1973 New York City Council presidential election

1973 New York City Council presidential election

←  1969 November 6, 1973 1977  →

Nominee Paul O'Dwyer Thomas F. Galvin Simeon Golar Party Democratic Republican Liberal Alliance Conservative Popular vote 867,515 442,655 149,447 Percentage 59.4% 30.3% 10.2%

President of the City Council before election Sanford Garelik Democratic Elected President of the City Council Paul O'Dwyer Democratic

An election was held on November 6, 1973 to elect the President of the New York City Council. Democratic incumbent Sanford Garelik initially did not run for re-election, choosing instead to run for mayor in the Democratic Party primary. After dropping out of the mayoral primary and running for re-election, Garelik was defeated in the Democratic primary by Paul O'Dwyer.

In the general election, O'Dwyer defeated Thomas F. Galvin and Simeon Golar by a wide margin. ^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Anthony G. DiFalco, Assemblyman from Manhattan
• Sanford Garelik, incumbent City Council President since 1970
• Paul O'Dwyer, former City Councilman from Manhattan at-large and candidate for U.S. Senate in 1968 and 1970

Results

1973 Democratic Council President primary (unofficial) ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul O'Dwyer	268,919	41.40%
	Democratic	Sanford Garelik (incumbent)	232,509	35.80%
	Democratic	Anthony G. DiFalco	148,115	22.80%
Total votes			649,543	100.00%

Garelik dropped out of the mayoral race at the filing deadline on April 12, filing instead for re-election as Council President. ^[3]

Because O'Dwyer received more than forty percent of the vote, a runoff was not necessary. Nevertheless, Garelik asserted that "irregularities", including the misplacement of voter identification cards, had marred the election and called for a recount. In light of these claims, Garelik said, “it was almost a miracle I did as well as I did.” ^[2] He pledged to contest the general election as an independent in the event that the recount did not succeed in forcing a runoff. ^[2]

O'Dwyer, who had lost races for city and statewide offices in 1965, 1968 and 1970, suggested Garelik was not "accustomed" to losing. ^[2]

General election

Candidates

• Thomas F. Galvin, architect, real estate developer, and former chair of the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals ^[4] (Republican and Conservative)
• Simeon Golar, former chair of the New York City Housing Authority and aide to mayor John Lindsay ^[4] (Liberal)
• Paul O'Dwyer, former City Councilman from Manhattan at-large and candidate for U.S. Senate in 1968 and 1970 (Democratic)

Results

1973 New York City Council President election ^{[1] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul O'Dwyer	867,515	59.43%
	Republican	Thomas F. Galvin	442,655	30.33%
	Liberal	Simeon Golar	149,447	10.24%
Total votes			1,459,617	100.00%

References

1. Lynn, Frank (November 7, 1973). "A Landslide Here: O'Dwyer,Goldin Score High Pluralities as 3 Democrats Prevail". The New York Times . p. 1.
2. Darnton, John (June 6, 1973). "O'Dwyer Looks to Election And Garelik to a Recount" . The New York Times . p. 53.
3. Carroll, Maurice (April 13, 1973). "Garelik Quits Mayoral Contest As Candidates File Petitions". The New York Times . p. 25.
4. "O'DWYER FAVORED FOR COUNCIL POST". The New York Times . November 4, 1973. p. 74.
5. "Results of Voting in Races Here on Tuesday and Statewide Selection of Chief Judge". The New York Times . November 8, 1973. p. 54.