ATLANTA AND LOS ANGELES — By a surprisingly narrow margin, voters chose to reelect billionaire Michael R. Bloomberg for a third term as New York mayor Tuesday, one of a number of big-city electoral decisions made amid predictions of continuing financial stress for municipal governments nationwide.
With all precincts reporting, Bloomberg, a Republican turned independent, had earned 51% of the vote in his race against Democrat William Thompson Jr., the city's comptroller. Thompson earned 46% of the vote.
It was closer than expected, especially given the discrepancy in spending that defined the race. Bloomberg -- a former media mogul listed by Forbes as the eighth-richest American -- spent more than $100 million of his personal fortune on his campaign, outspending the challenger 10 to 1.
Other close mayoral contests were unfolding Tuesday in Atlanta and Houston. In both cities, it appeared possible that voters had whittled large fields of contenders to two-candidate races that could be decided in runoffs.
In Pittsburgh, 29-year-old incumbent Luke Ravenstahl scored a decisive victory, surging some 30 percentage points over his closest rival with 99% of precincts reporting.
Bloomberg, 67, began laying the groundwork for Tuesday's victory last October, when he successfully campaigned to have a 15-year-old term-limit law lifted.
He told New Yorkers he would use his financial savvy to help guide the city through the financial meltdown -- a message that resonated with Brandon Arbiter, 25, who lives in Gramercy Park.
"Having a mayor with such experience with the finance industry is beneficial right now," Arbiter said.
"He has shown that someone with tremendous business acumen can come into a government agency and make it run more effectively."
Earlier this year, Bloomberg had already proposed cutting the city budget by $1 billion and raising taxes to help address a $4-billion budget shortfall.
Like many other cities, Atlanta is suffering from budget problems, which have been compounded by numerous accounting blunders by city bureaucrats.
A focus on those problems helped Mary Norwood, an eight-year city councilwoman, establish herself as a front-runner in the majority-black city, giving her the chance to become the city's first white mayor since 1973.
The Atlanta race was too close to call late Tuesday, but with 60% of precincts reporting, Norwood was ahead with 44% of the vote, leading African American contenders Kasim Reed, with 38%, and Lisa Borders, with 14%.
