Ydanis Rodriguez speaks at a campaign rally before Tuesday's election. (Photo courtesy of Ydanis2009)

Ydanis Rodriguez, the long standing favorite to win the 10th District seat on the City Council, spent election day canvassing Inwood, trying to rouse support at the polls. His message was clear — get out and vote for Bill Thompson.

“Today, I am asking that you remember to cast your vote down the Democratic line!” Rodriguez told supporters in email messages and postings on his campaign web site.

Nearly two months after winning the Democratic primary with a landslide 60 percent of the vote, Rodriguez slammed independent Ruben Dario Vargas in Tuesday’s general election, getting 95 percent of the vote. In the 10th District, 10,672 residents cast votes for Rodriguez, compared with 592 for Vargas.

“I’ll bring the voice of our community to City Hall,” Rodriguez said in a recent interview. “I’ll work with anyone who will bring resources to the community.”

After his primary victory in September, Rodriguez continued to work out of his campaign headquarters on 177th Street, meeting with community leaders and campaigning for Thompson.

“I would like to thank you for all the hard work and dedication to this campaign and our community,” Rodriguez said in a message to his supporters on his web site Tuesday.

Rodriguez ran unsuccessfully for the District 10 seat in 2001 and 2003, narrowly losing to Miguel Martinez on his second try. Martinez represented the district for eight years until, in July, he resigned and pleaded guilty to stealing more than $100,000 in public funds.

Despite his two narrow defeats and Martinez’s resignation, Rodriguez insists his campaign success had its roots in classic political principles.

“Two years ago we decided our slogan would be ‘Honesty, Dignity, Transparency,’” Rodriguez said. “We put it in writing two years ago. I got my values from my parents and that’s how I’ll conduct myself as the City Council representative for this area.”

What Rodriguez did do better than any of his opponents was raise money. The Rodriguez campaign raised $122,986, more than three and a half times the amount raised by any other candidate in the District 10 race, according to the City Campaign Finance Board. Six unions donated $2,750, the maximum allowed from an outside source, and Rodriguez contributed $3,000 of his own money.

One of 11 children born to farm workers in the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez immigrated to Washington Heights at 18. He worked as a taxi driver while earning a bachelor’s degree in political science from City College and a master’s degree in bilingual education from the City University of New York. Rodriguez was a founding teacher of Gregorio Luperon High School, which specializes in the education of new immigrant children. He has taught at the school for 14 years.

During a recent interview at his campaign office, Rodriguez appeared ready to make the transition from educator to legislator.

“As soon as I take office I’ll continue supporting bills that make sense for all New Yorkers,” Rodriguez said. “We’ll be putting a lot of energy into bills for quality education, for more money for legal services for tenants, more money for tenants associations.”

Rodriguez plans to draw on his experience as a teacher to improve education in his district. “Education is my top priority,” he said. “I’ll work with other elected officials for early education, zero to 5 early education programs with art, music, gymnastics. Programs other communities take for granted don’t exist in Washington Heights. I’ll work with my colleagues to bring them here.”

One of the many challenges facing educators in District 10 is teaching a large Spanish-speaking population.

“At some schools at the neighborhood level, 70 percent or more children in the city are Spanish speaking,” said Maria Torres-Guzman, professor of bilingual education at Columbia University’s Teachers College.

To address the large number of children requiring bilingual education, Rodriguez said he plans to explore all available options. According to Torres-Guzman, one of the most successful programs has been “dual immersion,” in which native Spanish and native English speakers learn both languages concurrently and become fluent in both.

“There’s a misconception that dual language is for the middle class,” Torres-Guzman said. “You don’t have to transition out of anything, and the results have been fabulous.”

“There may be a place for that in our community,” Rodriguez said, asked about dual immersion programs. “I’ll support any program that guarantees a quality education. We must be open to creative change. Change what’s not working, bring in new programs.”

Despite his excitement, Rodriguez is saddened to leave his teaching career. “Education is what gave me the opportunity to be what I am today,” he said. Yet, in the midst of the long transition, he appeared ready to get to work. “This is an opportunity for me to continue what I’ve been doing my whole life. Now I have a staff and an office. I’m excited.”

Michael Bloomberg thanks supporters at a victory party in midtown Tuesday Night. Photo: Associated Press

By Andrew Keshner and Nate Rawlings

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg won a narrow victory over City Comptroller Bill Thompson to earn a third term as mayor, according to Associated Press precinct reports. Credit uptown voters for making this a closer race than expected: preliminary results show Thompson winning more than two-thirds of the northern Manhattan vote.

