Bill de Blasio is cruising to a second term. But don't expect New Yorkers to be happy about it

Crain's New York Business reports:

De Blasio, by contrast, had budget coffers overflowing with a $3 billion surplus. Murders had fallen below 350, the fewest in decades. The economic recovery from the financial crisis had been so strong that the city had just passed the 4 million mark for jobs, breaking a record set in 1969. His biggest problem was that the unions had been working without contracts for years and were very unhappy. He had the money to deal with the issue.

From Koch to Bloomberg, New York's mayors saw their task as nothing less than saving the city from a succession of crises and maybe creating the conditions under which New York's inherent advantages—the creativity and drive of its inhabitants, its transit infrastructure and its access to capital—might allow it to thrive.

They succeeded so spectacularly that de Blasio could give himself a completely different challenge: making the city fair.

"I want to repair an inequality of opportunity that threatens to unravel the proud promise of New York," he said in a postelection speech, setting the standard by which he should be judged.

The Mayor heads towards another victory.