(CNN) -- Throughout Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's campaign for New York's top political act, his backup band seemed to overshadow the headliner. His son Dante, a sophomore at a public high school in Brooklyn, appeared prominently in campaign ads, his soaring Afro a topic of conversation in political circles. Daughter Chiara, a college freshman, out-danced the rest of the telegenic family at the West Indian Day Parade with a move they called "The Smackdown." Watch the de Blasios dance "The Smackdown" A virtual unknown nationally despite 25 years in New York politics, de Blasio defied critics who questioned whether his experience as a city councilman from Brooklyn and, most recently, as public advocate -- a sort of civic watchdog -- sufficiently prepared him to run the Big Apple. He also ran Hillary Clinton's first U.S. Senate campaign.
@highlight
Not everyone is a fan, though Mayor Bloomberg vows to help with the transition
@highlight
Biracial family of New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio influences his campaign
@highlight
Increasing visibility of de Blasio clan resonates with New Yorkers
Bill de Blasio
de Blasio
Bill de Blasio
de Blasio
"The family is very important to @placeholder... From the outside, this family represents a part of the city not represented in city government."
Bill de Blasio
de Blasio
Bill de Blasio
de Blasio
@placeholder, 52, portrayed himself as the "unapologetically progressive alternative to the Bloomberg era," saying that the current mayor's polices favor the rich.
Bloomberg
DeBlasio, 52, portrayed himself as the "unapologetically progressive alternative to the @placeholder era," saying that the current mayor's polices favor the rich.
Bloomberg
"The city is much more racially mixed than when @placeholder took office," Ickes said.