Bloomberg, Thompson Near the Finish Line
By VICTORIA CAVALIERE
Updated 5:30 PM EST, Mon, Nov 2, 2009
The finish line is in sight for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Comptroller William Thompson, with both candidates shoring up support and making a frantic, last minute push to get voters to the polls tomorrow.
Polling stations will open at 6 a.m. tomorrow and close at 9 p.m., election officials said.
For his part, Mayor Bloomberg will stump in all five boroughs today, wrapping up by having a beer and watching the Yankees game at a bar in Brooklyn.
Thompson, the city's comptroller, has crammed his schedule with rallies, neighborhood tours and even a few rides in the back of a pickup truck.
Both campaigns unleashed a flurry of telephone calls, door-to-door canvassing and truck-mounted advertisements aimed at rallying their supporters in the final hours before polls open, The New York Times reported.
Thompson's campaign has repeatedly hammered the billionaire Bloomberg for reversing his longtime support for term limits and persuading the City Council to change the the law to allow him to run for a third term.
In many ways, the Times notes, the election has become a referendum Bloomberg’s record and the man himself. At rallies and in two mayoral debates, Thompson has repeatedly said "eight is enough"
Thompson has been trailing Bloomberg in the polls, but a new poll released by Quinnipiac University today found Bloomberg leads Thompson 50 percent to 38 percent among likely voters with 10 percent still undecided.
Bloomberg has spent huge amounts of money to try and secure that third term, running a barrage of advertising, which began in April and never let up.
More than a week before Election Day, Bloomberg had already broken his own spending record of $85 million from the 2005 race. Thompson has raised -- and spent -- just a fraction of that amount. President Barack Obama did not campaign for him and his campaign has been criticized for being disorganized -- in one instance ever spelling the candidate's name wrong in a press release.
Thompson, a 56-year-old Democrat born in Brooklyn, has been city comptroller since 2002, a job that gave him the power to audit agencies and investigate spending. Previously, he was president of the school board and an investment banker.
Thompson has sought to portray Bloomberg as an out-of-touch elitist who favors the rich while hurting the middle class with policies such as raising the sales tax this year instead of increasing the income tax on the wealthy.
Bloomberg has touted his record in improving education, decreasing crime and helping to spearhead numerous development projects aroun the city. He has said he needs four more years to make further progress and help steer the city out of recession.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC New York
First Published: Nov 2, 2009 4:56 PM EST
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