Citywide, Bloomberg won by a 51 to 46 percent margin, according to Associated Press figures. With 96 percent of districts reporting, the two-term incumbent took more than 530,000 votes compared to Thompson’s roughly 486,000 votes. Bloomberg’s five-percent margin victory tonight is noticeably smaller than the 2005 win ushering in his second term. He slammed Democratic challenger Fernando Ferrer that year , 58 to 39 percent  Four years earlier, in 2001, Bloomberg squeaked by Mark Green with a 49 to 45 percent margin.

Thompson made a strong showing north of 125th Street, taking 67.8 percent of the local vote, compared to Bloomberg’s 30 percent. Uptowner interviews earlier today revealed both Thompson support and anti-Bloomberg sentiment.

“I wanted to definitely vote for Bill Thompson,” said Milagros Genera-Rochet, a Harlem resident, citing the mayor’s position on term limits. “I think that Mayor Bloomberg has the arrogance of adding himself four years, changing the law to suit him.”

Meanwhile, Josmat Rojas of Inwood called Bloomberg “a very dirty politician,” adding, “I don’t know Bill as much as I would like to but I know I didn’t want Mike Bloomberg there anymore so I voted Bill.”

Despite support for the challenger, preliminary turnout in upper Manhattan was sluggish and in step with low turnout rates during other mayoral elections. In uptown precincts, between 20 and 25 percent of registered voters went to the polls, about half the turnout during last year’s presidential vote. The figures may not include all absentee ballots.

Bloomberg touted continuing drops in crime and gains in public education during his victory speech at his midtown campaign headquarters just before midnight. He made other pledges, from planting a million trees to creating jobs from the South Bronx to Coney Island. “If you think you seen progress over the past eight years, I got news for you: You ain’t seen nothing yet,” Bloomberg said to a wave of cheers.

Addressing supporters a little earlier, around 11:30 p.m., Thompson made no mention of how close the race was in the end and tried to put a good face on the situation. “I leave tonight feeling exceedingly proud of the work we did together,” he said, pledging to put aside differences with the mayor and get back to work on city issues.

Michael Bloomberg buys a snack from a school fundraiser after voting on Tuesday. Photo: Associated Press

With tonight’s win, Bloomberg becomes just the fourth three-term mayor in New York history, along with Fiorello LaGuardia (1934-1945), Robert Wagner (1954-1965), and Ed Koch (1978-1989). But tonight’s victory may not pave the way to New York City political immortality.

Bloomberg’s re-election begins amid controversy over term limits that could result in a much thinner mandate. In 1993, New Yorkers voted to limit all elected officials to two terms, and in 1996, voters struck down a City Council attempt to allow officials to extend those limits. The issue arose again in October 2008, when Bloomberg introduced legislation that would allow him and all elected officials to serve a third term. The City Council agreed, by a 29-22 vote, to allow officials to seek office a third time.

“It says that their votes and their voice do not matter,” Thompson said on the day of the City Council decision, according to the New York Times. “Bullying and heavy-handed threats are more powerful than democratic ideals.”

Tonight was the public’s first chance to weigh in on the term-limit extension that set the stage for third-term runs by Bloomberg and, locally, City Councilman Robert Jackson.

Today’s election also showed that Bloomberg’s $85.8 million was well-spent. That’s the amount Bloomberg, who made his fortune building a financial information and media company, spent on his campaign, according to New York City Campaign Finance Board filings. By contrast, Thompson had a war chest of just $4.4 million.

During his speech, Bloomberg congratulated newly-elected Comptroller John Liu and Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio – who have had their differences with the mayor in the past.

Bloomberg tried to look past disagreements tonight.  ”At the end of the day, we all agree on a heck of a lot more than we disagree on,” Bloomberg told his supporters. “Especially our love of New York City.”

Additional reporting by Sarah Butrymowicz, Lisa Waananen and Suzanne Weinstock

Congressional Representative Charles Rangel (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

As the House ethics inquiry into Congressman Charles Rangel grinds on, political pundits, pollsters, 15th District residents, and other Representatives have been scrambling to assess the Representative’s future.

The House opened its inquiry in 2007 after the New York Times reported Rangel, first elected to Congress in 1970, rented four rent-controlled apartments for below market value; in response, Rangel himself called for a full investigation. The ethics committee has expanded its scope well beyond housing, and is now considering other questions: Did Rangel fail to disclose $500,000 of income in 2007? Did he pay the necessary property taxes on a home in the Dominican Republic? And as of last week, as new reporting emerged from the New York Times, did he have assets and income not included in his financial disclosure forms from 2002 through 2006?

The committee, including six Democrats and six Republicans, will wait until the investigation is completed before presenting its findings to the full House, which ultimately decides whether to take action against Rangel, who chairs the Ways and Means Committee.

Meanwhile, no two political observers seem to share the same opinion about Rangel’s future.

