STAff WRITER

Riding a tidal wave of momentum, stemming from an unexpected surge in the polls, Bill de Blasio is poised to become the first Democratic Mayor of New York since 1989. De Blasio has succeeded, beyond anyone’s initial expectations, at embodying the nebulous characteristic of “understanding the needs and wants of the people,” while Republican Joe Lhota is seen in the opposite light. Lhota trails de Blasio by more than 40 percent in polls of those likely to vote, a seemingly historic and damning margin.

While de Blasio will more than likely win the election in a landslide, it would be a shame to overlook a candidate as interesting as Lhota. Joe Lhota’s policies, at least as stated, are emblematic of a shift in Republican party ideology that will need to happen if Republicans are going to stay in touch with an increasingly progressive populace. Lhota’s views align themselves with what is loosely referred to as “third way” politics, a hybrid stance that has the potential to shatter the impenetrable gridlock that has soured the public’s perception of Washington.

De Blasio is a true blue liberal. In everything from raising taxes on the wealthy in order to finance universal pre-kindergarten education, to reform the city’s status quo to his policy on stop-and-frisk, de Blasio is as partisan as a candidate can get.

Lhota, on the other hand, has adopted many of the socially progressive policies that his party has, to this point, rejected. He brings together the best aspects of two radically opposed ways of thinking as an ardent supporter of both marriage equality laws and pro-choice sentiments, yet maintaining the fiscally conservative aversion to tax increases that causes the creation of jobs to stagnate. If anything, Lhota’s policies should resonate strongly with the people of New York City, the financial capital of the world and one of the more socially progressive cities in the entire United States.

What Lhota has suffered from is the overwhelmingly negative perception of his party at large that has been brought to the forefront in the wake of the government shutdown. The Republican Party undoubtedly received the lion’s share of the blame for the shutdown, and the effect on the impressionable voter has surely trickled down from the federal to the municipal level.

This mayoral election has highlighted just how crucial the ability to connect with voters is in deciding the outcome of elections. The American voting public, as a whole, is extremely susceptible to bandwagon mentality. We are drawn to stories like those of Barack Obama, who usurped what many held to be Hillary Clinton’s right to the party nomination in the 2008 election cycle.

De Blasio’s surge, from fourth place in his own party’s primary to a commanding 40 percent lead over the Republican challenger, is certainly reminiscent of Obama’s rise to prominence in 2008; both came from nowhere to capture the seemingly elusive role of “man of the people.” What remains to be seen, in both instances, is just how much of a link there is between becoming a “man of the people” and enacting positive, substantive change during the course of a term.

The next mayor’s policies will be bold, and only time will tell if the man the people want is in line with what the people of New York City need.

Joseph Clines FCRH’14, is an economics major from Malverne, N.Y.