New York City Blackout and mayoral Election of 1977 Free Essay Example, 1250 words

Considering the large number of contestants and the intense campaigns, rivalry was high up in the air. The blackout therefore, provided a conducive environment for the supporters of the different candidates to flex their muscles against each other, enhancing the already poor city condition. These show the negative effects that the blackout contributed to the city. The occurrences in the New York City made the economic situation worse and a financial crisis was imminent (Curvin and Porter 65). To a majority of the contestants, the incumbent Mr. Abraham D. Beame’s leadership over the past term had contributed towards the failing economic situations in the city, and therefore, to them, the election was more of a referendum against the incumbent’s leadership other than an election to choose the next mayor. For the incumbent, it was a time to put "One foot on the wire – his better foot, the balancing foot. † (Colum). The main aspect was what would make the situation better for the residents of New York City. However, the situation for the incumbent was a struggle to fend his stiff competition to enable him makes history as the first mayor in office to lose an election for over half a century just after a single term. We will write a custom essay sample on New York City Blackout and mayoral Election of 1977 or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now With an already bad situation, the incumbents continued stay in office would have effects that are more negative. With the occurrence of the blackout, many argued that Beame’s as a leader had lost control of proving lights on the streets, and even when the unfortunate had occurred, Beame still failed to call on Governor Carey to provide the necessary security required for a city such as New York (Curvin and Porter 143). Despite the cause of the black having been lightning strike, the contestants were indeed â€Å"on fire† (Colum), in their quest for the seat. What is the significance of the blackout and the New York Mayoral elections? The unfortunate situations in New York City had actually started long before the election that only came to make the already bad situation worse. Prior to the elections, the â€Å"Son of Sam† murders had been within the city from the previous year. The main victims were young who were actually a majority of the voters in the forthcoming elections and therefore, such a situation would have a significant effect on the election, considering that the young made a significant percentage of the voters (McNickle 206). One aspect of surprise because of the occurrences was that despite the unfortunate events that the city was facing, voters were never affected from supporting their liberal candidates.