New York ? The polls have Fernando Ferrer losing – and losing big – to billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg. But the man seeking to become New York City’s first Hispanic mayor sees himself as serving a higher purpose.

Win or lose, “I will speak for those who can’t speak for themselves, and I will be heard,” Ferrer says.

That may prove to be his only consolation.

Bloomberg is coasting toward a second term, using his $5 billion personal fortune to pay for a dizzying whirl of advertising. Polls show the buttoned-down Republican businessman with about a 30-point lead over Ferrer just 11 days before the Nov. 8 election.

Ferrer is trailing even among Democrats in a city where Republicans are outnumbered 5-to-1. Ferrer has struggled so badly that the mayor is keeping it close even in the Bronx – the former Bronx borough president’s home turf.