Gee, I don't live in New York City. I live in a semi-rural county, where demos have always had a strong hold and people know each other and in the local elections it is more voting for the person rather than the party. The d is more a formality, although the R's are trying to get a foothold. We have a Republican sheriff, who I voted for, but he ran unopposed in the Pubbie primary, while the demo primary had IIRC something like 3 candidates. In the demo primary, I voted for the most conservative person, thus helping to try to assure two good candidates in the general election. Also you wouldn't believe the dearth of Pubbie candidates on the local ballot.
But thank you for your New York City centric arrogance, anyway.