NOTE: DON’T USE ALABAMA ITEM IN AAS, which got finals last night.
NEW YORK
New mayor meets with old one he campaigned against
A day after recording a historic landslide victory, New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio sat down with the man he is replacing, Michael Bloomberg, and began planning for the transition to a liberal agenda of what he calls economic inclusiveness after more than two decades of more conservative leadership.
De Blasio, the first Democrat to be elected mayor since 1989, had campaigned against the 12-year record of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican turned independent. But he said their hourlong meeting was “very cordial” and “very helpful.” He said he was confident that the change of power would be smooth and that they would meet again before he takes office Jan. 1.
IOWA
City voters reject big-spending outside group’s campaign
A powerful conservative group’s efforts to sway a normally sleepy city election in Iowa may have backfired, with the mayor-elect on Wednesday calling the election results a victory for locals over outside interests.
Coralville voters elected veteran City Council member John Lundell as mayor and re-elected two incumbent councilors, rejecting an aggressive campaign by Americans for Prosperity to blame the trio for the city’s $280 million debt. Residents said the mailings, phone calls, door-to-door canvassing and social media ads by AFP — founded by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch and advocates for limited government and lower taxes — fueled a backlash that has led to calls for state-level reforms to force the group to disclose its spending and donors.
“The money spent by the large outside group actually showed that’s not what works in local politics,” Lundell said.
COLORADO
Rural counties narrowly reject effort to form new state
Eleven rural Colorado counties delivered a divided vote on an effort to form a 51st state called North Colorado. Six counties voted against the idea — including Weld County, whose commissioners spearheaded the effort, citing frustration with the Democrat-led state government that they claim neglects rural interests. Five counties voted for it.
ALABAMA
Establishment Republican overcomes tea party challenger
It took a flood of campaign donations from the business community and the backing of a large part of the Republican establishment, but Bradley Byrne, a lawyer and former state senator, successfully fought off a Tea Party-supported rival Tuesday to become the Republican candidate for a House special election here in coastal Alabama.
The runoff was the first of what is likely to be many battles to come over the direction of the party, and it proved — to the relief of many in the Republican leadership — that a strong showing by the establishment can win tough races.
Young, a conservative businessman, said at his election night gathering that he would not vote for Byrne in the general election and would not even call him to concede defeat.He said he was considering forming a national organization. “This is the first warning shot that goes out across the nation,” he said.
MICHIGAN
First non-black mayor in decades says he resents race focus
Detroit’s mayor-elect said Wednesday that far too much had been made of his skin color during a historic write-in campaign and general election victory that will make him the predominantly black city’s first white mayor in four decades. With Detroit grappling with $18 billion in debt and awaiting a judge’s ruling on whether it can move forward with a bankruptcy filing, Mike Duggan said the race of the mayor is not a factor.
Unofficial general election results showed Duggan, a former Detroit Medical Center chief executive, defeating Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon 55 percent to 45 percent. Napoleon is black.
MINNESOTA
Complex voting system keeps mayoral race results in limbo
Even with Democratic City Council member Betsy Hodges far out front, the Minneapolis mayoral race remained undeclared Wednesday as election officials undertook a painstaking review of ballots and reallocation of votes under the city’s ranked-choice system.
Hodges held a wide lead in the 35-candidate field, but was still short of the threshold needed to win. The city allows voters to designate second and third choices, and ballots are reassigned as candidates are deemed out of contention. Based on the number of total votes, the winner must secure 39,708 votes — or above 50 percent of the total votes cast in the race.
Hodges, 44, has been an ally of three-term Mayor R.T. Rybak, who didn’t seek re-election and declined to endorse any of the candidates. Hodges’ closest rival in the vote count was former Hennepin County Commissioner Mark Andrew. He acknowledged it would be hard to catch Hodges, but he stopped short of a formal concession.
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