New York City mayoral election, 2005

New York City mayoral election, 2005

November 8, 2005

Candidate Michael Bloomberg Fernando Ferrer Party Republican Democratic Alliance Independence - Popular vote 753,090 503,219 Percentage 58.4% 39.0%

Results by Borough   Ferrer—50-60%   Bloomberg—50-60%   Bloomberg—60-70%   Bloomberg—70-80%

Mayor before election Michael Bloomberg Republican Elected Mayor Michael Bloomberg Republican

Elections in New York State
Federal government Presidential elections 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 Republican 2004 2008 2012 United States Senate elections 1789 1791 1795 1797 1801 1803 1807 1809 1813 1815 1819-20 1821 1825-26 1827 1831 1833 1837 1839-40 1843 1845 1849 1851 1855 1857 1861 1863 1867 1869 1873 1875 1879 1881 1885 1887 1891 1893 1897 1899 1903 1905 1909 1911 1964 1980 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 House of Representatives elections 1789 1790 1793 1794 1796 1796 1798 1800 1802 1804 1806 1808 1810 1812 1814 1816 1818 1821 1822 1824 1826 1854 2002 2004 2006 13th 20th 29th 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 Special elections to the United States Congress 20th district, 2009 23rd district, 2009 Senate, 2010 26th district, 2011 9th district, 2011 11th district, 2015 List of House special elections
State government New York gubernatorial elections 1777 1780 1783 1786 1789 1792 1795 1798 1801 1804 1807 1810 1813 1816 1817 1820 1822 1824 1826 1828 1830 1832 1834 1836 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1879 1882 1885 1888 1891 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 Attorney General elections 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 State Comptroller elections 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 State Assembly elections 99th district, 2006 State elections by year 1811 1844 1846 1847-J 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1870–J 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1900 1902 1903 1904 1906 1907 1908 1910 1912 1913 1914 1916 1917 1918 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1926 1927 1928 1930 1932 1933 1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1942 1943 1944 1946 1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 2002 2006 2008 2009 2010 2012
New York City Characteristics of NYC mayoral elections Mayoral elections 1917 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 Public Advocate elections 2009 2013 Comptroller elections 2009 2013 Borough president elections 2013 The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island
Buffalo Mayoral elections 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013
Syracuse Mayoral elections 2009

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.

Background

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 18. On May 28, 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 6, 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 6, 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. 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 3, Fernando Ferrer began running campaign advertisements. On August 12, the Gifford Miller campaign launched their own television ads. The Democratic candidates held their first debate on August 16. The Anthony Weiner campaign launched television ads on August 19, the same day voter registration for the primary elections ended. The Democratic candidates held their second televised debate on August 21; the live debate was sponsored by WCBS and the New York Times. On August 25, a federal judge refused to allow Tom Ognibene on Republican ballot. On September 1, Fernando Ferrer was endorsed by City Comptroller William C. Thompson and ACORN. On September 3, the New York Times endorsed Ferrer in the Democratic primary. The Democratic candidates held two final debates with the first on WNBC on September 7 and on WABC on September 8. On September 10, Reverend Al Sharpton endorsed Ferrer.

The Democratic primary was held on Tuesday, September 13 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 16. On September 19, Ferrer received the endorsement of SEIU Local 1199, former mayor David Dinkins on September 23 and Andrew Cuomo on September 29. Ferrer was endorsed by the Working Families Party on September 27 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 6, 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 30 and broadcast on WABC. Ferrer and Bloomberg debated each other again on November 1 at a debate sponsored by WNBC and the New York City Campaign Finance Board.

The general election was held on Tuesday, November 8. 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.

General election candidates

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. 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."

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 19, Ferrer received the endorsement of SEIU Local 1199 and was endorsed by the Working Families Party on September 27 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. 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.

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 . 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. Ognibene ran as the Conservative Party nominee. He challenged the Republican nomination in a hearing on Thursday, August 25. but lost.

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 articles on third party candidates in The Village Voice and in The Villager in 2005.

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. She supported lowering parking fines.

Socialist Workers Party

• Martin Koppel - a candidate for mayor who also ran for the United States Senate in the U.S. Senate election, 2004.

Rent Is Too Damn High Party

• Jimmy McMillan - a candidate who is recognized by the City Board of Elections . The party platform calls for the creation of millions of jobs, reform of City Hall and support of rent reduction.

Working Families Party

• Kevin Finnegan - a candidate for the Working Families Party according to this list.

Unsuccessful candidates

Democratic Party

• Christopher X. Brodeur
• C. Virginia Fields
• Gifford Miller
• Arthur Piccolo
• Anthony D. Weiner

Republican Party

• Steve Shaw
• Tom Ognibene
• Walter Iwachiw

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.

Other candidates

• Andy Horwitz - a candidate of the Blog Party who sought affordable housing and jobs. His campaign officially ended on September 27.

Democratic primary results

Results

City-wide results

Results by borough

Board of Elections in the City of New York 2005 General Election official results

Polling

External links

• 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
• Tom Ognibene for Mayor of New York City webpage

See also

Mayoral elections in New York City
1897 1901 1903 1905 1909 1913 1917 1921 1925 1929 1932 1933 1937 1941 1945 1949 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017