NY Times: Merryl Tisch Seems To Be Bailing On Thompson

Bill Thompson said last night he will not concede the Democratic primary for mayor until all votes are counted.

He reiterated that stance today.

But the NY Times reports some of his prominent supporters may already be pulling away from him:

Even as Mr. Thompson was expressing confidence in public, some of his campaign’s closet advisers seemed to be moving away from his candidacy.

Merryl H. Tisch, the chairwoman of Mr. Thompson’s campaign, said Mr. de Blasio’s broad support suggested a “clear victory.”

“I don’t think there’s much appetite within the Democratic Party to have a fight here,” Dr. Tisch, chancellor of the State Board of Regents, said in a telephone interview. She declined to say whether she had urged Mr. Thompson to concede, but said he was spending the day reaching out to donors and party leaders. “I’m sure he will make a good decision,” she said.

Thompson told the Times he would not step aside for the sake of "party unity" and plans to go to the mattresses with the recount.

Thompson says the election was "so close" that he just can't give up.

Three things to say here:

First, it's interesting that Tisch went public with a statement that essentially undercuts Thompson's battle to force a runoff.

Second, as I have noted here at Perdido Street School many times, Bill Thompson is just a self-serving politician who could care less about the city, the citizens of New York, the Democratic party or his former constituents.

This guy is all about himself and that he plans to go to the mattresses with a runoff fight shows you just how empty his political rhetoric about bringing change from the Bloomberg years is.

You want to bring change from the Bloomberg years, Bill?

Here's some advice:

Don't contest the primary and let de Blasio focus on Lhota and the general election.

Third, I dunno what Thompson is talking about when he says the election was "so close."

It wasn't close at all.

Thompson lost by 90,000+ votes.

He lost by 14.1%.

He didn't come anywhere near beating Bill de Blasio.

Yes, it's true that de Blasio barely got over the 40% needed to avoid a runoff.

That margin was close.

But nothing else about this election is close.

As Tisch said, de Blasio's broad support shows a "clear victory."

It's a shame Thompson is too self-serving to see that.