In a close election race, Mayor Michael Bloomberg narrowly defeated William Thompson. Yet it is worth noting the finances spent towards this election. Thompson had little funds to contribute towards the campaign. Meanwhile Bloomberg, a billionaire, had no lack of funds to spend.
This was clearly reflected in Bloomberg's spending $100 million dollars towards the campaign, far more than Thompson. Considering the closeness of the race, with Bloomberg winning by only 5 percentage points, perhaps money was the only thing that caused Bloomberg to get re-elected despite heavy criticism over his past actions.
The clash between Thompson vs. Bloomberg, low-funded underdog vs. powerful billionaire, at least manages to show a degree of hope for the underdog in an election. Although Thompson may have lost, the fact that he nearly won in an election where Bloomberg was largely considered to win by at least double percentage digits is a victory in itself.
Bloomberg promises, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!” as he reassumes the position of mayor. That may be true, but hopefully he will look upon this close victory as a sign that he needs more than just money to win the hearts of his people.
