but i kept telling myself, "don't build yourself up "for disappointment. "let yourself accept that we ran the best race we've seen for mayor." and then we won. and it was very close. but we won. [cheers and applause] - new york city tonight has the first black mayor in its history. the race to succeed flamboyant three-term mayor ed koch was the most contested and contentious in 20 years. - this year, voters rejected the calls to fear and spoke with voices of hope. [cheers and applause] - history was made. he's now the mayor for the city of new york. joy in the streets of harlem, bed-stuy. we were getting calls from doctors and nurses and hospitals saying that, you know, the black patients in the hospital were going bananas. [cheers and applause] - you know, politicians try and win races. those races change them.