New York City mayoral election, 2005

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The New York City mayoral election of 2005 occurred on Tuesday November 8, 2005, with incumbent Republican mayor Michael Bloomberg soundly defeating former Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer, the Democratic nominee. They also faced several third party candidates.

Mayor Bloomberg received 753,089 of the 1,315,360 votes that were cast, while Fernando Ferrer got 503,210 votes, according to estimates from the Board of Elections in the City of New York as of November 29, 2005.

Of 8.1 million people in New York City (2004 US Census estimates), 4.3 million were registered voters (Board of Elections in the City of New York).

This was the fourth straight mayoral victory by a Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic city. Bloomberg was a former Democrat and had received endorsements from several top Democrats in the city.

Contents

[edit] History

Bloomberg's 2001 opponent Mark Green did not participate in the 2005 race in preparation for a run, which he lost, for Democratic nomination for New York state attorney general in 2006. On April 17, 2005, former Nebraska Senator and president of New School University Bob Kerrey briefly considered a mayoral run against Mayor Michael Bloomberg. However, by April 20, Senator Kerrey decided not to challenge Bloomberg. The first television ads were launched in English and Spanish by the Bloomberg campaign on May 18th. On May 28th, the Independence Party endorsed Michael Bloomberg for re-election. Due to electoral fusion, Mayor Bloomberg ran on the Independence Party and Liberal Party lines in November.

Issues in the 2005 mayoral race included education, taxes, crime, transportation, public housing, homeland security funding and the city budget. One prominent issue throughout 2005 was New York's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games as New York City was one of the finalists to serve as host city. On June 6th, the planned West Side Stadium was defeated by the Public Authorities Control Board when Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno refused to vote for it. As a result, the new Mets ballpark, later Citi Field, had been supported by Mayor Bloomberg as the centerpiece of the revised bid. On July 6th, the IOC awarded London with the 2012 Summer Olympics.

In July, mayoral candidates filed nominating petitions with the City Board of Elections. Republican candidate Steve Shaw was unable to obtain the required 7,500 sigatures necessary to be on the primary ballot in September and dropped out of the race. [1] Tom Ognibene, a Republican candidate, was unable to obtain the necessary 7,500 signatures of registered voters to appear on the Republican primary ballot; however, he could still run on the Conservative Party line. On August 3rd, Fernando Ferrer began running campaign advertisements. On August 12th, the Gifford Miller campaign launched their own television ads. The Democratic candidates held their first debate on August 16th. The Anthony Weiner campaign launched television ads on August 19th, the same day voter registration for the primary elections ended. The Democratic candidates held their second televised debate on August 21st; the live debate was sponsored by WCBS and the New York Times. On August 25th, a federal judge refused to allow Tom Ognibene on Republican ballot. On September 1st, Fernando Ferrer was endorsed by City Comptroller William C. Thompson and ACORN. On September 3rd, the New York Times endorsed Ferrer in the Democratic primary. The Democratic candidates held two final debates with the first on WNBC on September 7th and on WABC on September 8th. On September 10th, Reverend Al Sharpton endorsed Ferrer.

The Democratic primary was held on Tuesday, September 13th with initial returns showing Fernando Ferrer receiving 39.95% of the votes, just short of the 40% needed to avoid a run-off with second-place Anthony Weiner. Despite at first seeming poised to continue, the next morning Anthony Weiner conceded the election to Fernando Ferrer. However, the city election board insisted on proceeding with a $12 million election scheduled for Tuesday September 27, with an additional debate even planned. This prompted a lawsuit supported by both candidates to prevent the election, the circumstance of which was avoided by a final count giving Ferrer just slightly over 40% of the vote.

After winning the Democratic nomination, Ferrer was endorsed by Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton on September 16th. On September 19th, Ferrer received the endorsement of SEIU Local 1199, former mayor David Dinkins on September 23rd and Andrew Cuomo on September 29th. Ferrer was endorsed by the Working Families Party on September 27th but did not appear on the Working Families Party line in November. Prior to the primary, Ferrer was endorsed by New York state attorney general Eliot Spitzer, Carl McCall, Geraldine Ferraro, Sheldon Silver, the Transport Workers Union, current Bronx borough president Adolfo Carrión, Jr. and Ruth Messinger. Ferrer was also endorsed by Representatives Joseph Crowley, Gregory W. Meeks, Major Owens, José Serrano, Ed Towns and Nydia Velázquez.

On October 6th, a mayoral debate was held at the Apollo Theater from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with Fernando Ferrer and Tom Ognibene; Mayor Michael Bloomberg was absent. The last day for voter registration for the general election was October 14, 2005. The first mayoral debate between Fernando Ferrer and Mike Bloomberg was held on October 30th and broadcast on WABC. Ferrer and Bloomberg debated each other again on November 1st at a debate sponsored by WNBC and the Campaign Finance Board.

