A Mayor's Life: Governing New York's Gorgeous Mosaic portrays the life of David Dinkins, New York's first African-American mayor. He was a pivotal force in terms of promoting diversity in the government and reducing NYC's crime epidemic.

Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Dinkins went on to attend Brooklyn Law School. While practicing law in NYC, he became involved in a Democratic club, where he met some of the political figures. A few approached him with the idea of becoming Manhattan borough president, and the idea slowly grew on him. Three elections later, he had achieved his goal of becoming the first African-American borough president of the city. (He lost two elections for the prestigious position before finally being elected in 1985.) Being borough president was a job that he loved, and he worked ardently to end homelessness and make life better for residents of the borough.

During this time, Dinkins was approached by political allies who hatched a plan to convince him to run for mayor. At first, he was incredulous about the prospect, and he simply could not see himself in the job. However, with time, he warmed up to the idea. Working under Mayor Koch's sometimes flippant style spurred him into wanting the city to be run in a different manner. Perhaps he could solve some of NYC's problems if he were at the helm himself. In 1989, he ran for against incumbent Koch and became mayor. He succeeded in reducing the rampant levels of crime in the city. 

Dinkins lost against Rudy Guliani in the 1993 mayoral race. Guliani, along with police commissioner, Bill Bratton, continued to contribute to the enormous crime reduction that occurred in the 1990s. For far too long, epic levels of crime had plagued the city and given it the reputation of being one of the most dangerous big cities in America. The downward slope of crime in the five boroughs has continued over the subsequent two decades since Guiliani's tenure.

This book portrays political campaigning and the structure of NYC government.

Interested in the mayoral race? Read more books about mayors.