Metro

Brooklyn, you win one, you lose one

Brooklyn got mixed results from yesterday’s Democratic runoff for public advocate and comptroller with voters sending Park Slope Councilman Bill DeBlasio to victory while handing Brooklyn Heights Councilman David Yassky a devastating loss that could put him out of elective politics forever.

DeBlasio beat former public advocate Mark Green by a 62.5–37.5 margin to win the Democratic nomination.

In a victory speech last night, he said he would dedicate his office, whose budget was cut virtually in half to just $1.7 million, to ensuring “a vibrant democracy.”

Meanwhile, Yassky fell to his Council colleague John Liu by a 55.7-44.3 margin.

The Democratic nomination is tantamount to victory, as both DeBlasio and Liu face lightly regarded and underfunded GOP competition in a mostly Democratic city. Alex Zablocki and Joe Mendola are the Republican nominees for public advocate and comptroller, respectively.

The loss in the comptroller race will likely send Yassky out of politics when he completes his second term at the end of December. Yassky was once a rising star in city politics, until he lost a congressional race in a majority black district in 2006.

That effort, plus his flip-flop on term limits last year, is believed to have cost Yassky with progressive voters, who chose Liu by a strong majority.

Yassky said thanks to his supporters at a party in Manhattan, but told The Brooklyn Paper through a spokesman that he intended to “finish representing the 33rd Council District to he best of his ability, and then decide with his family what’s next.”

Turnout was low in both races, with DeBlasio chalking up about 139,000 votes to Green’s 83,000, and Liu winning about 127,000 votes to Yassky’s 101,000, though final vote totals will take a few days to tabulate.

DeBlasio focussed on four priorities: improving schools, spurring affordable housing, protecting “the vulnerable members of our society,” and fostering better relations between the NYPD and New York residents, he said.

Liu, the son of Chinese immigrants, thanked a crowd of supporters at United Federation of Teachers headquarters in Manhattan and said that “no one appreciates the wonder and possibility of New York City better than me.”

He also said he would fight for better schools, but also put transportation, job creation and sound investment on his agenda.