The general election was held on Tuesday, November 8th. Members of the New York City Council as well as the offices of borough president, city comptroller, public advocate and district attorney were also up for election. At 10:30 p.m. on November 8, Fernando Ferrer conceded the election to Michael Bloomberg in a speech at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Bloomberg was sworn in for a second term on Sunday January 1, 2006.

[edit] Candidates for mayor

[edit] Republican Party

  • Michael Bloomberg - incumbent New York City mayor elected in 2001 after defeating the Democratic nominee, public advocate Mark Green. He was endorsed by former mayors Rudy Giuliani and Ed Koch, Jeanine Pirro, Herman Badillo, former congressman Reverend Floyd Flake, Reverend Calvin Butts, and many prominent local Democrats who chose to cross party lines. Bloomberg supported the continuation of his policing and antiterrorism policies under Commissioner Ray Kelly, the Children First school reform initiative and his $5 billion affordable housing program among others. [2] On October 23, Michael Bloomberg was endorsed by both Newsday and The New York Times for the general election. The Times wrote Bloomberg could be "one of the greatest mayors in New York history"; however, the Times editorial board criticized "his 'obscene' unlimited spending on his political campaigns" creating an "uneven playing field." [3]

[edit] Democratic Party

  • Fernando Ferrer - a political activist, former City Council member (1982-87), former Bronx borough president (1987-2001) and 2001 primary candidate narrowly defeated by Mark Green. Ferrer was the Democratic nominee and was endorsed by many prominent local and national politicians. On September 19th, Ferrer received the endorsement of SEIU Local 1199 and was endorsed by the Working Families Party on September 27th but did not appear on the Working Families Party line in November. On October 20, Ferrer campaigned with Bill Clinton on Charlotte Street in the South Bronx. Ferrer proposed reviving a stock transfer tax for Wall Street to help pay for education; this tax ended in 1981. Ferrer sought to create 167,000 homes, proposed hiring 1,900 new police officers, supported same-sex marriage, opposed the Urstadt law, supported the Second Avenue Subway and opposed tolls on the East River bridges. [4] On October 23, Ferrer proposed Home Owner Property Exemption, or HOPE, a tax break for homeowners with a home property value of less than $100,000. [5]

[edit] Conservative Party

  • Tom Ognibene - former Queens City Councilman (1992-2002) and Republican minority leader who supported tax cuts, education reform and opposed Mayor Bloomberg's smoking ban. Ognibene was endorsed by the leaders of the Queens County Republican Committee on February 10, 2005 and was expected to win the endorsement of the Conservative Party [6]. He received 8,100 signatures, 600 more than the necessary 7,500 signatures to appear on the primary ballot. However, the Bloomberg campaign challenged many signatures, leaving Ognibene with 5,848 eligible signatures. [7] Ognibene ran as the Conservative Party nominee. He challenged the Republican nomination in a hearing on Thursday, August 25th. [8] but lost.

[edit] Education Party

  • Seth Blum - a math teacher from the Manhattan International High School and candidate for mayor for the Education Party, a political party created in 2004. [9]

[edit] Green Party

  • Anthony Gronowicz - Green Party candidate, and history professor at Borough of Manhattan College, who sought to strengthen affordable housing, supported renewable sources of energy and sought to provide free tuition to City University of New York. He was featured in an article on third party candidates in The Village Voice [10] and in The Villager.

[edit] Libertarian Party

  • Audrey Silk - former police officer, community activist and founder of NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, nominated by the party on April 16, 2005. [11] She supported lowering parking fines. [12]

[edit] Socialist Workers Party

[edit] Rent Is Too Damn High Party

  • Jimmy McMillan - a candidate who is recognized by the City Board of Elections [14]. The party platform calls for the creation of millions of jobs, reform of City Hall and support of rent reduction. The party website is [15].

[edit] Working Families Party

[edit] Unsuccessful candidates

[edit] Democratic Party

[edit] Republican Party

[edit] Green Party

  • Theo Chino - Green Party candidate who opposed the West Side Stadium and sought to expand teacher training, free tuition to City University of New York and reforming homeless shelters. His collected petition signatures were challenged and defeated, dropping him from the race in September. His website could be accessed here.

