Bill Thompson Para Alcalde: El Diaro Endorses Underdog

The news operation believes Bloomberg has had too much power

Bill Thompson got some love from the largest Spanish-language daily newspaper in New York City today.

El Diario, which also happens to be the oldest Spanish-language daily in the country, announced it was throwing its support behind the city comptroller for mayor, citing what it perceived to be Michael Bloomberg’s “gross abuse of power” on extending term limits. The paper even compared the mayor to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

"Even Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez conducted a plebiscite on his extended stay in power," the endorsement (in Spanish) said.

Ouch.

Things have only gotten worse for the poor and middle class amid the economic recession -- more than 1 million New Yorkers live in poverty and those who could afford rent in the past suddenly find themselves scrambling to make ends meet. That's why the city needs a man who will make helping those people a top priority -- and este líder es Bill Thompson, El Diario says.

The Spanish-language paper isn't the only media outlet who expressed its support for the underdog today.

Amsterdam News also gave Thompson its support. “(We) need a man of the people, not a king, not the richest man guy in town,” Elinor Tatum, publisher and editor-in-chief, wrote.

The campaign is not just about electing somebody who is not Bloomberg, Thompson has said.

Meanwhile, former mayor Rudy Giuliani will campaign with his successor this weekend in Brooklyn. The failed Republican presidential candidate is also considering a run for governor.
    
Giuliani leaned even more to the right as he burnished his national Republican credentials. That gets mixed reviews from New York City residents, who are overwhelmingly Democratic.
    
At a debate this week, Bloomberg was booed when he said Giuliani would make a good governor.
    
There are swaths of the city where Giuliani is still popular. As Election Day nears, Bloomberg is seeking to energize those voters. Insiders say the Bloomberg campaign has concerns about low turnout, anger over term limits and estranged voters.

Bloomberg is running on the Republican and Independent Party lines against Thompson. The billionaire mayor has already begun to slam Thompson in a Web advertisement with footage from Tuesday’s debate. Thompson said it was “another distortion.”

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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