“My guess is it’s ‘rally around the local guy’,” said Maurice “Mickey” Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute. “That’s what usually happens.”

Carroll added that Rangel’s influence in uptown politics extends beyond populist appeal. “He’s part of the Harlem Mafia-cabal—Paterson’s father, Dinkins—they’ve dominated a long time. So far, no one else has been able to get him yet,” Carroll said.

Daily News reporter Juan Gonzalez, who has covered Spanish Harlem extensively, sees Rangel’s fate as part of a longer history of uptown politicians.

Between Rangel and his predecessor Adam Clayton Powell Jr., uptown has seen only two representatives in 65 years.  So voters, Gonzalez explained, “will look on the basis of whole careers,” not just at this moment’s dilemma.

It’s how voters behaved before, Gonzalez explained. “Remember: Charlie Rangel replaced someone kicked out of office, then let back in,” he said, referring to February, 1967, when the House of Representatives ejected Powell from the House after he was accused of misusing funds designated for the committee he chaired. By special election, Powell was allowed to regain his seat two months later. In the 1970 Democratic primary, voters, however, sought a new candidate who promised to clean up the political dirt and pay more attention locally and rallied to elect Charles Rangel, then a politically inexperienced 40-year-old.

This time, Gonzalez said it’s possible that State Senator Bill Perkins or Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV will try to seize the moment and take Rangel’s seat.

Wayne Barnett, a senior editor at the Village Voice who has covered local politics for close to 30 years, sees a clear window of political opportunity—for the governor. “I’m sure Paterson can function as a congressman but he can’t function as a governor. He’s the son of the Harlem gang, and he’s the byproduct of it,” Barrett said.

Barrett added he thinks it’s unlikely that Rangel will run again if the House votes to strip away his chairmanship of ways and means. “Why run if you don’t carry the weight that you carry with that chairmanship?” Barrett said. “I can’t see him going to election with all that hanging over his shoulder.”

Uptown, mixed opinions reign among residents.

Julia Lysaith, waiting for a M15 bus on 125th Street, said she sees no need for an investigation or a penalty. “When a man works as long as he’s worked, he’s obligated to get whatever he wants,” Lysaith said, unimpressed by a possible scandal. “If you dig deep into other people’s lives. You’ll be shocked to find out what they have,” she said. “There’s a limit to how much we should look into private lives.”

Heather Rodriguez, walking to her home on Morningside Drive, disagreed. “They need to investigate it,“ Rodriguez said. “I don’t think it’s really fair to use taxpayer funds like that,” she said, discussing Rangel’s alleged abuse of his congressional power to illegally rent apartments.

Other residents, looking at Rangel’s past political record, saw reason for a new congressman from Harlem.

Outside an Amsterdam Avenue bodega, John Horton said, “He’s not helping the small businesses anymore — he’s helping the big businesses.” Rangel had backed Columbia University’s plans to expand into West Harlem, forcing out a gas station, a storage place, and numerous residents, he explained. “He’s not for the community anymore. He’s sold out,” he said.

Mark Reyes, talking to the bodega’s owner, added his voice to the critics’. “He’s a flip flopper—he says one thing, and goes in exact opposite direction,” he said. But he doubted that Rangel would lose his seat, explaining that the congressman is a hometown hero, immune to anything other challengers can throw his way. “That’s going to keep him in office,” Reyes said.

But in recent weeks, Rangel’s precarious political position has fostered opportunities for political power grabs from Democrats and Republicans alike.

In early October, the House voted 246 to 153 against a GOP resolution calling for Rangel to relinquish his ways and means chairmanship. The resolution would have bypassed the U.S. House Ethics Committee inquiry, ousting the Congressman from the committee immediately.

At home, Rangel faced new trouble from old friends. His former campaign director Vincent Morgan announced that he will run for Rangel’s seat next year. ”I’ve been preparing for this for the last few years,” Morgan said in an interview, adding that he will need time to mount a full fundraising campaign. “I couldn’t wait until this was concluded,” he said of the Rangel investigation.

Morgan said he will campaign on restoring trust. Although congressional representatives are required by law to disclose earnings and expenses, Morgan said he intends to make his finances even more accessible and easier for a layperson to understand. What is needed, he said, is clearer information that explains, “exactly who you hire, and how much they’re paid.”

At Rangel’s office, a spokesperson dismissed the GOP resolution as politicking and called for due process. “Let’s look at this resolution for what it really is–a highly partisan effort designed to undermine the important work in Congress on health care reform,” said the spokesperson, who declined to be identified. “It’s also an attempt to circumvent House rules, which provide for a comprehensive, bipartisan ethics committee process for reviewing matters such as these. The Congressman himself initiated the request for the committee to review the issues and the members should let the process work as established by the rules of the House.”