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Elections in New York State |
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An election for Mayor of New York City was held in November 1897. This election was held in connection with the consolidation of the City of Greater New York, which passed a public referendum on December 14, 1894, and was to be effective January 1, 1898. Thus, the winner of this election would serve as the first mayor of the consolidated city.
Incumbent mayor William L. Strong was not a candidate for re-election to a second term in office. The multipolar race featured chief justice of the City Court Robert A. Van Wyck, Columbia University president Seth Low, former U.S. secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy, and tax reformer Henry George. On October 29, just a few days before the election, George died. Van Wyck won the race with a plurality of the vote, followed by Low and Tracy.
On December 14, 1894, the voters in the towns of New York County (then coterminous with New York City and consisting of two boroughs, Manhattan and the Bronx), Kings County (consisting entirely of the consolidated city of Brooklyn), Richmond County, and Queens County voted to consolidate into one city with a unified municipal government. The city also annexed parts of southern Westchester County. The enlarged city would contain the majority of the state of New York's population.
To allow for the consolidation to take effect on January 1, 1898, the term of mayor William Lafayette Strong was extended by a year, and the next mayoral election was moved from 1896 to 1897.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Robert A. Van Wyck | 233,997 | 44.7% | |
Citizens Union | Seth Low | 151,540 | 28.9% | |
Republican | Benjamin F. Tracy | 101,863 | 19.5% | |
Jeffersonian Democracy | Henry George (deceased) | 21,693 | 4.1% | |
Socialist Labor | Lucien Sanial | 14,467 | 2.8% | |
Total votes | 523,560 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic gain from Republican |
1897 | Party | The Bronx and Manhattan | Brooklyn | Queens | Richmond [Staten Is.] | Total | % |
Robert A. Van Wyck | Democratic | 143,666 | 76,185 | 9,275 | 4,871 | 233,997 | 44.7% |
48.0% | 40.1% | 40.7% | 43.5% | ||||
Seth Low | Citizens' Union | 77,210 | 65,656 | 5,876 | 2,798 | 151,540 | 28.9% |
25.8% | 34.6% | 25.8% | 25.0% | ||||
Benjamin F. Tracy | Republican | 55,834 | 37,611 | 5,639 | 2,779 | 101,863 | 19.5% |
18.6% | 19.8% | 24.7% | 24.8% | ||||
† Henry George | Jefferson Democracy | 13,076 | 6,938 | 1,096 | 583 | 21,693 | 4.1% |
Lucien Sanial | Socialist Labor | 9,796 | 3,593 | 921 | 157 | 14,467 | 2.8% |
TOTAL | 299,582 | 189,983 | 22,807 | 11,188 | 523,560 |
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local political machine of the Democratic Party and played a major role in controlling New York City and New York state politics. It helped immigrants, most notably the Irish, rise in American politics from the 1850s into the 1960s. Tammany usually controlled Democratic nominations and political patronage in Manhattan for over 100 years following the mayoral victory of Fernando Wood in 1854, and used its patronage resources to build a loyal, well-rewarded core of district and precinct leaders; after 1850, the vast majority were Irish Catholics due to mass immigration from Ireland during and after the Irish Famine of the late 1840s.
Robert Anderson Van Wyck was the first mayor of New York City after the consolidation of the five boroughs into the City of Greater New York in 1898.
Seth Low was an American educator and political figure who served as the mayor of Brooklyn from 1881 to 1885, the president of Columbia University from 1890 to 1901, a diplomatic representative of the United States, and the mayor of New York City from 1902 to 1903. He was a leading municipal reformer fighting for efficiency during the Progressive Era.
Benjamin Franklin Tracy was a United States political figure who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1889 through 1893, during the administration of U.S. President Benjamin Harrison.
The mayor of New York City is elected in early November every four years, in the year immediately following a United States presidential election year, and takes office at the beginning of the following year. The city, which elects the mayor as its chief executive, consists of the five boroughs, which consolidated to form "Greater" New York on January 1, 1898.
During the years of 1898–1945, New York City consolidated. New York City became the capital of national communications, trade, and finance, and of popular culture and high culture. More than one-fourth of the 300 largest corporations in 1920 were headquartered there.
The 1888 New York state election was held on November 6, 1888, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor and a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly.
The 1894 New York state election was held on November 6, 1894, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor and a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly. Besides, a new State Constitution and four other constitutional amendments were proposed to the electorate, and were all accepted. Furthermore, the inhabitants of New York County and adjacent communities were asked if they wanted to join the proposed enlarged New York City, a project known as The Consolidation.
The 1898 New York state election was held on November 8, 1898, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the Secretary of State, the state comptroller, the attorney general, the state treasurer and the state engineer, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate. This election is the most recent election to feature a candidate for governor of New York who eventually became both Vice President of the United States and President of the United States after serving as Governor of New York.
Augustus Van Wyck was an American judge and politician who served as Supreme Court Justice of Brooklyn, New York. In 1898 he received the Democratic Nomination for New York State governor against the Republican choice, Theodore Roosevelt.
Frederick A. Schroeder was an American industrialist and politician of German descent. As mayor of Brooklyn—before the city's merger with New York—and New York state senator, Schroeder earned a reputation for his fight against the political machine of the Brooklyn ring and for more efficient city government.
Frederick Bowley (1851–1916) was an American politician, who served as the first executive of the Borough of Queens in New York City.
Edward Morse Shepard was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
Michael Cotter Murphy was an American politician from New York, and a recipient of the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War. He was the first New York City Police Commissioner.
Jacob Worth was an American politician from New York.
The 121st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to July 16, 1898, during the second year of Frank S. Black's governorship, in Albany.
The 1898 New York gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1898. Incumbent Republican Governor Frank S. Black was defeated for re-nomination by Theodore Roosevelt, the former United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy and a returning hero of the Spanish–American War. In the general election, Roosevelt narrowly defeated judge Augustus Van Wyck.
An election for Mayor of New York City was held in November 1903.
An election for Mayor of New York City was held in November 1901.