2009 New York City Comptroller election
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.
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Joe Mendola was nominated as the Republican candidate. John Liu was nominated as 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]
Democratic nomination
Four candidates sought the Democratic Party nomination.[1][3]
They were:
- Melinda Katz, City Council member and former State Assemblywoman
- John Liu, City Council member
- David Weprin, City Council member and former Deputy Superintendent of the New York State Banking Commission
- David Yassky, City Council member
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.
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]
Polling
| Source | Sample size | Date | Katz | Liu | Weprin | Yassky | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA | 2,200 | August 14–18, 2009 | 22% | 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 | 36,625 | 18,888 | 42,727 | 37,658 | 4,458 | 140,356 | 37.8% |
| 32.9% | 42.5% | 36.8% | 43.2% | 37.0% | |||
| David Yassky | 44,272 | 9,882 | 40,775 | 16,671 | 3,162 | 114,762 | 30.9% |
| 39.8% | 22.2% | 35.1% | 19.1% | 26.3% | |||
| Melinda Katz | 21,143 | 11,400 | 20,115 | 20,211 | 3,342 | 76,211 | 20.5% |
| 19.0% | 25.6% | 17.3% | 23.2% | 27.8% | |||
| David I. Weprin | 9,223 | 4,285 | 12,366 | 12,630 | 1,077 | 39,581 | 10.7% |
| 8.3% | 9.6% | 10.7% | 14.5% | 8.9% | |||
| all Write-Ins | 14 | 5 | 75 | 10 | 4 | 108 | 0.03% |
| T O T A L | 111,277 | 44,460 | 116,058 | 87,180 | 12,043 | 371,018 |
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 | 36,906 | 18,019 | 43,120 | 33,237 | 3,818 | 135,100 | 56.0% |
| 47.6% | 65.2% | 57.1% | 62.0% | 55.6% | |||
| David Yassky | 40,644 | 9,633 | 32,391 | 20,391 | 3,047 | 106,106 | 44.0% |
| 52.4% | 34.8% | 42.9% | 38.0% | 44.4% | |||
| T O T A L | 77,550 | 27,652 | 75,511 | 53,628 | 6,865 | 241,206 | |
General election
John Liu won the general election held on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.
| 2009 general election | party | Manhattan | The Bronx | Brooklyn | Queens | Staten Island | Total | % |
| John C. Liu | Democratic | 191,748 | 95,795 | 203,499 | 180,249 | 33,242 | 704,533 | 72.2% |
| Working Families Party | 12,635 | 3,404 | 18,641 | 8,811 | 2,310 | 45,801 | 4.7% | |
| Total | 204,383 | 99,199 | 222,140 | 189,060 | 35,552 | 750,334 | 76.9% | |
| 81.0% | 83.7% | 80.0% | 73.5% | 50.5% | ||||
| Joseph A. Mendola | Republican | 39,103 | 15,166 | 43,718 | 57,266 | 29,803 | 185,056 | 19.0% |
| 15.5% | 12.8% | 15.7% | 22.3% | 42.3% | ||||
| Stuart Avrick | Conservative | 3,325 | 2,119 | 6,439 | 6,818 | 3,930 | 22,631 | 2.3% |
| 1.3% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2.7% | 5.6% | ||||
| Salim Ejaz | Rent Is Too High | 3,614 | 1,569 | 3,422 | 2,607 | 691 | 11,903 | 1.2% |
| John Clifton | Libertarian | 2,022 | 525 | 1,946 | 1,488 | 389 | 6,370 | 0.7% |
| Total Write-ins | 15 | 7 | 20 | 14 | 10 | 66 | 0.01% | |
| Total Votes | 252,462 | 118,585 | 277,685 | 257,253 | 70,375 | 976,360 | ||
Source: Board of Elections in the City of New York Archived January 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
See also
References
- "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.
- Victoria Cavaliere (November 4, 2009). "Liu Becomes First Asian-American in City-Wide Office". NBC. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
- "Races to Watch - New York City Comptroller". Eyewitness News: Campaigns & Elections. WABC-TV. June 17, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
- Pete Davis (March 11, 2009). "John Liu now running for City Comptroller". The Queens Courier. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
- David Seifman (March 22, 2009). "'Family'-Man Wannabes $helling Out". New York Post. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
- Hicks, Jonathan P. (September 25, 2008). "Queens Councilman Leaning Toward Comptroller Run". New York Times City Page Blog. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
- "Village Independent Democrats (VID)". Retrieved December 20, 2022.
- Queens Chronicle, May 28, 2009 "Working Families » WFP Endorses Councilmember John Liu for Comptroller". Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
- The Daily Gotham "Americans for Democratic Action Endorsements for Sept. 15th Primary | The Daily Gotham". Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
- April 23, 2009 "Working Families » WFP Endorses Councilmember John Liu for Comptroller". Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
- Fahim, Kareem; Bosman, Julie (August 31, 2009). "Liu and de Blasio Gain Key Endorsements". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
- "Liu, Yassky head for Comptroller Run-off". September 17, 2009.
- "Controller hopefuls John Liu, David Yassky sling mud in debate". Daily News. September 25, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
- "De Blasio, Liu Claim Victory In Primary Runoff". NY1. September 29, 2009. Archived from the original on October 3, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
- Bosman, Julie; Fahim, Kareem (September 29, 2009). "De Blasio and Liu Win in N.Y. Democratic Runoffs". The New York Times. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
- "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. September 25, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 22, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
- "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. October 20, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2009.