July 13, 2008

Newcomers Have the Numbers to Upend City Politics

By FERNANDA SANTOS

New immigrants accounted for at least one-third of the increase in the number of New York City voters since 2004, while the number of Irish, Italian and Jewish voters, who together represent the traditional core of the city’s political establishment, decreased slightly, according to an analysis of voter registration records.

The transformation of the voter rolls portends a momentous shift in the ethnic makeup of the city’s electorate that threatens to upend the balance of power that has governed local politics for decades.

With so many seats coming open next year — term limits will force the mayor, comptroller, public advocate, four of the five borough presidents and two-thirds of the 51-member City Council to leave office — cultivating voters among the city’s various ethnic communities could prove both crucial and challenging for those seeking election.

“For 2009, you basically have to forget the old campaign model and go back to the drawing board to come up with a new strategy,â€