New York City voters elected a new mayor, Bill de Blasio, putting the city under Democratic party control for the first time in more than 20 years. De Blasio, a Democrat, entered the race with a huge lead over the Republican nominee, Joe Lhota, in a city where registered Democrats already outnumber Republicans six to one.

He appealed to voters with a populist agenda and interracial family: his two children and African-American wife, writer Chirlane McCray, whom de Blasio says will have an important role in his administration.

“Right now in New York, we’re living a tale of two cities; almost half of New Yorkers are living at or near the poverty line and the middle class is disappearing,” he said at the last Democratic debate.

In an interview with VOA, de Blasio praised Bloomberg’s policies on the environment and public health but said that the pressing needs of most New Yorkers were being neglected.

Source: VOA