Where is Joe Lhota?

Mayoral Candidate is No-Show in Boro

100 PERCENT

By Robert Press

BRONX, NEW YORK, OCTOBER 11- With the latest mayoral poll now showing Bill deBlasio ahead of Joe Lhota by 50 points, the question is why is Bill deBlasio doing so well?

After his exclamation of “Damn Those Cats on the Tracks” Joe Lhota gives one the impression of a heartless businessman much like the current mayor that is not well liked by the electorate. Lhota's tough guy approach does not help either especially when so many New Yorkers are down on their luck. Then there is the lack of campaign funds, but if one listens to Mayor Bloomberg it seems that he may make a considerable campaign donation to Lhota much like the did to his friend Newark Mayor Cory Booker in Booker's race for an open New Jersey U.S. Senate seat.

Bill deBlasio is coming off as the “White Knight” that will rescue the poor citizens of New York that have been under a dictatorship the past 12 years. DeBlasio is now Mr. Nice Guy to Lhota's ranting “The Sky will Fall if deBlasio is elected”. It is no longer a race that I named Dinkins – Giuliani III, but has become Bill Clinton vs. the U.S. Attorney trying to prosecute deBlasio, with Lhota also saying how much he is alike to Bill deBlasio in his latest television ad.

Some Bronx numbers- Joe Lohta received 3,518 total votes in the Bronx on primary day. Bill deBlasio received 36,896 total Bronx votes. DeBlasio received in the 81st A.D. 4,632 votes, in the 82nd A.D. 4,777 votes, in the 83rd A.D. 4,853 votes, and in the 87th A.D. 3,823 votes. The 81st A.D. is home to Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz who supported Bill Thompson. The 82nd A.D. is home to Michael Benedetto who supported Bill Thompson. The 83rd A.D. is home to Bronx Democratic County Leader Assemblyman Carl Heastie who supported Bill Thompson. The 87th A.D. is home to Luis Sepulveda who supported Bill deBlasio. Joe Lhota's strongest showing was in the Republican stronghold 82nd A.D. with 644 votes. The 81st A.D. provided Lhota with only 491 votes, while the only other Bronx A.D. that had more than 100 votes for Lhota was the 80th A.D. with 239 votes. Joe Lhota received 5,412 votes in the borough of Staten Island out of 12,658 votes that were cast. Lhota has to strengthen his base in Staten Island where he might pick up more votes, so why come to the Bronx?

In the you win some and loose some category, Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda may have made the wrong choice twice in the Public Advocate race by first going with Reshma Saujani who did not make it into the run off election, and then supporting Dan Squadron who lost the run off election for Public Advocate. Sepulveda does however have some chips to be cashed in when Bill deBlasio is elected Mayor on Tuesday November 5th. I asked Assemblyman Sepulveda what he is looking to get out of a deBlasio administration, and his answer was “only for the people of my assembly district, and the people of the Bronx”. Look for Mayoral candidate Bill deBlasio to come to the Bronx, and often like he did in the Democratic Primary race. Also look for Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda to be near him when he comes to the Bronx.

I almost forgot there is another candidate who may get as many if not more Bronx votes than Joe Lhota, and that is former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion. The old adage is if you don't have anything nice to say about someone not to say anything at all, so here is nothing.

As for the upcoming week the New York City Comic Convention will be going on from Thursday October 10th through Sunday October 13th, and that is where you will find me as I cover this event as I did last year. You can check my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com for daily updates on just who might be appearing, signing autographs, and other information about Comic Con 2013 being held at the Javitts Center on the west side of Manhattan. Also check the many photos of Comic Con I will be taking, and you may want to go to the archive section for October 2012 to see what Comic Con 2012 looked like. You may also want to check out the many other items on the blog about the Bronx while you are there.

If you have any comments about this column or my blog, or would like to have an event listed or covered in this column or on my blog you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.