Bill de Blasio will be a morning person as mayor

(UPI) -- Bill de Blasio brushed off concerns he was unfit to lead as New York City's next mayor because he sleeps late, a last ditch accusation by Joe Lhota in the waning hours of the city's mayoral campaign.

“I think that’s laughable,” de Blasio said, explaining he was an hour late for a Saturday morning rally because he was woken by a phone call at 5 a.m.

“I’ve been saying over and over again that Bill de Blasio’s not prepared to be mayor,” Lhota said Sunday. “You can’t get up in the morning? Mayors get phone calls at 5 o’clock in the morning, mayors get phone calls at 3 o’clock,” he said.

But the Democrat, who fielded questions about his sleep habits, said it wouldn't be an issue for him as mayor.

“I think the simple answer is I’d rather stay up all night, but I don’t get to, so I have to wake up early in the morning to do my job and I’m happy to do it,” de Blasio said. “It’s getting a little silly."

“If the people choose me, we’re going to do whatever it takes," he said. "Obviously, you have to start early in the morning.”

De Blasio, who surged in the final weeks of the Democratic primary to avoid a runoff, holds a commanding lead against Lhota, 65 percent to 26 percent, according to a Wall Street Journal/WNBC/Marist poll.

While Lhota campaigned hard Sunday, de Blasio held just a few events in the campaign's final days, coasting into a sure victory.

His position as frontrunner, he said, was a new and somewhat disconcerting one.

“My entire political career I’ve run from behind, I’ve been an underdog; I’m used to that,” he said, adding that he was focused on boosting turnout. “We all have to work harder and harder to remind people it’s their sacred responsibility and that if they want to make an impact on their society they have to vote.”