campaign Wraps Up

There’s not much left to say. Next Tuesday New Yorkers will head to the polls to select a new — or not-so-new — mayor.
One would think there was a lot more to it than that, as our city and borough has been in campaign mode for more than a year now. For New Yorkers, and Queens residents in particular, where seeing a candidate at your local subway stop every morning has become the norm, it’s hard to imagine the race actually coming to an official end.
Barbs have been traded, polls have soared up and down, and through it all Mayor Bloomberg has turned an early polling deficit into a potential blowout.
Since he caught challenger Fernando Ferrer in a January Quinnipiac poll after trailing by five points in November 2004, Bloomberg’s lead has crept onward and upward — reaching a zenith of 31 points last week.
“The polls go up and the polls go down, I don’t focus an awful lot on them,” Ferrer previously told The Queens Courier. “The best thing I can do is get my message out there.”
“You took a chance on me and trusted me to help our city move forward, and I’m proud of how far we’ve come together,” Bloomberg tells his supporters on his website.
Ferrer also told The Queens Courier that he had high hopes for the mayor, but has been disappointed by his “disconnect” with the people of New York.
On Tuesday, the trash talking ceases and it’s handed over to the voters to make the call.
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on November 8. For help with voting, call (866) 868-3692.
editrich@queenscourier.com