The Republican political operative John Haggerty was found guilty of second degree grand larceny and money laundering related to the theft of $1.1 million from Mayor Bloomberg's 2009 re-election campaign. Haggerty, who had promised to use the money for ballot security but instead bought a home, faces up to 15 years in prison. more ›

You don't see the mayor of New York take the stand in a trial every day, but today is one of those days. As part of the ongoing criminal case against political consultant John Haggerty the prosecution today called hizzoner to the stand and he so has, with a chorus of twitterers present. This isn't the first time a sitting mayor has taken the stand, but it may be the first time one has done so as the victim of a crime. And if lawyers were hoping for a testy Bloomberg, they seem to be getting their wish. more ›

When local elections come around, so do candidates' posters attached to anything and everything. However, since it's illegal to post fliers to city property (think light poles and traffic lights), the city has been cracking down—2009 mayoral candidate Bill Thompson was hit with a $619,000+ fine, Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio got a $300,000+ bill and City Comptroller managed to get out of nearly $550,000 in fines, thanks to a loophole. Well, ladies and gentleman, we have news for you: Mayor Bloomberg thinks that if you do the crime, you pay the fine. more ›

Poor Bill Thompson. The former City Comptroller lost the 2009 mayoral election by a smaller-than-expected margin, raising the suggestion that if there was more support for him, he could have toppled Mayor Bloomberg. And now he's been hit with a $619,125 for his illegal campaign posters. more ›

Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance announced that Republican operative John Haggerty was indicted for allegedly stealing $1.1 million of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's money. The Post explains, "The indictment came after The Post ran a series of stories detailing how the mayor wired $1.2 million to the state Independence Party in two transactions right before the [2009] election so it could transfer $750,000 to Haggerty, a once-trusted member of Bloomberg's campaign team, for the poll-watching effort." more ›

A analysis of Board of Elections data has determined that Charles Montgomery Burns, the nuclear power magnate immortalized in The Simpsons, would have won the recent NYC mayoral election, had it just been limited to write-in votes. A mysteriously-funded "grassroots" campaign to install Burns as Mayor succeeded in drawing 25 lovingly handwritten votes. But because those bleeding hearts at the Board of Elections let the masses use their vulgar "voting booths," Mr. Burns was denied the excellent opportunity to tell New Yorkers, "In addition to electing me, you may now praise me as your almighty." Of course, Mr. Burns wasn't the only candidate to fare well among the write-in electorate. more ›

According to City Comptroller Bill Thompson's latest campaign fiance filings, the Observer reports that he spent "$9,003,711...on his campaign, which came within a few percentage points of beating Michael Bloomberg's $102 million re-election campaign...In his latest filing period, Thompson spent $1,040,000 on television ads, along with $309,887 on consultants. Among Thompson's notable expenditures is $400 for a makeup artist Sue Crystal. A campaign spokesman said it was for the debate in El Barrio, whose television sponsor, New York 1, did not offer the candidates makeup before appearing on air." Factoid: "Anthony Weiner's campaign also donated on $4,950 on October 29, the day Thompson's pollster released numbers saying the race was tightening." more ›

They say he runs the city like a business, so it's only fitting that after a poorer-than-expected performance in last week's election, Mayor Bloomberg's campaign workers are afraid they won't get big bonuses this year. In past elections, the billionaire former bond trader and media mogul has paid out-of-pocket bonuses of as much as $400,000 — "a highly unusual perk in municipal politics, a world not typically associated with lavish pay," the Times reports. But after defeating Democratic rival Bill Thompson by just 4.6 percentage points, campaign workers are starting to worry about paltry bonuses. more ›

City Comptroller Bill Thompson has no regrets about his mayoral campaign or his narrow loss, telling the Daily News, "I just stopped [the what if thoughts]. That's not helpful. When I woke up Wednesday, I would have liked to have woken up having won. But I was proud of the campaign." (Still, others are what-if-ing.) He is meeting with Mayor Bloomberg next week and said of the election,"It wasn't just the term limit issue. You talk about the affordability issue in the city of New York and people not being able to afford to stay and live here. He should listen to what the voters said on Tuesday night." more ›

