$175 Per Vote?

Having overturned the will of New York City voters by cutting a secret backroom deal to get rid of term limits, Mayor Michael Bloomberg wasn’t going to leave anything to chance in this year’s election.

And he didn’t – spending $102 million of his own money to earn a surprisingly narrow victory over a no-name opponent who spent a mere $8.3 million.

The astonishing figures are front-and-center in a story by Celeste Katz in today’s New York Daily News …

Mayor Bloomberg’s 2009 campaign spending of more than $102 million to win a third term shatters a record previously set by … Mayor Bloomberg.

The mayor – who has spent more of his own cash pursuing elected office than anyone in U.S. history – blazed through $18.7 million between Oct. 20 and Thursday, new figures show.

Bloomberg, whose worth has been pegged at $17 billion, prevailed by less than 5 percentage points despite wildly outspending city Controller William Thompson, who ran on private donations and public matching funds.

The win cost Bloomberg about $174.53 per vote, much of it on his ubiquitous TV ads.

Thompson’s official numbers come out Monday, but an aide said he spent about $8.3 million – or about $15.51 per vote. That would mean Bloomberg outspent Thompson by about 12 to 1.

When you add the $74 million he spent on his first mayoral race in 2001 and the $85 million he spent four years ago on his reelection, Bloomberg has now spent $261 million of his own money on getting elected – more than any politician in America.

Has it been worth it?

Duh.  What do you think?  Would he have shelled out $102 million for four more years if it wasn’t worth it?

Since being elected in 2001, Bloomberg’s net worth has nearly quadrupled – soaring to more than $17 billion today.  In fact, he remains one of the only billionaires in the world who hasn’t lost money during the current economic recession.

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