NEW YORK CITY – It had the makings of a spectacular surprise party.

A ballroom wrapped in the colorful stars and stripes of American flags. Disco lights bouncing to the peppy beat of techno music. And of course, a missing guest of honor.

But for supporters at Gov. George E. Pataki’s rally Tuesday night, the incumbent’s win was anything but unpredictable.

After making his way through a crowd of about 3,000 people, all chanting ‘Four more years,” Pataki took the ballroom stage of the 53rd Street Hilton Hotel shortly after 11 p.m. to accept his victory.

‘In all of this great city and in all of this great state, this is a victory for all of the people of New York,” he said.

With the lyrics, ‘I’m back, I’m back in the New York groove,’ Pataki promised to dedicate the next four years to reforms in education, health care and the restoration of lower Manhattan.

‘We’ve made a great deal of progress in the last eight years, but there’s much more to do,’ said Pataki, who garnered 50 percent of the vote. ‘And we will move New York forward.’

With 88 percent of the districts reporting, Pataki received 1,923,618 votes while Democratic challenger H. Carl McCall only had 1,286,238 or 33% and Independent Tom Golisano 551,652 or 14 percent.

Maintaining a double-digit lead in the polls throughout campaign season and jumping 20 percentage points last week, Pataki left his supporters little to wonder about.

Marist College pollsters attributed the lead to voter speculation of a Pataki win. This assumption could also have contributed to low voter turnout Tuesday, with less than 40 percent of New York City voters visiting the polls, said Syracuse University junior Ian Weston, who spent Election Day working for the Republican State Committee.

Though his opponents criticized him for a faltering economy, high taxes and a 33 percent increase in the state debt, Pataki’s record of economic growth, health care improvements and educational reforms prevailed.

The win follows what Jeffrey Stonecash, chairman of the political science department, called an eight-year campaign, promoting tax cuts, environmental protection reform and support for labor unions.

The incumbent also faced little competition from his two primary opponents, McCall and Independence Party candidate Tom Golisano, who split the votes among citizens unhappy with the state of New York.

‘(Pataki) hasn’t had to exert much effort,’ Stonecash said last week.

But that’s not to say Pataki did not need a strong push to maintain his position as head of the state, Weston said.

‘He’s worked really hard for this,’ said Weston, the political science and policy studies major.

Pataki reassured a staff of scurrying campaign members Tuesday morning at the Republican headquarters when he entered calmly, a smile beaming across his face.

For Pataki, a Westchester native, it was the beginning to the end of another campaign season.

But unlike many other freshman politicos, the morning after election night for Pataki will mean a return to normalcy.

‘He’s going to go out there, make his grand old speech, and then he’ll go back to work,’ Weston said. ‘Just like every other day.’

Published on November 5, 2002 at 12:00 pm