After one of the most tumultuous election cycles in New York City history, Joe Lhota took the stage tonight to concede the mayor�s race to Democrat Bill de Blasio, who will be the city�s next mayor after 12 years of Michael Bloomberg leading City Hall.

Conceding the race to mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, Republican Joe Lhota offered a gracious account of the race and a humble look forward.

�We�ve come to the end of a long journey,� he told supporters. �My friends and our fellow New Yorkers have spoken and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago I called Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio. He�s going to be the 109th mayor of the city of New York, a city that we all love�so we should congratulate him.�

�The contest has been long and it�s been difficult. His success alone, however, commands my respect. I urge all New Yorkers in support of me, to join�in not just in congratulating Mayor-elect de Blasio�but offering our next mayor our goodwill,� he continued.

�Despite what you may have heard, we are one city,� he took a quip as his former opponent. �We are five boroughs but we are one city,� Mr. Lhota said. �We are one people. And we want our city to move forward, not backwards. And I do hope our new mayor-elect understands it before it is too late. It is natural to feel some disappointment but tomorrow we must move beyond it. It was a good fight and it was a fight worth having.�

Mr. Lhota ended his speech by insisting he had no regrets about the pretty dull race.�There will be Monday morning quarterbacking about this campaign,� assured Mr. Lhota. �I�ll leave the post-mortem analysis to others. But let it be known: I will not spend one moment of my future regretting what might have been.�

�Let�s move forward,� he concluded.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)