By the TimesLedger staff
Democratic mayoral candidate Bill DeBlasio, who vowed to fight inequality, staked his claim to New York City Tuesday with an overwhelming victory propelled in part by capturing 65 percent of the votes cast for the office from Queens.
De Blasio, the current public advocate from Brooklyn, will be the first Democratic mayor to run the city in 20 years. He amassed 73 percent of the votes and beat back a challenge from Republican Joe Lhota, the former deputy mayor under Rudy Giuliani, who drew 24 percent, according to unofficial results from the AP. The race, which followed primaries filled with colorful contenders from both parties, was so one-sided that the Associated Press called it at 9:51 p.m. — less than an hour after the polls had closed.
DeBlasio campaigned on the theme of “A Tale of Two Cities” and it resonated with the Queens voters with exit polls showing he led in almost every demographic. Two-thirds of the votes cast in Queens for mayor went into his column.
“We have no illusion — tacking inequality isn’t easy,” the mayor-elect told more than 1,000 supporters in Brooklyn Election Night. “The challenges we face have been decades in the making.”
Despite the jubilation, the city appeared headed for a sobering record. Only 24 percent of the city’s registered voters turned out in what could be the lowest showing ever for a New York City mayoral race, but other ballots still must be counted, The New York Times reported.
In Queens under crisp skies Tuesday, voters were out in force in precincts in Astoria, where Councilman Peter Vallone Jr.’s seat was up for grabs and won by Democratic newcomer Costa Constantinides, and in Howard Beach, where Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) faced a surprisingly strong Democratic challenger in a cliff-hanger that ended when he pulled out a late night victory.
But turnout in northeast Queens was spotty despite widespread expectations that the race to replace indicted Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) might be the closest in the city. Democrat Paul Vallone bested Republican Dennis Saffran by a respectable margin and maintained his lead throughout the night.
The polls in Rochdale Village were quiet. But over in Cambria Heights Tuesday morning, Democrat I. Daneek Miller, who went on to win Councilman Leroy Comrie’s (D-St. Albans) seat, said he was looking for strong voter turnout to provide a mandate for the next administration and City Council.
“Those numbers will prove that,” he predicted.
When the returns were in, Miller had the highest number of votes cast in the borough for a City Council seat. Two other Democratic southeast Queens councilmen — Donovan Richards and Ruben Wills — were among the top five vote-getters in Queens.
The Democratic Party’s big night continued as Letitia James became the first black woman to be elected to a citywide office when she aced the public advocate’s race. The Democratic councilwoman defeated Conservative Party candidate Robert Maresca 83 percent to 12 percent.
Democrat Scott Stringer, who overcame a formidable challenge from former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, had an easy win over Republican John Burnett for city comptroller 80 percent to 17 percent.
Back in Queens Melinda Katz, another Democrat with a long résumé, rolled up an impressive victory by capturing 80 percent of the vote in the race for borough president. She defeated Tony Arcabascio, who vowed never to run on the Republican line again after getting 17 percent, and Everly Brown, who collected less than 3 percent on the Jobs & Education ticket.
When the votes were counted, Queens had elected a new Democratic borough president and was poised to send five new Democrats to the City Council. A Democrat had seized the northeast Council seat from a Republican and the only remaining Republican in the borough, Eric Ulrich, held his ground with a solid win.
