After months of fiery campaigning, the 2009 mayoral election is taking hold of New York City today. And in case you haven’t seen the flyers, posters, TV ads, online ads, buttons, bumper stickers, etc., incumbent Mayor Michael Bloomberg — running on the Independent and Republican ticket — is heavily favored to win over Democrat William Thompson. More specifically, Bloomberg leads by 12%, which is actually a stark decrease from a few weeks ago, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll.

More than any other in recent memory, the hype around this particular election has New York voters in a fuss. Not only has Bloomberg funded his campaign with nearly $100 million of his own money — the most in United States history — but Hizzoner is also about to be elected to his third consecutive term (necessitating a City Council-approved amendment). Naturally, New Yorkers of all backgrounds are crying foul over the thought of the city’s wealthiest man essentially buying his power.

Gawker‘s anti-endorsement echoes typical resentment: “[Bloomberg] has been unable to win any political battle with anyone he couldn’t literally buy off” (Also: “He is personally a jerk. He is a thin-skinned, unpleasant, sanctimonious asshole”). Even the New York Times, which unsurprisingly endorsed Bloomberg, ran an op-ed last night from a former chief criticizing the Mayor’s absurd spending: “He could have saved himself a few hundred million dollars and New Yorkers could feel as though he was asking for their votes rather than buying them.”

Often recognized for his pragmatism, however, Bloomberg does have a long record to flaunt. Supporters and opponents admit that he has stood up to the unions and special interests that have long dominated City Hall  – whether or not this has benefitted his constituents is up for debate. Nonetheless, his almost-dictatorial control over the city’s schools has at least improved test scores significantly while crime rates continue to decrease. And although his means are questionable, his proposals for the city’s health and economic projects always look enticing on paper, no matter how badly you want to smoke in Washington Square Park.

If you’re still waiting for the paragraph about Thompson, the Mayor’s Democratic opponent, I’m sorry to say you’ll probably be disappointed. Despite a half-assed endorsement from President Obama, Thompson doesn’t exactly sweep voters off their feet. Most of his supporters and his own campaign appear more concerned with being anti-Bloomberg than pro-Thompson (see Gawker anti-endorsement above). Granted, Thompson does have some experience and energy — in the last debate, he gave Bloomberg a D-minus grade as mayor, and still said he was “being generous” — but his campaign has largely failed to sell what the guy stands for aside from his party identification.

So as many voters are admitting themselves, the decision becomes a form of “choosing the lesser evil,” or as polls suggest, “choosing the devil you know.” That devil, of course, being Mayor Bloomberg. There’s also other municipal elections happening in the city and around the country today, so check in throughout the day for updates on the mayoral election and related stories.

Also, if you’re an official New Yorker (anybody?), vote!

Update 11:00 a.m.: City Council elections are also happening today. The NYU College Democrats are phonebanking for Councilman Dan Garodnick in Kimmel 7th floor from 1 to 6 p.m. and attending a victory party at MJ Armstrong’s at 8:30 p.m.

2:05 p.m.: NYT blog City Room reported earlier today that both mayoral candidates voted early this morning: Bloomberg in his native Upper East Side, Thompson in Harlem. Afterwards, Bloomberg bought cookies and coffee from a school bake sale, which ironically he banned last month. Thompson is doing some last minute campaigning throughout the city. Keep your eyes open for balding African-American man with glasses. He might just ask for your vote.

2:25 p.m.: Here’s an interesting New York Observer post detailing the ideological challenges of Bloomberg’s (likely) third term and his potential future beyond New York City. Wagner professor and former Bloomberg adviser Mitchell Moss is quoted, labeling Bloomberg as an “icon of political autonomy.”

2:40 p.m.: NY1 is reporting that voter turnout has been bare despite the good weather, but expect an increase after 5 p.m. I mean, some people have jobs in this economy, right? Polls will remain open until 9 p.m:

“In addition to voting for positions in citywide office, voters will be asked to weigh in on two statewide referenda today.

One proposal would allow inmates to leave prison to do work for churches, social service groups and other non-profit organizations. Prisoners are currently allowed to leave only to do work for the state government.

The second initiative is a constitutional amendment that would pave the way to build a power line through an upstate park.”

4:00 p.m.: There’s also an election today for Public Advocate, which is essentially the city’s ombudsman who is first in line to succeed the mayor. Brooklyn Councilman Bill de Blasio (D) should win easily over his Republican opponent, 26-year-old Alex Zablocki.

For the City Comptroller (Thompson’s previous position) race, Queens Councilman John Liu is also expected to win handily, becoming the first Asian American elected to a citywide office.

6:30 p.m.: Finally, some comedic relief: according to The Local, a “raving naked man” high on something was arrested near a polling station in Clinton Hill (Brooklyn). Before taking off his clothes, he apparently beat a woman and chased her (okay, that’s not the funny part). A few NYPD forces showed up and apprehended the naked man, who is now in Long Island College Hospital. The entire scene was spotted by some Thompson volunteers. Considering their candidate’s expected fate, I’m sure there’s some symbolism in all of this.

9:00 p.m.: Polls are now closed. Stay tuned for results.

9:10 p.m.: The first results are in (only a few hundred votes) and Bloomberg (49.4%) has a less than a 3% lead over Thompson (46.9%), according to the New York Times. Unless this slim gap persists, expect these numbers to change significantly as more votes are counted.

