As expected, Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson will go head to head with Mayor Bloomberg this fall in the race for City Hall.

Thompson easily defeated Queens city councilman Tony Avella during Tuesday night's primary election, winning about 70 percent of the vote.

"It's time for a change New York. Eight years is enough," said Thompson during his victory speech.

Appearing more fired up than he had throughout the summer, Thompson used the opportunity to blast Bloomberg in his successful attempt to overturn term limits.

"Mike, you told us over and over again that overturning term limits would be a disgrace. But the fact is, it was in your best interest. You hijacked Democracy and overruled the will of the voters," Thompson said.

The Democratic mayoral candidate also took Bloomberg to task on his record on education.

"You told us that you'd fix our education system. But the fact is you shut out parents, created test prep factories and left our children unprepared for the future," said Thompson.

He also criticized the mayor's homeless policies and the raising of taxes and fees.

"I will be a champion for the middle class and the millions of New Yorkers who have been forgotten by our current mayor," said Thompson.

Avella says despite being a long shot, he is proud of what his campaign accomplished.

"You know we ran a campaign that was based on talking about the issues and trying to change the entire political system of this city. And we sent a message to the entire body politic. We also sent a message to Mike Bloomberg that he has got to go," Avella said.

Amidst the political jabs, Bloomberg himself took to the stage to address supporters at the unofficial kickoff of his campaign.

"You know, I don't care what the special interests want. I don't take a dime of their money," said the mayor. "I work for a dollar a year and I work for you and you alone."

Railing against special interests and political bosses, he delivered an uncharacteristically energetic speech that outlined his plans if reelected for a third term.

“The grassroots support that we’ve been building says a lot about what’s at stake in this election. People from every borough and every background are getting involved for a very simple reason -- they care about the future of our city," Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg will attempt to become the first New York City mayor since Ed Koch to serve three terms in office, after the City Council last fall passed his controversial bill repealing the city's 15-year-old term limits law.

With November's battle set, Mayor Bloomberg has announced that he will take part in two debates against Thompson. NY1's political anchor Dominic Carter will moderate the first one on October 13 at El Museo del Barrio.

The second debate will be held two weeks later on October 27.

While Bloomberg has spent the last several months using his multi-billion dollar fortune to spread his message, Thompson to date has not run a single television ad.

Meanwhile, outgoing Queens Councilman John Liu will face a runoff in the Democratic race for city comptroller on September 29.

Liu finished off with 38 percent of the vote Tuesday, while Yassky came in close with 30 percent.

City Councilwoman Melinda Katz scored 20 percent of the votes, followed by City Councilman David Weprin, with 11 percent.

"We're gonna be out there talking about the issues, talking to voters, and you know at the end of the day, this is going to be a winning campaign, a winning campaign that will reflect the aspirations of all New York," said Liu.

"This is what I've been waiting for. We are gonna have a chance in the next two weeks to bring to New Yorkers a vision of how the New York City comptroller's office can transform this government into that we need to get out of this mess," said Yassky.

As they conceded that they wouldn't be in the runoff, Katz and Weprin both said they'd like to work with whoever eventually wins the comptroller spot.

In the race for public advocate, none of the five Democrats running scored 40 percent of the vote Tuesday, meaning the top two candidates in that race are also headed for a runoff.

City Councilman Bill de Blasio scored 33 percent of the vote, while former Public Advocate Mark Green notched 31 percent.

Both men were joined on the ballot by City Councilman Eric Gioia who came in with 18 percent of the vote, civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel with 14 percent and Brooklyn lawyer Imtiaz Syed with 4 percent.

"The fact is Mark has not been involved in the last eight years and I don't think he's in touch with the problems we face today," de Blasio said. "I challenge Mark Green to 10 debates in the next two weeks."

"This campaign for public advocate and the future of New York starts all over again tomorrow in a contest between a lifelong consumer advocate and a life long political insider, I can't wait," Green said.

As no candidate received 40 percent of votes, a runoff is expected to take place in two weeks on September 29.

In the race for Manhattan District Attorney, candidate Cy Vance Jr. grabbed 44 percent of the vote, shutting out his opponents Richard Aborn and Leslie Crocker Snyder.

"You've heard me say this on and in along the campaign trail, but it bears repeating today. As District Attorney I promise you this --everything I do will be guided by two questions , and they are simple ones: Does it make us safer? and is it fair?" Vance said.

Vance has had the support of retiring District Attorney Robert Morgenthau throughout the campaign.

Tuesday's defeat was the second for Crocker Snyder who lost four years ago when she ran for DA.

"I'm very proud of the race that we all ran together and I'm disappointed in the results as I know you are but I've been a fighter my whole life and I will continue to be a fighter for New York. And hope to make a difference," Crocker Snyder said.

Law firm manager and former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Richard Aborn garnered 26 percent of the vote. He threw his support behind Vance and pledged to work on issues like wrongful conviction and reforming the juvenile justice system.

"On issue after issue after issue, when we first started talking about them, people dismissed us. At the end of the day, they were agreeing with our positions," said Aborn. "That is incredibly important, and I'm incredibly grateful that the issues have won."

Tuesday's races received very low voter turnout, compared to the Democratic primary four years ago. The race for city comptroller received the most votes for a citywide race, followed by the public advocate race and the mayoral race receiving the fewest votes.

The city's Board of Elections says more than 4,000 voting machines were set up at more than 1,300 poll sites throughout the five boroughs.