New York City comptroller election, 2009

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New York City comptroller election, 2009
Flag of New York City.svg
 2005November 3, 2009 2013  

  John Liu at the 2009 West Indian Day Parade by DS.jpg
Candidate John Liu Joe Mendola
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote750,334185,056
Percentage76.9%19.0%

Comptroller before election

Bill Thompson
Democratic

Elected Comptroller

John C. Liu
Democratic

The 2009 election for New York City Comptroller was held on November 3, 2009 to coincide with the 2009 mayoral election to determine who would serve as New York City Comptroller. The Democratic and Republican primaries were held on September 15, 2009. [1] There was a run-off election for the Democratic Party nomination on September 29, 2009.

New York City Comptroller

The Office of Comptroller of New York City is the chief fiscal officer and chief auditing officer of the city. The comptroller is elected, citywide, to a four-year term and can hold office for two consecutive terms. The current comptroller is Democrat Scott Stringer, the former Borough President of Manhattan. Stringer was elected on November 5, 2013.

Democratic Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.

Contents

Joe Mendola was nominated as the Republican candidate. John Liu was nominated the candidate of the Democratic Party; he was also on the Working Families Party line in November. Liu won the race and was elected Comptroller, becoming the first Asian American to be elected to a citywide office. [2]

John Liu American lawmaker, city council member,  comptroller

John Chun Liu is an American politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, he is a member of the New York State Senate for the 11th District in northeast Queens. He previously served as the 43rd New York City Comptroller from 2010 to 2013 and as a member of the New York City Council from 2002 to 2009, representing District 20 in northeast Queens. He was the first Asian American New York City Council member and Comptroller and one of the first two Asian American New York State Senators, as well as the first elected to legislative or citywide office in New York. He was also a candidate in the 2013 New York City mayoral election.

Working Families Party minor political party in the United States

The Working Families Party (WFP) is a minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in New York, Connecticut, Oregon, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Nevada, West Virginia, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, and Illinois.

Democratic nomination

Four candidates sought the Democratic Party nomination. [1] [3]

They were:

Melinda Katz American politician

Melinda R. Katz is an American politician from New York City who is currently the Queens Borough President.

New York City Council city council

The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs.

New York State Assembly lower house of the New York State Legislature

The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly, with each of the 150 Assembly districts having an average population of 128,652. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.

In March 2009, Liu announced that he was running for the post of New York City Comptroller. [4] As part of this bid, Liu donated $10,000 to the Working Families Party; they endorsed him less than 6 months later. [5] Liu raised $3 million for his political run, more than his competitors. [6]

Beginning in May, Liu picked up several endorsements. The Village Independent Democrats, [7] The Queens County Democratic organization, [8] the local Americans for Democratic Action chapter [9] and the Working Families Party, [10] 1199 SEIU union local and the Uniformed Firefighters Association endorsed him. [11] On September 1, the United Federation of Teachers endorsed Liu.[ citation needed ]

Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) (1947-present) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA works for social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting progressive candidates.

United Federation of Teachers American labor union for teachers

The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is the labor union that represents most teachers in New York City public schools. As of 2005, there were about 118,000 in-service teachers and 17,000 paraprofessional educators in the union, as well as about 54,000 retired members. In October 2007, 28,280 home day care providers voted to join the union. It is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the AFL-CIO and the Central Labor Council. It is also the largest member of New York State United Teachers, which is affiliated with the National Educational Association and Education International.

Primary election

In the September 15 Democratic primary, Liu was the front-runner, ending up with 133,986 votes, or 38 percent of the vote. [12]

Run-off election

Because he did not manage to reach 40 percent of the vote, a run-off election was required between Liu and runner-up Yassky, who received 30 percent of the vote in the primary. [12] The Daily News wrote that Yassky and Liu slung mud in a spirited debate on September 24, 2009. [13] On September 29, Liu won the run-off by taking 55.6% of the vote against Yassky. [14] [15]

Republican nomination

One candidate sought the Republican Party nomination.

