By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Crickets and tumbleweeds almost outnumbered voters as polls opened across the city this morning for New York City’s primary election.
Officials are expecting the lowest voter turnout in years, but the Democratic candidates for mayor, comptroller and public advocate still crisscrossed the city campaigning for last minute votes.
Current comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson had the lead over Councilman Tony Avella 45 to 10 percent in the latest Quinnipiac Poll released last month.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s campaign made no secret of the outcome they expected. They launched a new ad today attacking a nameless candidate who didn’t improve graduation rates or test scores and accepted money from special interests — traditional grist for Thompson-bashing.
Runoffs are expected in both the public advocate and comptroller races, according to the Campaign Finance Board, as no candidate is expected to clear 40 percent necessary to clinch the nomination.
The Quinnipiac poll had Mark Green and Bill de Blasio leading the pack for public advocate with 38 percent favoring Green and 14 percent choosing de Blasio.
“Undecided” was winning the comptroller race with 45 percent of the vote. The rest of the field was split evenly between Melinda Katz, John Liu and David Yassky, all members of the City Council.
Maite Jiminez, a freelance Spanish/English interpreter from Washington Heights, said she voted for Yassky because he was the only comptroller candidate who proposed reducing taxes on the self-employed.
“He’s the only one to reach out to us,” she said.
Harlem resident Corey Scott, 33, is a volunteer for Katz. This morning he handed out fliers at Public School 175's poll station on 174th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard.
“I’m worried about Liu because Rev. Al Sharpton and Gov. Paterson are behind him and that means something here,” Scott said. John Liu is expected to be in the runoff, but questions have surfaced recently about his campaign assertion that he worked in a sweatshop as a child.
Three candidates are jockeying to replace Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. Given the dominance of Democrats in the city, the winner of the primary is almost assured of the job come Election Day in November.
Morgenthau, who has held the post for 34 years, endorsed Cy Vance Jr. in the race. But opponents Leslie Crocker Snyder and Richard Aborn are running competitive campaigns against him and the race’s outcome is uncertain.
“I think that Leslie Snyder Crocker is too tough and Cy Vance is in bed with Eliot Spitzer,” said Brian Leahy, a Battery Park City resident who voted for Aborn.
Leahy also cast a vote for Pete Gleason, one of the challengers to City Council incumbent Alan Gerson, in what is turning out to be a competitive race for District One.
Susan Kunstler, an attorney in lower Manhattan, was of a different mind on the DA's race.
“Leslie all the way!” Kunstler said. “Her experience at every level is what’s needed to be an effective DA.”
All of the candidates are a-Twitter today with get-out-the-vote messages.
“Just voted with my lovely wife Chirlane! hope you are casting your vote for me today!” read a de Blasio tweet.
Eric Gioia, one of his opponents in the public advocate race was more direct: “Please remind friends to vote - tweet/update your facebook status to ‘Vote for Eric Gioia.’ "
Council Speaker Christine Quinn, in a surprisingly tight race for District Three, spent the morning urging her constituents to vote.
“Go to the polls and cast you ballot for Christine Quinn! Expected to be a very low voter turnout tdy. Every vote counts!” was her Twitter message this morning.
Those messages, however, didn't appear to translate into voters.
Poll workers across the city are talking about the light turnout, but none of them appear surprised.
“It isn’t great, but it never is in the primary—especially if it’s not a big race,” said Ines Reuss, a poll worker at Landmark High school in Midtown.
