NEW YORK CITY – As he fights for political survival Bill Thompson did not make himself available to the media on Friday, but the Brooklyn native did release a statement saying that he believes every vote should count.
Meanwhile, on the 10th floor at 450 West 33rd Street, the vote counting continues.
“William Thompson Jr.,” said one Board of Elections worker as they examined one of more than 5,000 lever machines. The voting machines were dusted off after a three-year retirement for Tuesday’s primary. By Friday morning, BOE workers and various campaign representatives were scattered at various locations around the city monitoring the tallying.
For Thompson and his strategists to forge ahead with their mission of a runoff by diminishing de Blasio’s lead to below 40%, they will rely primarily on the the results of the more than 78 thousand absentee and write-in ballots along with the final output of the machines.
Disgraced former Congressmen Anthony Weiner, who accentuated the end of his campaign with a one-finger salute to the media Tuesday night, took to the social media site that brought him down in 2011 to offer advice. In a tweet that did not mention Thompson but was directed at him, Weiner suggested that if he’s going to take one for the team to do it quick, or else it looks forced.
While this scenario may remind Weiner of 2005, it reminds others of what took place on the national level with then Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Obama had more delegates but Clinton had the popular vote.
However, former Clinton aide and strategist Basil Smikle says that the environment now can’t compare, “Frankly they are very different scenarios. In 2008, there was still a lot of votes to be counted because a lot of states hadn’t had the opportunity to vote and at that point towards the end of the summer the race was still very, very tight, but here in the Mayor’s race in New York, the situation was that everyone who was going to vote, has already voted.”
Thompson has until midnight Friday to withdraw. Regardless, the canvassing will continue through the weekend.