Now that he's going to be mayor for another four years, Mayor Bloomberg has been reaching out to the Democrats. Yesterday, he had coffee with Public Advocate-elect Bill de Blasio (their klatsch is pictured at left) but City Comptroller-elect John Liu declined to meet with Bloomberg, saying he was too busy. But the NY Times points out Liu later said, "A long time ago, the people of New York decided there would be no king nor a monarch in New York City." more ›

The oh-so-close mayoral race continues to be thorn in many Democrats' side—and many are bitter. State Senator Eric Schneiderman (D-Manhattan) tells the NY Times, “Bill Thompson was always closer than people thought, and on our side, if people had been behind him more, there would have been more checks, more endorsements, more attention, and that might have made the difference. It really is disgraceful that a lot of people in the Democratic Party stayed home or kept their checkbooks closed." more ›

Mayor Bloomberg's narrower-than-expected election win over Comptroller Bill Thompson has left people wondering not only what could have been if Thompson got more support but what might have happened if Rep. Anthony Weiner had run against Bloomberg instead. Politico reports that when Weiner said last night that maybe President Obama should have stumped for Thompson, “Maybe one of those Corzine trips could have been better spent in New York. Who knows?" a White House official fired back, "Maybe Anthony Weiner should have manned-up and run against Michael Bloomberg." more ›

Apparently, today's a bad day to be the richest and most powerful person in New York City. In the wake of last night's not-as-big-as-predicted victory over Democrat Bill Thompson, the press has decided that Mayor Bloomberg's easy days are behind him. The Times thinks that for the first time in years, the mayor "finds himself governing New York City from a most unaccustomed vantage point: Vulnerability" — a fact that "could have profound implications for the tenor of a third Bloomberg term, not least that it is likely to hinder the mayor’s well-honed ability to cow Democrats and liberal interest groups." more ›

Cyrus Vance Jr. was elected Manhattan District Attorney last night, giving the borough it's first new DA in 35 years. Of course, the reign of prolific Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau is only ending because the the 90-year-old decided to retire earlier this year (he will to help out with the family farm). Vance, who was Morgenthau's choice to succeed him, told WCBS 2, "I intend to be a strong advocate for public safety, as district attorney. I've spent my entire career working on criminal justice issues, and I'm ready for that challenge." He also recently promised, "Safety on our streets is going to be a very, very important issue for our office." more ›

Mayor Michael Bloomberg won his controversial third term by beating Comptroller William Thompson by a much smaller than predicted margin. See the updates below for how the election night unfolded. more ›

It's Election Day and polls in NYC have been open since 6 a.m. and will close at 9 p.m. You can find your polling site here. more ›

Tomorrow is Election Day—make sure you know where to vote and if you still need help with your choices, Gotham Gazette's Guide For The Last Minute Voter is a good resource—and the big election is the mayoral race between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Comptroller William Thompson. Both candidates crammed their weekend full of campaign stops, phone calls, ads, etc., because turnout is the wild card. more ›

Yesterday, mayoral candidates Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Comptroller Bill Thompson campaigned with just days away until the election. And they made sure to encourage voters to get out the vote: NY1 reports that Bloomberg went to a "get out of the vote" rally in Queens while Thompson said, "This is all about turnout and really a question of who comes out and votes. So I think he's concerned, not just because his votes may stay home, I think he's concerned about the change that people in New York City are indicating all across the city. They'd like to see a new mayor, they'd like to see change in City Hall." more ›

A new Marist poll showed that incumbent Mayor Michael Bloomberg leads challenger City Comptroller William Thompson by 15 points among likely voters, 53% to 38%. What's more, the poll notes, "Mayor Bloomberg’s action to extend term limits from two to three terms is not a deciding factor for 45% of voters. Although a large proportion of voters — 43% — says it makes them less likely to vote for the mayor, this number has not grown through the course of the campaign." more ›

Last night, after an 11 minute takedown of Fox News, The Daily Show set its sights on our own mayoral race. Term limits turnaround? Check. President Obama's, uh, endorsement of Thompson? Check. And, yes, they did totally put Mayor Bloomberg next to a graphic of Richie Rich—and Jon Stewart did say they were the same height. more ›

