Billionaire Mayoral Candidate Reaches Out

CHEER: A lot of national pride was exhibited at the Dominican Day Parade on Sunday. The parade ran down 6th Ave and was visited by mayoral candidates. (Wen Zhong/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—Competition for Latino votes starts to surge as Mayor Michael Bloomberg hit the Dominican Day Parade Sunday.

Half an hour after mayoral candidate William (Bill) Thompson spoke with Latino supporters who lined up along 6th Ave., Bloomberg made a speech to the press and mingled with the crowd.

As part of his election campaign, the mayor joined New York Dominican Officers Organization (NYDO) and marched along 6th Ave. with the Dominican crowd.

A Quinnipiac University poll from July 28 found Thompson cuts Bloomberg’s lead in half in the mayoral race. According to the poll the balance of power stand on 47 - 37 percent for Bloomberg among New York City voters.

The poll found Thompson’s biggest gains are among black voters with advantage of 56 to 30 percent. The competition stayed tied on Democratic voters with 45 to 42 percent for Thompson, but Bloomberg retained Republican voters with an advantage of 70 to 14 percent.

“Now there’s a little life in the mayoral race as comptroller Bill Thompson gains some ground on Mayor Michael Bloomberg,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. ”Thompson is closer than Democrat Fernando Ferrer was at this point in 2005, when he lost by 19 points.”

Subway Reform

As part of to his campaign, Bloomberg proposed a few changes in the subway service on Aug. 3. “I want to form a new spirit of cooperation with the MTA,” said Bloomberg, although he doesn’t have the power to implement it by himself, as he holds control over only four of 17 votes on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board.

What Bloomberg suggested was to create a new express subway service for the F line, subsidized ferry service in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, a car-pool lane on the inbound Gowanus Expressway, the possible return of trolley-cars to Red Hook and other underserved neighborhoods and the extension of the V train which terminates in Manhattan to run on the F line out to Coney Island, according an article in the Kings Courier.

“At a minimum, it’s worth looking at—and the MTA is looking at it already,” said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign in a NY Daily News report. But he took Bloomberg’s words with a grain of salt. ”These are campaign promises. You can’t say any more than that.”

Another thing Bloomberg promised is a free bus ride across the city, such as the M50 line, what will make it easier and cheaper for riders to travel crosstown.