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
- Martin Koppel - a candidate for mayor who also ran for the United States Senate in the U.S. Senate election, 2004. [13]
[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
- Kevin Finnegan - a candidate for the Working Families Party according to this list.
[edit] Unsuccessful candidates
[edit] Democratic Party
- Christopher X. Brodeur
- C. Virginia Fields
- Gifford Miller
- Arthur Piccolo
- Anthony D. Weiner
[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
| 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% |
| 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% |
| 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
- New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2005
- New York gubernatorial election, 2006
- New York U.S. Senate election, 2006
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[edit] External links
- New York City Elections Discussion
- Mike Bloomberg for NYC webpage
- Board of Elections of the City of New York
- CityMayors.com NYC elections page
- Ferrer 2005 webpage
- Gotham Gazette 2005 webpage
- Anthony Gronowitz for Mayor website
- The New York City Campaign Finance Board
- Tom Ognibene for Mayor of New York City webpage
