Under intense pressure from the Democratic party, Bill Thompson conceded defeat in the New York City mayoral race and offered his support for Bill de Blasio on Monday morning.
At a news conference at City Hall in Manhattan, Thompson endorsed de Blasio who was standing beside him along with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in an effort to demonstrate Democratic unity.
"I am proud to stand here today and support Bill de Blasio to be the next mayor of the City of New York," Mr. Thompson said, according to the New York Times.
"Bill de Blasio and I want to move our city forward in the same direction," he said, adding, "This is bigger than either one of us."
Mr. Thompson's decision clears the way for a general election contest in which de Blasio, the city's current public advocate, will face off with Republican candidate Joseph J. Lhota.
De Blasio came in first place during last week's Democratic primary, earning 40 percent of the vote. Thompson came in second after winning 26 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results released after the election. A runoff is held in a primary election if no candidate wins 40 percent of the vote. Initially, Thompson called for the elections board to double-check lever voting machine results and tally tens of thousands of uncounted paper ballots to see if de Blasio's total would dip below the 40 percent threshold. However, sources said his decision to drop out was due to pressure from one of his key backers, the teachers' union led by Michael Mulgrew, reports the New York Post.
"There is nothing more beautiful than Democratic unity, and thank you for it," Mr. de Blasio said.
"I am profoundly honored, I'm profoundly humbled, to receive the support of Bill Thompson, and his extraordinary coalition," he added. "And Bill did build an extraordinary coalition, because people had such great respect for him and his years of service, and it means so much that we will be working in partnership for the good of New York City."
Gov. Cuomo also saluted Thompson for his decision to withdraw from the race.
"It can be much harder to step back than to step forward," he said. "And it takes a man of substance, it takes a man who really believes in public service and believes in the principles of the Democratic Party, to actually do it, and that's what Bill Thompson is doing today."
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