Polling

SourceSample sizeDateKatzLiuWeprinYasskyUndecided
SurveyUSA 2,200August 14–18, 200922%23%12%15%28%

Election returns

Democratic primary election

First round, Tuesday, September 15, 2009 [16]

2009 Democratic Primary Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten
Island
Total%
John C. Liu 36,62518,88842,72737,6584,458140,35637.8%
32.9%42.5%36.8%43.2%37.0%
David Yassky 44,2729,88240,77516,6713,162114,76230.9%
39.8%22.2%35.1%19.1%26.3%
Melinda Katz 21,14311,40020,11520,2113,34276,21120.5%
19.0%25.6%17.3%23.2%27.8%
David I. Weprin 9,2234,28512,36612,6301,07739,58110.7%
8.3%9.6%10.7%14.5%8.9%
all Write-Ins 145751041080.03%
T O T A L111,27744,460116,05887,18012,043371,018 

Most (about 65) of the 108 write-in votes were for Salim Ejaz, over 40 of which were cast in Brooklyn.

Democratic primary run-off election

As no candidate had received 40% of the Democratic vote for this office in the September 15 primary, a run-off election between the two most-popular candidates was held on Tuesday, September 29, 2009. [17]

2009 Democratic Run-off Primary Manhattan The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten
Island
Total%
John C. Liu 36,90618,01943,12033,2373,818135,10056.0%
47.6%65.2%57.1%62.0%55.6%
David Yassky 40,6449,63332,39120,3913,047106,10644.0%
52.4%34.8%42.9%38.0%44.4%
T O T A L77,55027,65275,51153,6286,865241,206 

General election

John Liu won the general election held on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.

2009 general electionpartyManhattanThe BronxBrooklynQueensStaten IslandTotal%
John C. Liu Democratic 191,74895,795203,499180,24933,242704,53372.2%
Working Families Party 12,6353,40418,6418,8112,31045,8014.7%
Total204,38399,199222,140189,06035,552750,33476.9%
81.0%83.7%80.0%73.5%50.5%
Joseph A. Mendola Republican 39,10315,16643,71857,26629,803185,05619.0%
15.5%12.8%15.7%22.3%42.3%
Stuart Avrick Conservative 3,3252,1196,4396,8183,93022,6312.3%
1.3%1.8%2.3%2.7%5.6%
Salim Ejaz Rent Is Too High 3,6141,5693,4222,60769111,9031.2%
John Clifton Libertarian 2,0225251,9461,4883896,3700.7%
Total Write-ins157201410660.01%
Total Votes252,462118,585277,685257,25370,375976,360

Source: Board of Elections in the City of New York http://www.vote.nyc.ny.us/results.html

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "The Contest List" (PDF). Board of Elections in the City of New York. August 26, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  2. Victoria Cavaliere (2009-11-04). "Liu Becomes First Asian-American in City-Wide Office". NBC . Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  3. 1 2 "Races to Watch - New York City Comptroller". Eyewitness News: Campaigns & Elections. WABC-TV. June 17, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  4. Pete Davis (2009-03-11). "John Liu now running for City Comptroller". The Queens Courier. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  5. David Seifman (March 22, 2009). "'Family'-Man Wannabes $helling Out". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  6. Hicks, Jonathan P. (September 25, 2008). "Queens Councilman Leaning Toward Comptroller Run". New York Times City Page Blog. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  7. http://www.villagedemocrats.org/
  8. Queens Chronicle, May 28, 2009 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  9. The Daily Gotham "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-12-02. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  10. April 23, 2009 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  11. Fahim, Kareem; Bosman, Julie (August 31, 2009). "Liu and de Blasio Gain Key Endorsements". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  12. 1 2 http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/09/17/queens_village_times/news/queens_village_times_newshzmhfwa09162009.txt
  13. "Controller hopefuls John Liu, David Yassky sling mud in debate". Daily News. 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  14. "De Blasio, Liu Claim Victory In Primary Runoff". NY1. 2009-09-29. Archived from the original on 2009-10-03. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  15. Bosman, Julie; Fahim, Kareem (2009-09-29). "De Blasio and Liu Win in N.Y. Democratic Runoffs". New York Times . Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  16. "Statement and Return Report for Certification Primary Election 2009 - 09/15/2009 Crossover - Democratic Party Democratic City Comptroller" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. 2009-09-25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-22. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  17. "Statement and Return Report for Certification Run-off Primary 2009 - 09/29/2009 Crossover - Democratic Party Democratic City Comptroller" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. 2009-10-20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2009-11-04.