The Finish Line: New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio won 73% of the vote to be elected the city’s first Democratic mayor in 20 years. He ran against Mayor Bloomberg’s detested “stop and frisk” police techniques, but his primary theme was poverty and income inequality, which he calls “the challenge of our time.”

  Massachusetts rejected a casino for East Boston, but New York voted overwhelmingly to allow casino gambling in up to 7 full-blown casinos across the state. Calling Legs Diamond!

New Jersey’s Chris Christie won 60% of the vote in that generally Democratic state. Significant is that he scored well with young voters, blacks, and Hispanics, all of whom have been difficult for Republicans to reach. His speech sounded like a declaration for president.

Democrat Terry McAuliffe was elected governor of Virginia in a close finish. He crushed his Tea Party opponent in fundraising and posed him as out of step on social issues. The results of several elections suggest a weakening of The Tea Party.

Coloradans rejected a school reform measure that would have brought smaller classes but higher taxes.

# 15: The Illinois legislature voted to approve same-sex marriage. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn says he’ll sign the bill, making Illinois the 15^th state to legalize same-sex marriage.

World: Bangladesh has sentenced 152 border guards to death for their part in a 2009 mutiny in which several thousand guards took over their own headquarters to demand better working conditions. They were members of the Bangladesh Rifles, a paramilitary security unit. Seventy-four people were killed in the uprising, including 57 high and mid-rank army officers. A judge described the violence as hair-raising and said the dead were massacred.

Northern Exposure: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford abruptly admitted to reporters yesterday that contrary to his previous denials he has smoked crack. “Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine, but no, do I? Am I an addict? No,” Ford said. “I’ve tried it, probably in one of my drunken stupors.” The Toronto police say they have an unreleased video of Ford smoking crack. He’s refusing to talk to the cops. In a later press conference Ford said, “I was elected to do a job and that’s exactly what I’m going to continue to do.”

Getting Warmer:  Levels of global warming gases reached a record high in 2012, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Emissions of carbon dioxide grew faster last year than in the previous ten years.

The Obit Page: Famed Chicago Chef Charlie Trotter has died suddenly at age 54. Trotter’s simple fusion of French and Asian cuisines served in simple style without heavy sauces brought him credit for changing how Americans eat. He’d only recently closed his namesake restaurant to focus on writing.

Home Again: New York City’s historic Gracie Mansion, the designated home for the mayor, may end up with an actual resident. Billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg declined to live there, using it instead for parties and meetings. The yellow, federal-style house has a new $1.2 million kitchen. It would be an uptown, upscale move for mayor-elect de Blasio who lives in a Brooklyn row house.

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