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo endorsed Comptroller Bill Thompson for mayor today, citing his "years of dedicated public service, his vision for a better future for our City, and his commitment to improving the lives of working families." Of course, reporters were more interested in knowing about Cuomo's own election plans next year, to which the AG said, "Let’s do one race at a time if we can, if that’s possible. Let’s support Bill for the mayor’s race. That’s what we’re here to talk about. Next year we’ll talk about next year.” more ›

Last night, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Comptroller William Thompson squared off for their second and final mayoral debate. And it was a feisty affair, with just a week till the election: The Post called it a "Yankees basebrawl", the Daily News noted how they "pulled out all the stops", and the NY Times noted how Bloomberg "pound[ed]" Thompson. Some highlighted soundbites: more ›

Tonight will be the second and final debate between mayoral candidates Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Comptroller William Thompson. The first debate saw both men in attack mode, with no clear winner. CityRoom says Thompson, "Far behind in the polls, and running out of time...must deliver the political equivalent of an Oscar-performance Tuesday night." The debate will air on WABC 7 at 7 p.m. more ›

Earlier today, City Council Speaker Christine endorsed Comptroller Bill Thompson for mayor, saying, "I think one of my important points about term limits was that it was important for people to have choice and option. I believe Bill Thompson’s been a good comptroller. I think he would be a good mayor and I think it’s very important that the Democrats are united.” Quinn is, of course, close with Mayor Bloomberg and CityRoom reports that Quinn's endorsement was delayed " as payback for Ms. Quinn’s failure to support Mr. Thompson over the last year," even after he clinched the nomination. more ›

A new Quinnipiac poll shows that Mayor Bloomberg is leading the mayoral race, with 53% of likely voters picking him, while challenger Comptroller Bill Thompson gets 35% of likely voters. PolitickerNY reports, "A two-term incumbent just barely over 50 percent would normally have lots to worry about, if he were being challenged by someone who had convinced the public there was an electable alternative. Thompson, unable to crack 40 percent in public opinion polls, does not seem to have made that case effectively." Now the word "blowout" is being mentioned. more ›

After campaign records showed that Mayor Bloomberg had spent $85 million (through Friday) on his third term mayoral bid, people were amazed—it was, according to the NY TImes, the most anyone had personally spent on any sort of U.S. public office—and disgusted. But the Mayor defended the amount, saying yesterday at an event in Queens, "It costs a lot of money to get a message out and I'm trying to show what we've done and tell people." more ›

By spending $85 million on his third mayoral campaign so far, Mayor Bloomberg entered the history books. The NY Times proclaims, "He has now spent more of his own money than any other individual in United States history in the pursuit of public office," and say the billionaire "is on pace to spend between $110 million and $140 million before the election on Nov. 3." more ›

The NY Times' article on mayoral challenger Comptroller Bill Thompon's campaign suggests that it's not the shipshape operation that the Bloomberg campaign runs. (Of course, Bloomberg is throwing tens of millions into his effort.) Amid the different examples, it's noted Thompson's political director Tweeted, "Mommy, can I stay home from school today?" and the policy director Facebooked, "Why is it that I continue to do this work?" (the policy director later quit; he tells the Times, "to suggest that such a generic gripe speaks to some deeper issue is simply silly"). more ›

PolitickerNY reports that the NYC Board of Elections has been so worried about funding that it sent a letter to Mayor Bloomberg—and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, city budget director Mark Page, City Council Christine Quinn and others—stating it wouldn't have "the necessary funding to enable it to meet its financial obligations to vendors and poll workers for the General Election to be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2009." Uh... more ›

The latest Marist poll reveals that Mayor Bloomberg has opened up his lead against challenger City Comptroller Bill Thompson to 16 points amongst likely voters, with the incumbent receiving 52% to Thompson's 36%. Marist notes, "Last month, Bloomberg led Thompson among this group of voters by 9 percentage points — 52% to 43%, respectively. Although Bloomberg’s support is unchanged, Thompson has lost ground." more ›