2009 New York City mayoral election
| Elections in New York State |
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The New York City mayoral election of 2009 is scheduled to occur on Tuesday, November 3, 2009. The winning candidate will serve from January 1, 2010 until December 31, 2013.
On October 23, 2008, the New York City Council voted to extend the city's term limits, permitting the current Mayor, Michael Bloomberg (a political independent who had been elected as a Republican in 2001 and 2005), to run for a third term.[1] On March 10, 2009, the New York State Legislature in Albany considered a bill that would have affected the City Council's extension of term limits, however it did not pass.
Bloomberg's main opponent is Democratic candidate Bill Thompson, the current New York City Comptroller. On July 9, 2009 Democratic candidate Bill Thompson received the Working Families Party's endorsement.[2]
Background
General background
New York City elected its Mayor by popular vote when Greater New York was formed in 1897, then in 1901, 1903, 1905 and every four years thereafter, as well as in the special elections of 1930 and 1950.
Of the 31 elections held so far, 19 have been won by the official Democratic candidate, 8 by the official Republican, and 4 by others. (The last official Democratic candidate to win the mayoralty was David Dinkins in the election of 1989; the last candidate to win the mayoralty without winning either the Republican or the Democratic primary was Mayor John V. Lindsay, running for re-election on the Liberal column in 1969.)
Michael Bloomberg, formerly a Democrat, was elected as a Republican in 2001 and 2005, succeeding another Republican mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, elected in 1993 and 1997. In 2008, Mayor Bloomberg left the Republican Party and is now a political independent.
By a heatedly-contested vote of 29-22 on October 23, 2008, the New York City Council extended the former two-term limit for Mayor and Council to three terms, allowing Mayor Bloomberg to pursue his announced intention of seeking a third term in 2009.[1] Bloomberg's most prominent opponent is Bill Thompson, who could have sought a third term as New York City Comptroller in 2009, but is instead seeking the Democratic nomination for Mayor.
Record of the current mayor
Record of the current City Comptroller
Candidates
Democrats
-
Bill Thompson
Announced Democratic candidates
- William Thompson, current City Comptroller [3]. Bill Thompson is also the candidate of the Working Families Party.
- Tony Avella, current City Council-member representing District 19 in Queens [4]
Former Democratic candidates
- Congressman Anthony Weiner, had announced that he is candidate for mayor, but withdrew his candidacy on May 28, 2009 and endorsed the presumptive Democratic nominee Bill Thompson.
Republicans
Registered as a candidate for the Republican nomination
- Walter Iwachiw,http://www.iwachiw2009.org [5] a candidate for the Green Party nomination in the 2001 election,[6] has registered with the New York City Board of Elections as a Republican candidate.
Announced Republican candidates
Alhough the following Republican has yet to file with the Board of Elections, and although plans could change, he has stated that he is running for mayor.
- John Catsimatidis, Chief Executive Officer of the Red Apple Group[7]
Potential Republican candidates
- Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a political independent who has already received the Independence Party endorsement (see below), is also seeking permission to run in the Republican primary.
- [Since the Mayor is no longer a Republican, he cannot run in the Republican primary without the consent of at least three of the city's five official county Republican organizations.[8][9] The Kings County (Brooklyn) Republican party has endorsed Bloomberg.[10] The Bronx Borough Republican chair supports Bloomberg, and he has already been endorsed for re-election this year by the leader of the Richmond County (Staten Island) Republican party, but neither county's Republican committee has yet given its permission for Bloomberg to run in the primary. Once this happens Bloomberg must submit the paperwork to the New York City Board of Elections and get approval from the board to be a candidate in the Republican Party primary.] [11]
Former Republican candidates (announced or potential)
- Bruce Blakeman, Attorney and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Board Member, dropped out and endorsed Michael Bloomberg [12]
- Richard Parsons, Chairman of Citigroup, insisted he was never going to run and endorsed Michael Bloomberg [13]
Independence Party
-
Current mayor Michael Bloomberg has been endorsed by the Independence Party, and has also sought the Republican and Working Families parties' nominations. -
Tyrrell Eiland is a potential independent mayoral candidate.
