Talk Bronx New York

 

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s successful campaign for a third term was widely anticipated, but the results were not without surprises.

Bronx voters supported city Comptroller Bill Thompson, the Democratic nominee, over Mr. Bloomberg, an independent, 60.8 percent to 37.1 percent, the largest borough-wide margin for the challenger. Brooklyn was the only other borough to give Mr. Thompson a victory, and by a much smaller margin of 50.9 percent to 45.3 percent.

Riverdale, though, went for Mr. Bloomberg. Districts 80 and 81, comprising Pelham Parkway, Norwood, Woodlawn and Riverdale, were the only districts in the Bronx to favor Mr. Bloomberg. In district 80, Mr. Bloomberg received 7,041 votes to Mr. Thompson’s 6,377, and in district 81, it was an even bigger gap of 9,698 votes to 6,732, according to polling data.

“The voting was mostly along ethnic lines,” said City Councilman Oliver Koppell. “The 80th and 81st districts tend to have a lot more Caucasian people, and most Caucasian-majority neighborhoods went for Bloomberg.”

Mr. Thompson lost to Mr. Bloomberg by about 50,000 votes out of more than one million cast total, according to polling data, a gap much smaller than had been expected.

“To a significant extent, the voting seems to have gone on a largely ethnic basis,” agreed Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. But, he added, Bloomberg’s win - both in the city as a whole and in Riverdale - is not quite the victory it appears to be.

“In this district, Thompson ran better than Ferrer in 2005,” Mr. Dinowitz said, noting that more people came out to support the Democratic nominee in 2009. Still, he said, in Hispanic areas, Mr. Ferrer did better in 2005 than Mr. Thompson in 2009.

Additionally, he said, although Mr. Bloomberg had a higher number of votes than Mr. Thompson, he had fewer votes than when he ran for a second term in 2005.

Attack ads

“Bloomberg dropped by one third, and in some places almost 50 percent from 2005, and that is a significant number,” Mr. Dinowitz said. “Why did so many people who voted for Bloomberg last time stay home this time?”

Among other factors, Mr. Dinowitz suggested that what he sees as Mr. Bloomberg’s overwhelmingly negative attack ads on Mr. Thompson might have been a turn-off for potential voters, as well as the sheer amount of money the billionaire mayor has spent on his campaign, which was widely reported - and often criticized - in the weeks leading up to the election.

Indeed, some of the more well-off neighborhoods, both in the Bronx and the city as a whole, went for Mr. Bloomberg. Mr. Koppell theorized that those voters would not have been bothered by how much Mr. Bloomberg was spending. Most of the 81st district is represented by Mr. Koppell, who cited precincts in more affluent neighborhoods, like Fieldston and other parts of Riverdale, as examples of that trend.

Whether they agree with all of his policies, residents of these areas feel comfortable with Mr. Bloomberg in office, said state Sen. Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat who had endorsed Mr. Thompson.

“People in Riverdale know what Bloomberg stands for by now,” Mr. Schneiderman said.

Popular stands

Mr. Thompson took some locally popular stands on issues important to many in the Riverdale/Kingsbridge area, including the idea of making the Kingsbridge Armory into a community center instead of a mall. His office also conducted audits of the Croton water treatment facility, determining that the project was billions of dollars over budget and more than a year behind schedule, but to no avail in the 80th and 81st.

In his first two terms, Mr. Bloomberg had approved plans to turn the Armory into a mall and was behind the Croton facility project.

“These local issues are cause for concern, certainly, but maybe not the driving force in why people selected a certain candidate,” Mr. Schneiderman said.

The key was Mr. Bloomberg’s media blitz and campaign spending, Mr. Dinowitz said.

“Anyone who would say that Bloomberg’s money didn’t buy him the election would be lying,” he said.

That’s a notion Mr. Bloomberg has scoffed at many times.

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Tags: 2009, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Bronx News, Bronx People, Brooklyn, city comptroller, City Councilman Oliver Koppell, Community, Comptroller Bill Thompson, Democratic, Kingsbridge, kingsbridge armory, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, pelham parkway, Politics, Riverdale, The Bronx, Woodlawn

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