2005 Buffalo mayoral election

Last updated

2005 Buffalo mayoral election
Flag of Buffalo, New York.svg
  2001 November 8, 2005 (2005-11-08) 2009  
Turnout24.97%
  20081021 Byron Brown headshot.jpg No image.svg
Nominee Byron Brown Kevin J. Helfer
Party Democratic Republican
Alliance Working Families Conservative
Popular vote46,61319,853
Percentage63.79%27.17%

2005 Buffalo mayoral election results map by city council district.svg
Results by city council district
Brown:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
     70–80%     80–90%

Mayor before election

Anthony Masiello

Elected mayor

Byron Brown

The 2005 Buffalo Mayoral Election took place on November 8, 2005. After incumbent Anthony M. Masiello, a Democrat, announced on April 29, 2005, that he would not seek a fourth term as mayor, [1] a field of several Democratic candidates emerged, from which New York State Senator Byron Brown emerged victorious in the primary election. In the general election, Brown went on to defeat Republican challenger Kevin Helfer, former member of the Buffalo Common Council for the University District, as well as two minor-party candidates. Buffalo's 2005 mayoral election is notable as the first in the city to be won by an African-American candidate.

Contents

Nominations

Democratic primary

Candidates

In addition to Brown, candidates for the Democratic nomination for Mayor in 2005 included Brown's predecessor as State Senator for the 57th District, Al Coppola, attorney and government reform advocate Kevin Gaughan, restaurateur Steven Calvaneso, neighborhood activist and perennial candidate Judith Einach, and Erie County Democratic Committee member Darnell Jackson. [2] Coppola dropped out of the race early, while the latter two hopefuls were removed from the ballot in August 2005 by the Erie County Board of Elections due to petition irregularities, [3] leading to a three-way contest between Brown, Gaughan and Calvaneso for the Democratic nomination.

Results

The Democratic primary election was held on September 13, 2005. Brown placed first in the polls with 16,900 votes cast, or 60.6% of the total, winning the Democratic nomination. In second place was Gaughan with 9,264 votes (34.5%), and Calvaneso placed third with 1,362 votes (4.9%). [4]

Democratic primary results [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Byron W. Brown 16,900 60.60%
Democratic Kevin P. Gaughan 9,62434.51%
Democratic Steven A. Calvaneso1,3624.88%
Total votes27,886 100%

Conservative primary

Candidates

Despite the fact that Brown was cross-endorsed by the Erie County Conservative Party under the terms of New York State's electoral fusion law, [2] Republican candidate Kevin Helfer mounted an unprecedented write-in campaign [6] in the Conservative primary election on September 13, 2005, that was described as "crucial" for his hopes to win the general election. [7]

Results

The Conservative primary was held on September 13, 2005. Helfer won the election handily, earning 190 votes (65.1%) to Brown's 95 (32.5%). Gaughan also earned 7 write-in votes (2.4%). [8]

Conservative primary results [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Conservative Kevin J. Helfer (write-in) 190 65.07%
Conservative Byron W. Brown 9532.53%
Conservative Kevin P. Gaughan (write-in)72.40%
Total votes292 100%

Independence Party primary

Candidates

Despite the fact that the Erie County Independence Party officially endorsed Brown for mayor, there were two candidates from that party who also sought the nomination: Louis P. Corrigan, the Secretary of the Erie County Independence Party, and former local party chairman Charles J. Flynn. Corrigan was ruled ineligible for the ballot by the Erie County Board of Elections due to petition challenges, [10] while Flynn's petitions withstood a similar legal challenge. [11]

Results

The Independence Party primary was held on September 13. Flynn placed first with 135 votes (45.2%); Brown took second place with 128 (42.8%). Also, Helfer earned 32 write-in votes (10.7%), and Gaughan won four (1.3%). [12]

Independence primary results [13]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Independence Charles J. Flynn 135 45.15%
Independence Byron W. Brown 12842.81%
Independence Kevin J. Helfer (write-in)3210.70%
Independence Kevin P. Gaughan (write-in)41.34%
Total votes299 100%

Other candidates

Helfer was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Despite the petition irregularities which kept her off the ballot in the Democratic primary, Judith Einach was able to secure the nomination of the Green Party and contest the general election.

