Albany mayoral election, 2013

The Albany, New York mayoral election of 2013 took place on November 5, 2013. The general election was preceded by the primaries on September 10, 2013.

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Background

The city of Albany was having its first open seat election since 1993. This is the result of incumbent Mayor Gerald Jennings's decision not to run for a sixth term, which he announced on May 14, 2013.^[1] He was leaving office after 20 years as the second-longest serving mayor in the history of Albany, following only Erastus Corning 2nd. Following the election, Albany would have just its fourth elected mayor since 1941.

It was widely expected that the next mayor would effectively be chosen in the Democratic primary. The mayor's office has been in Democratic hands without interruption since 1921, and no Republican has won a citywide race since 1931.

Candidates

• City Treasurer Kathy Sheehan (Democrat)
• 11th Ward Leader and Former City Council Member Corey Ellis (Democrat)
• Marlon Anderson (Democrat)
• Web Radio Host Jesse Calhoun (Republican)
• Business Owner Alex Portelli (Libertarian), replaced on the ballot by his mother
• Former Board Of Education Member Theresa Portelli (Green)
• Neighborhood Activist Joseph Sullivan (Conservative)
• Rev. Valerie Faust (independent)

Polling

There was very little public polling of the election.

Democratic primary

On November 17, 2012, Sheehan announced herself as a candidate for mayor.^[2] She was soon joined by former city councilman Corey Ellis and activist Marlon Anderson in the race. Ellis gained ballot access, but Anderson was thrown off the ballot due to insufficient signatures.

On September 10, 2013, Sheehan defeated Corey Ellis in the Democratic primary, in preliminary returns with 6,973 votes to Ellis's 3,074. ^[3] According to official returns released on October 9, Sheehan won the Democratic nomination, with 7,468 votes (65.72 %) to Ellis's 3,294 votes (29 %), with 601 write in votes (5.29 %) and a few void and blank ballots.^[4]

General election

In addition to Sheehan, who was on the Democratic, Working Family, and Independence Party lines, Jesse D. Calhoun was the candidate of the Republican Party, Joseph P. Sullivan was on the Conservative Party line, and Theresa M. Portelli (a former Albany City school board member) was on the Green Party line.^[5]

There were several debates, some of which included one or two of the independent candidates, Anderson and Faust.

Results

Sheehan won in a landslide, with over 80 % of the total vote. It was noted that turnout was unusually low, with less than 20% of eligible voters taking part in the election.

See also

• Albany mayoral election, 2009
• History of Albany, New York (1983–present)
• List of mayors of Albany, New York

References

External links

• Corey Ellis campaign site
• Kathy Sheehan campaign site
• Jesse Calhoun campaign site
• Alex Portelli campaign site
• Joseph Sullivan campaign blog