[edit] Other candidates

  • Andy Horwitz - a candidate of the Blog Party who sought affordable housing and jobs. His campaign officially ended on September 27. [16]


[edit] Results

[edit] General Election results

[edit] City-wide results

New York City Mayoral Election, 2005
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Michael Bloomberg
(no separate Republican line)
Liberal Michael Bloomberg
(no separate Liberal line)
Republican/Liberal Michael Bloomberg 678,444 52.6
Independence Michael Bloomberg 74,645 5.8
Independence + Republican/Liberal Michael Bloomberg
combined total
 753,089 58.4 +8.1
Democratic Fernando Ferrer 503,219 39.0 -8.9
Conservative Thomas Ognibene 14,630 1.1 +0.9
Green Anthony Gronowicz 8,297 0.6 +0.1
Rent Is Too Damn High Jimmy McMillan 4,111 0.3 +0.3
Libertarian Audrey Silk 2,888 0.2 +0.1
Socialist Workers Martin Koppel 2,256 0.2 +0.2
Education Seth Blum 1,176 0.1 +0.1
Write-Ins 269 0.02 +0.02
Majority 249,870 19.4 +17.0
Turnout 1,289,935
Republican hold Swing +8.5

[edit] Results by borough

New York City Mayoral General Election of 2005 by borough
Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Total
Bloomberg-Green margin (2001)   - 22,777 - 21,683 - 28,182 + 46,904 + 61,227 + 35,489
Bloomberg-Ferrer margin   + 76,197 - 41,317 + 69,441 + 95,030 + 50,523 + 249,871
               
Republican - Liberal Michael R. Bloomberg 171,593 69,577 189,040 184,426 63,267 678,444
Independence Michael R. Bloomberg 25,416 6,840 20,141 17,689 4,559 74,645
combined total Michael R. Bloomberg 197,010 76,417 209,723 202,116 67,827 753,090
    60.4% 38.8% 58.2% 63.5% 76.7% 58.4%
Democratic Fernando Ferrer 120,813 117,734 140,282 107,086 17,304 503,219
    37.0% 59.8% 39.0% 33.6% 19.6% 39.0%
Conservative Thomas Ognibene 1,729 1,185 3,573 5,645 2,498 14,630
Green Anthony Gronowicz 3,195 466 3,112 1,285 239 8,297
Rent Is Too Damn High Jimmy McMillan 1,369 474 1,293 799 176 4,111
Libertarian Audrey Silk 991 234 841 617 205 2,888
Socialist Workers Martin Koppel 758 231 766 384 117 2,256
Education Seth Blum 322 131 382 264 77 1,176
write-ins   109 1 90 57 12 269
T O T A L 326,295 196,873 360,061 318,252 88,454  
1,289,935


[edit] Democratic primary election results

[17]

Democratic primary election results
Total votes: 478,818
Boroughs Fernando Ferrer Anthony Weiner C. Virginia Fields Gifford Miller Christopher X. Brodeur Arthur Piccolo Michael Bloomberg
(write-in)		 Other write-in
Manhattan
56,579
46,668
24,856
22,075
5,667
1,388
95
The Bronx
50,088
11,422
10,381
3,491
4,942
938
13
Brooklyn
50,068
41,358
25,612
14,324
3,724
1,963
9
Queens
32,506
34,028
13,918
7,956
2,054
1,175
1
Staten Island
3,021
5,441
1,059
1,669
174
120
3
Total
192,262
138,917
75,826
49,515
16,561
5,584
121
32


[edit] Polling numbers

[edit] pre-General Election polling

Source Date Ferrer (D) Bloomberg (R)
Quinnipiac University Poll November 10, 2004 45% 40%
Quinnipiac University Poll January 19, 2005 43% 43%
Quinnipiac University Poll March 2, 2005 47% 39%
Marist College Poll March 23, 2005 49% 42%
Quinnipiac University Poll March 30, 2005 46% 40%
Marist College Poll April 27, 2005 38% 51%
Marist College Poll April 27, 2005 38% 51%
Quinnipiac University Poll May 11, 2005 38% 47%
Marist College Poll June 10, 2005 46% 45%
Quinnipiac University Poll June 22, 2005 37% 50%
Quinnipiac University Poll July 19, 2005 36% 52%
Marist College Poll July 22, 2005 36% 52%
Marist College Poll August 9, 2005 36% 52%

New York Times Poll

 August 28, 2005 32% 54%
Quinnipiac University Poll September 20, 2005 38% 52%
Marist College Poll September 27, 2005 38% 53%
Marist College Poll October 12, 2005 32% 59%
Quinnipiac University Poll October 12, 2005 32% 60%
Quinnipiac University Poll October 25, 2005 30% 61%
Pace University Poll (PDF) October 27, 2005 27% 58%

New York Times Poll

 October 28, 2005 30% 57%
Marist College Poll November 1, 2005 31% 62%
Quinnipiac University Poll November 1, 2005 31% 59%
Marist College Poll November 4, 2005 30% 64%
Quinnipiac University Poll November 7, 2005 30% 68%

[edit] See also

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