General election

Endorsements

In addition to the Erie County Democratic Party, Brown received the endorsement of the Erie County Working Families Party. Brown was also endorsed by both of New York's United States Senators, Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, as well as New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, and New York State Assemblyman and future Congressman Brian Higgins. [14] Helfer was endorsed by the Erie County Republican Party as well as the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, [15] the Buffalo News , [16] and local businessman and future gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. [7]

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size [lower-alpha 1]
Margin
of error
Byron
Brown (D)
Kevin
Helfer (R)
OtherUndecided
SurveyUSA [17] November 4–6, 2005573 (LV)± 4.1%61%30%7%2%
SurveyUSA [18] October 21–23, 2005564 (LV)± 4.1%59%28%10%3%
SurveyUSA [19] September 27–29, 2005547 (LV)± 4.3%55%33%8%4%

Results

The general election was held on November 8, 2005. Brown placed first with 46,613 votes cast, or 63.8% of the total. Helfer placed second with 19,853 votes (27.2%). In third place was Einach, with 3,525 votes (4.8%), and in fourth was Flynn with 3,082 votes (4.2%). [20]

General election results [21]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Byron W. Brown 43,54159.59%
Working Families Byron W. Brown 3,0724.20%
Total Byron W. Brown 46,61363.79%
Republican Kevin J Helfer17,68024.19%
Conservative Kevin J Helfer2,1732.97%
TotalKevin J Helfer19,85327.17%
Green Judith S. Einach3,5254.82%
Independence Charles J. Flynn3,0824.22%
Total votes73,073 100%

Notes

  1. Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

Related Research Articles

A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be possible to win an election by winning a sufficient number of such write-in votes, which count equally as if the person were formally listed on the ballot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservative Party of New York State</span> Conservative third party in the United States

The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U.S. Senate in 1970 and served for one term. Since 2010, the party has held "Row C" on New York ballots—the third-place ballot position, directly below the Democratic and Republican parties—because it received the third-highest number of votes of any political party in the 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 New York gubernatorial elections. The party is known for its strategy of attempting to influence the Republican Party in a more conservative direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James D. Griffin</span> American politician (1929–2008)

James Donald Griffin was an American politician who served in the New York State Senate and then for 16 years as the Mayor of Buffalo, New York (1978–93). He later returned to public life serving as a member of the Buffalo Common Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independence Party of New York</span> Third party in New York, United States

The Independence Party was a political party in the U.S. state of New York. The party was founded in 1991 by Gordon Black, Tom Golisano, and Laureen Oliver and acquired ballot status in 1994. They lost their ballot status in 2020 under a change in the New York state election law that required at least 130,000 votes on the party line every two years. Although often associated with Ross Perot, as the party came to prominence in the wake of Perot's 1992 presidential campaign, it was created prior to Perot's run. In 2020, it affiliated with the Alliance Party, but disaffiliated in 2021. It used to have one elected member of the New York State Assembly, Fred Thiele, until Thiele switched his party affiliation to the Democratic Party in 2022. On December 9, 2022, New York governor Kathy Hochul signed S1851A, banning the use of the words "Independent" and "Independence" from use in political party names in New York state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byron Brown</span> American politician (born 1958)

Byron William Brown II is an American politician who is the current mayor of Buffalo, New York. He is Buffalo's 62nd mayor and has served since January 2006. He is the city's first African-American mayor and longest-serving mayor of Buffalo. He previously served Western New York as a member of the New York State Senate and Buffalo Common Council. He is the first African-American politician elected to the New York State Senate to represent a district outside New York City and the first member of any minority race to represent a majority-white New York State Senate district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Coppola</span> American politician

Alfred "Al" Coppola is a former state senator and politician in New York. A resident of Buffalo, New York, Coppola is a long time political figure in the city, who served briefly as the 57th District member in the New York Senate at the turn of the 21st century.

Kevin P. Gaughan is an attorney and an advocate of government reform, in particular for the establishment of regional government and regional consciousness within the Buffalo-Niagara region, which encompasses the cities of Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls, New York, their suburbs and surrounding rural areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 New York gubernatorial election</span>

The 2010 New York gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor David Paterson, elected as lieutenant governor in 2006 as the running mate of Eliot Spitzer, initially ran for a full term but dropped out of the race. Democratic New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo defeated Republican Carl Paladino to become the next governor of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Buffalo mayoral election</span>

A mayoral election took place in Buffalo, New York, on November 3, 2009. Incumbent Democratic mayor Byron Brown won re-election to a second term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 New York's 26th congressional district special election</span>

A 2011 special election in New York's 26th congressional district was held on May 24, 2011 to fill a seat in the U.S. Congress for New York's 26th congressional district. The seat had been vacated due to the February 2011 resignation of married Rep. Chris Lee, who left office amid a scandal involving flirtatious emails and a shirtless picture he sent to a woman he met on Craigslist. Four candidates competed in the election: Republican Assemblymember Jane Corwin; Democrat Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul; Green Party candidate Ian Murphy, editor of the Buffalo Beast; and independent candidate Jack Davis, a businessman running on the Tea Party line. On Election Day, Hochul won an upset victory, prevailing over Corwin by a margin of 47.24%-42.28%; Davis received 8.99% of the vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 New York state elections</span>

The 2012 New York state elections took place on November 6, 2012. These elections included the 2012 presidential election, an election to one U.S. Senate seat, and elections to all 27 New York congressional seats, all 63 seats in the New York State Senate, and all 150 seats in the New York State Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 New York gubernatorial election</span>

