Multicultural crowd rallies for Bill de Blasio

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Bill de Blasio established himself as the top candidate in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary race last night.

On Tuesday night, after polls had closed and while votes were still being counted, the 6’5″ candidate arrived at his rally party in Park Slope Brooklyn and addressed the crowd of cheering supporters with faces that reflected a myriad of ethnicities.

“I heard it was a little block party and I had to come over!” de Blasio said, as his family gathered around him.

“We are so thankful for everything you’ve done today,” he went on to say. “We have a lot of work ahead but if what you did today is any indication, everyone should be extraordinarily proud. Amazing team work, amazing energy at the grassroots and that’s how we change the city.”

Celebrations ensue as final results are calculated 

Official results have yet to be announced as only 98 percent of the precincts have reported and paper ballots are currently being recounted.

However, the latest poll findings place de Blasio at 40.2 percent, which makes him the top contender and well-positioned to avoid a run-off against Bill Thompson, who came in second place.

As of late Tuesday night, Thompson finished with 26 percent of the vote — yet he clings to hope until all votes are counted and final results are announced, which could take up to a week.

Christine Quinn came in third place at 16 percent as John Liu and Anthony Weiner trailed behind at 7 and 5 percent, respectively.

The results mirror a recent Quinnipiac University poll, which put de Blasio in the lead and Thompson as the runner-up — a big contrast from August polls which cemented Quinn as the early front runner.

De blasio’s surge could be credited to the Public Advocate’s criticism of current NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg’s controversial stop-and-frisk policy, his pledge to expand pre-K education and proposals to close the inequality gap.

Strong stand on stop-and-Frisks

Of all the inner-city dilemmas de Blasio tackled, his stance on stop-and-frisk has become a defining issue — particularly among African-American voters.

“I like his stand on stop and frisk, he’s the strongest candidate on that issue,” Dana Beauford, a supporter who attended the rally, told theGrio. “To me, he is the strongest and most vocal about issues that concern me. Having a 19-year-old son, that played a huge role.”

Beauford’s son, Jelani Wheeler, also attended the rally and joined Beauford in chanting and campaigning for de Blasio.

Wheeler told theGrio that he agrees with his mother on many of her reasons for why she voted for de Blasio and says he was especially keen on his stance on stop-and-frisk.

“I was stopped and questioned by the police in the 8^th grade,” Wheeler told theGrio, before going on to explain the shock and worry he felt at the time. “Stop-and-frisk is one of the many reasons I’m voting for Bill, it’s a very big issue.”

De Blasio’s family takes heat

Aside from his politics, de Blasio’s multiracial family has played a key role in his campaign and has helped garner further support from the black community.

His son, 15-year-old Dante, appeared in direct-to-camera ads speaking on his father’s merits while sporting an afro.

Meanwhile, his 18-year-old daughter Chiara has spoken at venues across the city backing her father and rallying support.

However, some have found fault in this, including Mayor Bloomberg who bashed de Blasio for leading a “class-warfare and racist campaign.”

Others argue that de Blasio’s family has had a direct effect on the campaign and use it as reasoning for de Blasio’s surge in the polls.

However, de Blasio supporters disagree, listing a plethora of various former candidates — both local and national — who have included their families throughout their political campaigns.

Instead, they think of it as an effective way to attract black voters.

“I think his family played a role in influencing black voters because I think he can understand, having children, what our children are going to go through,” Beauford said. “You can’t take away that and he speaks to the real issues our families are going through.”

A ‘tale of two cities’ unified

Despite the negative accusations, de Blasio has been able to maintain a steady following of fans who have faith in his abilities to bring change to a city with a deep divide.

His “anti-Bloomberg” campaign tactic has resonated among voters and his “tale of two cities” approach exposes the inequality and income gap among New York residents.

“He’s the most progressive candidate,” said Taylor Tash, a supporter who attended the rally last night.

“I think it’s really exciting and refreshing that someone is addressing that because I didn’t really think that people cared enough,” he said. “I thought this city was filled with nothing but rich, white people and it’s really great that there’s someone who’s really fighting for us and trying to make this a great city again.”

Follow Lilly Workneh on Twitter @Lilly_Works