- Incumbent Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the endorsed Independence Party candidate,[14] besides seeking permission to run in the Republican primary (see above), also tried — unsuccessfully [15] — to obtain the Working Families Party nomination.[16]
- Tyrrell L. Eiland, non-profit executive, green architectural designer, and author[17]
There is potential for an Independence Party primary election in September between Mayor Bloomberg and Tyrrell Eiland, who is an official member of the party and will seek the ballot line. Because Mayor Bloomberg was not a member of the Independence Party as of last year, he received special permission to seek the ballot line in the fall.
-
Activist Reverend Billy Talen announced on March 1st, that he is running for Mayor on the Green Party ticket.
- Reverend Billy Talen - announced his mayoral candidacy under the Green Party banner in Union Square on March 1, 2009.[18]
- Joseph Dobrian - 2005 Libertarian candidate for Manhattan Borough President, journalist and TV talk show host.[19]
- Frances Villar - mother, student. [1]
- Jimmy McMillan - 2005 candidate, war veteran.[2]
- Dan Fein - 2005 Candidate for New York City Comptroller [20][21]
- The Working Families Party's candidate for mayor is the Democratic City Comptroller, William C. Thompson Jr.[22] Thompson's endorsement was a significant blow to the incumbent Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, who actively sought the WFP nomination.
Independents (no current affiliation)
Announced independent candidates
- Robert Burck, the "Naked Cowboy"[23] Announced his candidacy on July 22, 2009 [24]
Potential independent candidates
- Dr. Lenora Fulani, developmental psychologist, community organizer, former New Alliance Party candidate for President of the United States [25]
Polling
General election polls
| Source | Date | Bloomberg (Ind.) | Thompson (D) | |
| Quinnipiac University | January 20-25, 2009 | 50% | 34% | |
| New York 1 | January 20-25, 2009 | 45% | 32% | |
| Marist Poll | July 8, 2009 | 48% | 35% | |
| Quinnipiac Poll | July 28, 2009 | 47% | 37% |
| Source | Date | Bloomberg Deserves Reelection | Time for a New Mayor |
| Marist Poll | July 8, 2009 | 44% | 51% |
See also
References
- ^ a b Sewell Chan and Jonathan P. Hicks, Council Votes, 29 to 22, to Extend Term Limits, The New York Times, published on-line and retrieved on October 23, 2008
- ^ workingfamiliesparty.org
- ^ New Yorkers for Bill Thompson
- ^ Tony Avella for Mayor
- ^ http://www.iwachiw2009.org/
- ^ http://webarchives.loc.gov/collections/lcwa0006/20021106040005/http://www.walrus.com/~terminus/iw/
- ^ Afternoon Update: Catsimatidis Ready For GOP Mayoral Showdown
- ^ "Brooklyn G.O.P. Endorses Bloomberg's Bid", New York Times City Room blog, March 5, 2009
- ^ "Bloomberg Appears to Cinch Republican Nomination", Ballot Access News, April 12, 2009, retrieved April 2009
- ^ "Brooklyn G.O.P. Endorses Bloomberg's Bid", New York Times City Room blog, March 5, 2009
- ^ "Mayor Michael Bloomberg will run as Republican in bid for third term", New York Daily News, April 11, 2009, retrieved April 2009
- ^ http://www.mayorblakeman2009.com/
- ^ Stop Parsing Parsons: I’m No Mayor, Let Bloomberg keep the job!
- ^ New York Times, April 6, 2009, retrieved April 2009
- ^ http://www.workingfamiliesparty.com
- ^ "Mike Working Key Labor Party", New York Daily News, April 13, 2009, retrieved April 2009
- ^ http://www.risingmediagroup.com/images/web%20pdfs/2-20westchester_crusader.pdf
- ^ Reverend Billy Announces NYC Green Party Mayoral Bid - Hosannah! Say 'Church of Life After Shopping' Supporters
- ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=513924
- ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=63040
- ^ http://www.themilitant.com/2009/7309/730954.html
- ^ http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org
- ^ "Naked Cowboy" Wants To Be Mayor of New York City. Associated Press (21 July 2009).
- ^ Naked Cowboy for Mayor
- ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=4188