The 2014 New York gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo sought re-election to a second term in office, though incumbent Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy did not seek re-election. Cuomo and his running mate, former U.S. Representative Kathy Hochul, won contested primaries, while Republican Rob Astorino, the Westchester County Executive, and his running mate were unopposed for their party's nomination. Astorino and Moss were also cross-nominated by the Conservative Party and the Stop Common Core Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Buffalo mayoral election</span>

The 2013 election for Mayor of Buffalo, New York took place on November 5, 2013. Two-term incumbent Democrat Byron Brown won reelection, defeating Republican Sergio Rodriguez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 Buffalo mayoral election</span>

The 2001 Buffalo Mayoral election took place on November 6, 2001. Incumbent Anthony M. Masiello, a Democrat, easily trounced his sole opponent in the primary, going on to win a third term with no serious opposition in the general election. Buffalo's 2001 mayoral election was notable for its uncharacteristic quietness, despite pressing issues such as allegations of environmental contamination in the Hickory Woods neighborhood of South Buffalo and chronic poverty and urban blight. This was speculated as being due to reticence on the part of would-be candidates to "challenge a powerful and well-liked mayor like Masiello", especially one with a campaign fund in excess of $1 million. It was also only the second time in history when the Democrats and Republicans endorsed the same candidate for mayor of Buffalo, a phenomenon made possible by New York State's electoral fusion law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Pittsburgh mayoral election</span>

The 2017 Pittsburgh mayoral election took place on November 7, 2017. The primary election was held on May 16, 2017. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Bill Peduto successfully ran for re-election to a second term. Three Democrats, including Peduto, and no Republicans filed petitions to appear on the respective primary ballots before the deadline on March 7, 2017. Peduto won the Democratic primary and was officially unopposed in the general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 New York gubernatorial election</span>

The 2018 New York gubernatorial election occurred on November 6, 2018. Incumbent Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo won re-election to a third term, defeating Republican Marc Molinaro and several minor party candidates. Cuomo received 59.6% of the vote to Molinaro's 36.2%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Buffalo mayoral election</span>

The 2021 Buffalo mayoral election was held on November 2, 2021. Democratic Mayor Byron Brown won his fifth term in office as a write-in candidate. Brown's victory marked the first time since 1985 that Buffalo did not elect the Democratic nominee for mayor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">India Walton</span> 2021 nominee for mayor of Buffalo, New York

India B. Walton is an American political activist and nurse. She defeated incumbent Mayor Byron Brown in the Democratic Party primary for the 2021 election for mayor of Buffalo, New York, before losing to Brown in the general election, where he ran as a write-in candidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayoral elections in Syracuse, New York</span>

Elections are held in Syracuse, New York, to election the city's mayor. Currently, these elections are regularly scheduled to be held once every four years, with the elections taking place in the off-year immediately after United States presidential election years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1977 Buffalo mayoral election</span>

The Buffalo mayoral election of 1977 took place in Buffalo, New York, USA, on November 8, 1977, and resulted in the election of Jimmy Griffin to his first term as mayor.

References

  1. Kryszak, Joyce (April 29, 2005). "Mayor Masiello Declines to Seek Re-Election". WBFO News. Retrieved July 14, 2013.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 Hicks, Jonathan P. (June 4, 2005). "All Eyes on a Black Candidate in Buffalo's Mayoral Race". New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  3. McCarthy, Robert J. (August 5, 2005). "Einach taken off ballot for primary". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on July 17, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  4. "Our Campaigns - Buffalo NY Mayor - D Primary Race - Sep 13, 2005". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  5. "2005 Democratic Municipal Primary" (PDF).
  6. Lakamp, Patrick (November 9, 2005). "Lack of momentum in mid-campaign proves insurmountable for Helfer". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on July 17, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  7. 1 2 McCarthy, Robert J. (October 9, 2005). "Developer stands out among group of advisers assembled by Helfer". Buffalo News.
  8. "Our Campaigns - Buffalo NY Mayor - C Primary Race - Sep 13, 2005". Our Campaigns. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  9. "2005 Conservative Municipal Primary" (PDF).
  10. McCarthy, Robert J. (August 2, 2005). "Corrigan loses in first round of petition fights". Buffalo News.
  11. Gryta, Matt (August 9, 2005). "Flynn's petitions ruled valid". Buffalo News.
  12. "Our Campaigns - Buffalo NY Mayor - IDP Primary Race - Sep 13, 2005". Our Campaigns. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  13. "2005 Independence Municipal Primary" (PDF).
  14. Hicks, Jonathan P. (October 12, 2005). "Race Plays Silent Role in Campaign for Mayor of Buffalo". New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  15. "BREAKING: The Partnership Endorses Kevin Helfer". Buffalo Rising. October 26, 2005. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  16. "Brown offers much, but vision and new directions are required of next mayor". Buffalo News. October 30, 2005.
  17. SurveyUSA
  18. SurveyUSA
  19. SurveyUSA
  20. "Our Campaigns - Buffalo NY Mayor Race - Nov 08, 2005". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  21. "2005 Erie County Election" (PDF).