Bloomberg, Thompson both say they expect victory as Election Day arrives

Celeste Katz, Adam Lisberg and Erin Einhorn

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Brawl for the Hall

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20091022_brawl_for_the_hall Brawl for the Hall Who do you plan on voting for in the mayoral election? Mike Bloomberg;Bill Thompson;I'm not sure.;I'm not voting.

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2 Bill Thompson

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4 I'm not voting.

Mayor Bloomberg spent the day before today's election exuding a sense of inevitability even as his opponent insisted he could overcome the odds.

"We will shock the City of New York and send a message of real change," Democrat William Thompson, the city controller, told a gathering of arts leaders in Harlem.

"We did it a year ago when we came out and voted for President Barack Obama," Thompson said.

"People back then said it wasn't going to happen. We showed them that it could happen and it did happen."

Thompson's quest for City Hall hasbeen overwhelmed by Bloomberg's fantastically expensive campaign of constant TV ads, incessant mailings and reliable showings of double-digit leads in political polls.

A Quinnipiac University poll yesterday showed Thompson has gained some ground on Bloomberg, but still trails him by 12 points, with 50% of likely voters saying they're supporting Bloomberg and 38% backing Thompson.

Although 10% of likely voters still tell pollsters they're undecided, Bloomberg aides have fretted openly that supporters will think he's a shoo-in and not bother voting.

His campaign events have mostly focused on jolting voters out of complacency.

But as the mayor stumped around the city yesterday, starting on the Staten Island ferry at 7 a.m., then hitting a business in every borough that he says has benefited from his programs, he was calm, confident - and mayoral.

Rather than vote-for-me speeches, he stressed the need to continue on the course he's charted.

"I am very optimistic," he told reporters. "It's up to the voters. ... Either you get the chance to move the city forward, or the city goes back to politics as usual."

In Staten Island, where he campaigned with Borough President James Molinaro, his tactic seemed to be working.

"I've been following him for years," said commuter June Blom, 68, a hospice nurse from St. George who went to college with the mayor.

While Bloomberg spoke almost exclusively about his own record, barely acknowledging his rival's existence, Thompson skewered the mayor repeatedly for allegedly neglecting the poor and middle class while helping developers and for his role in overturning two voter referendums so he could seek a third term.

After speaking to the arts leaders, Thompson hit a senior citizens center in Chinatown, then rallied voters in Brooklyn and Washington Heights.

Both campaigns are planning robust efforts to bring voters to the polls today with flurries of phone calls, armies of volunteers and more TV ads reminding people to vote.

ckatz@nydailynews.com

With Frank Lombardi