BLOOMBERG DECLARED WINNER. Big surprise: AP is calling Michael Bloomberg the winner of New York City's mayoral election. Freddy Ferrer privately conceded around 10:10 pm; as I write, he's making his public concession. The votes are still being tabulated, but it's possible that Bloomberg didn't quite receive the 30+% margin that some organizations predicted. (It might actually be as close as 15%!) The exact amount expended by Bloomberg's campaign also remains to be fully revealed, but it could be ten times more than the amount that Ferrer's campaign spent. (NY1 is kicking around the figure of $100,000,000 or more as the cost of Bloomberg's effort — that's about $12.50 per city dweller.) If all goes as widely expected, by the end of Bloomberg's term New York City will have had a Republican mayor for 16 straight years, the first time the city has had such a Republican run.

For those who aren't in the city, here's an idea of how, um, thoroughgoing the costly winning campaign was: The polls closed at 9:00 pm, but I received a "go out and vote" phone message from the Bloomberg campaign at 8:13 pm.

Ferrer just described Bloomberg's run as the best financed campaign in the history of American politics....

Photo of bench sign outside the Mount Blanc Restaurant, near Hell's Kitchen polling place: David Marc Fischer