Bloomberg elected to a third term

By CLEMENTE LISI
Posted: 9:43 PM, November 3, 2009

Call him Mike "Three Times" Bloomberg.
Mayor Bloomberg, who engineered a change in the city's term limits law so he could run again, won a squeaker last night when he was narrowly re-elected to a third term as he defeated while vastly outspending Comptroller Bill Thompson.
With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Bloomberg had a 51 to 46 percent edge -- a much smaller gap than the double-digit win polls had projected on the eve of the election.
Before Election Day, various polls had Bloomberg winning by as little as 12 points to as many as 16.
With his victory, Bloomberg ensures himself a place in New York political lore by becoming the first mayor to win a third term since Ed Koch in 1985.
The victory also marks the fifth consecutive mayoral election where a Democrat has not won office after Rudy Giuliani, a Republican, won two straight terms, and Bloomberg matched that feat four years ago.
The City Council rolled back term limits last year, which allowed Bloomberg to run again.
The 67-year-old billionaire mayor, an independent who ran on the Republican and Independence lines, blanketed the city and airwaves with ads, spending more than $100 million of his own money to bankroll his campaign.
The amount represents the most expensive self-financed campaign in American history. Bloomberg spent $85 million to win re-election against Fernando Ferrer in 2005.
Bloomberg is described by Forbes magazine as the richest man in New York with a $16 billion fortune.
"This is the hardest and best run campaign I've ever seen," said Koch, who endorsed Bloomberg.
Eight years after he came out of nowhere following the Sept. 11 attacks to defeat Mark Green, Bloomberg won after he repeatedly touted his record that features the lowest crime levels in decades and the highest school test scores in a generation.
"He is building on the record of Rudy Giuliani," said Ed Cox, chairman of the state Republican Party.
New Yorkers who voted against Bloomberg overwhelmingly mentioned his changed position on term limits and exorbitant spending.
"I didn't like the idea that King Mike thinks he can buy anything he wants, including my vote," said Democrat Kevin Anterline, 56, who voted for Thompson.
Marjorie Shea, a retired high school teacher, said the spending was "overkill" -- but voted for Bloomberg anyway, saying his wealth and businessman's mind makes him an independent thinker.
"The team he has in place is doing very well. And he's not beholden to anyone," said Shea, a Democrat who voted on Manhattan's Upper West side.
Helen Newman, 32, voted for Green Party candidate Billy Talen, but said she wasn't bothered by the mayor's deep pockets.
"I didn't really see anyone show up who had a chance against him," said Newman. "But then I guess no one showed up who had a chance against him because he has so much money." nypost.com/