The Independent View: New York City 2017 Elections Review

Before leaving the New York City Elections behind, let’s note a few things the Voters did not do.

For starters, they did not necessarily give Mayor Bill de Blasio the Mandate he repeatedly proclaimed after winning 66% of the Vote on Tuesday. “Mandate” can be an Abused Word in American Politics. Winners have a way of claiming it even without a Majority or even a Plurality.

Granted, life belongs to those who show up, and de Blasio did splendidly among those who bothered going to the Polls. All the same, Three of Four Registered New York Voters Stayed Home.

Their Silence, of itself, was an important Statement. What many of them may have been saying is that they were Displeased with this Mayor, but also found the Competition Unpalatable.

Mr. de Blasio might want to bear in mind that, give or take a Percentage point, he won a mere 16% of the Eligible Electorate. That’s miles from brilliant.

Mr. de Blasio was in a similar situation when he was first Elected in 2013. Yet he acted then as if he had been Crowned with a Laurel Wreath. Cockiness caused him to Stumble more than necessary, among other things, by being foolishly Late to Appointments, Excessively Protective of dubious Supporters, and overly Confident that he had National Status. Maybe he has learned from those Unforced Errors and will enter his Second Term with Confidence but also essential Humility.

Voters did not give District Attorney (D.A.) Cyrus Vance Jr. a Mandate, either. That may seem odd to say, given that Vance Won a Third Term as Manhattan District Attorney with more than 90% of Ballots cast. But his was the only Name on the Ballot. Even so, 9.4% of the Voters took the trouble to Write-In the Names of others they preferred. All the Names have not been reported yet.

That 9.4% is extraordinarily high for Write-In votes. It may reasonably be viewed as a Rebuke of Vance for taking Campaign Money from Lawyers who have Dealings with his Office, including those who in the Past Represented Harvey Weinstein, Ivanka Trump, and Donald Trump Jr. The D.A. had to fend off Questions about his impartiality in deciding not to pursue potential Cases against Weinstein and the Trumps. Wisely, he says he will now Review his Fund-Raising Practices.

All those write-in votes seem to be saying: Good Idea.

Finally, Voters did not do well by Women in New York Politics. It wasn’t entirely their Fault. In a City that’s overwhelmingly Blue, relatively few Female Democrats were on the Ballot for City Council. Unless a further Count changes the Result in a Queens District, the new Council will have only 11 Women among its 51 Members, not quite 22%. That’s down from 18 Women in 2009, and it reinforces a warning from the Council’s Women’s Caucus in August that “we face a systemic crisis of representation.”

Perhaps equally important, after 12 years of that Body’s Speakership being held by Women, the Position seems destined to go to a Man. Whoever he is must ensure that Legislation does right by those who hold up Half the Sky.