9:17 p.m.: As expected, the gap between Bloomberg and Thompson is widening quickly. At this moment, the incumbent Bloomberg has 57.1% of the votes (nearly 10,000 votes counted) while Thompson has only mustered 38.7%. Again, we shouldn’t rush to any conclusions — despite my obvious excitement — barely any precincts have reported. But so far, Manhattan is colored in red (Bloomberg’s favorite color).

9:25 p.m.: We can’t seem to find any other blogs covering this election as the results currently unravel. Granted, this is a bit like covering the Yankees vs. the Mets, but somebody’s got to do it!

9:35 p.m.: Hizzoner’s commanding lead continues to increase to nearly 30%, dispelling any hope for Thompson supporters that overconfident Bloomberg supporters would stay away from the polls today. Bloomberg’s hometown Upper East Side is reporting nearly 90% in support of their native son. But of course, it’s still early. I guess.

9:39 p.m.: Well that was quick: Bloomberg was just declared victorious, according to the New York Times.

9:45 p.m.: Confirmed — the Times has declared that Bloomberg has won his third term as mayor, with less than 90,000 votes counted. Here’s how the precincts shaped up / have shaped up so far:

9:50 p.m.: Queens Councilman John Liu was just declared victor for the Comptroller race, becoming the first Asian-American to be elected citywide. He’s giving his victory speech now. Liu: “This is a milestone for Asian Americans across the country. I’m truly humbled to have this place in history.”

10:00 p.m.: I’m starting to question the timing of the Times announcement of Bloomberg’s victory. The gap between Bloomberg (49.0%) and Thompson (47.7%) is incredibly slim, especially as more votes in the outer boroughs are being counted. NY1 has yet to declare a victor.

10:05 p.m.: NY1 is currently reporting that the Bloomberg only has a 1% lead over Thompson, with nearly 40% of precincts reporting. Obviously, this is surprising beyond belief. Even the Times is showing that Bloomberg has less than 1%. Maybe the site will take down that victory declaration.

10:10 p.m.: Wow, the Times already has their Bloomberg victory article online. Assuming the reporters wrote this beforehand, this might turn into an embarrassment, even if Bloomberg still wins.

NY1 is showing Bloomberg’s victory party, where everyone seems to be getting a bit antsy. Someone involved with the campaign just said “A win’s a win. Nobody was expecting this to be a close race.” First of all, nobody was expecting this to be a close race. Second of all, he didn’t look so encouraged when he said it. Yikes.

10:15 p.m.: NY1 is reporting from the Thompson party, where supporters obviously sound more amped than expected. The reporter is talking with Brooklyn State Senator Malcolm Smith, who said “we’re expecting a victory here tonight.” Two hours ago, I would’ve laughed at that.

Bloomberg’s lead continues to stay at 1% with over 60% of precincts reporting. Every pundit on NY1 has their eyebrows raised.

10:25 p.m.: Ha! The Times changes their headline to “Bloomberg projected to win 3rd term”! Their lead: “Michael R. Bloomberg was projected to have won a third term as New York City’s 108th mayor on Tuesday, based on early returns and exit polls.” Spoke too soon, Grey Lady?

Also, a NY1 pundit makes a good point: the Bloomberg-lovin’ Staten Island has essentially reported all of its votes, yet the Mayor continues to hold a sparse lead. The votes of the other outer boroughs will decide the ultimate victor.

10:30 p.m.: Sigh of relief for the Bloomberg campaign: the Mayor’s lead has extended to 3% with over 75% of precincts reporting. NY1 craftily points out that other media outlets declared Bloomberg as the victor earlier (“but not us!”) but have since retracted that announcement. We’re not sure which outlets they’re exactly referring to, but it seems that the Times changed their headline from “Bloomberg Has Won” to “Bloomberg Projected to Win.”

10:35 p.m.: Ruben Diaz, Jr., who just get reelected as Bronx borough president, is speaking to NY1 at the Thompson party: “We refuse to be bought!” “The working families, the working poor are having their voices heard tonight.”

10:40 p.m.: NY1 finally relents and declares Bloomberg as the winner, becoming the first mayor in over 20 years to serve three terms. Don’t expect another retraction: nearly 100% of votes have been counted and now Bloomberg has over a 3% lead. Yeesh, that was a ballgame.

10:45 p.m.: Bloomberg’s Communication Director Howard Wolfson (formerly of Hillary Clinton ’08 fame) continues the pretty deflating rhetoric — “we were expecting a close race all along” – explaining how this year’s elections are extremely difficult for incumbents. We don’t quite get his reasoning, though.

He also just compared his boss to the Yankees, who, despite yesterday’s loss, “are world champions.” Anybody want to write that in stone? Please?

Here’s the general vote counts with 95% precincts reporting, according to the Times:

11:00 p.m.: Continuing with the Times change of headlines, the current one begins with “Bloomberg appears to prevail.” At least to those paying attention, this has to have been pretty embarrassing for the Gray Lady — a premature declaration, a quasi-retraction, and a carefully worded conclusion.

Also, the other citywide elections were pretty conclusive. Both Brooklyn Democrat Bill de Blasio won the Public Advocate race and Queens John Liu won the Comptroller election by wide margins.

11:05 p.m.: Mayor Bloomberg will be giving his victory speech soon, but expect a few more sweat glands than originally anticipated. Although Hizzoner did get elected to his third term, his disappointing support at the polls is likely to be perceived as a loss for his administration, no matter how his strategists frame it. It’ll be interesting to see how — or if – the Mayor will react to the election numbers in the coming months.