New York City mayoral election, 2005
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The 2005
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
mayoral election occurred on Tuesday, November 8, 2005, with incumbent
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
Michael Bloomberg soundly defeating former
Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
borough president
Fernando Ferrer Fernando James Ferrer (born April 30, 1950) is an American politician who was the borough president of The Bronx from 1987 to 2001. Ferrer was a candidate for mayor of New York City in 1997 and 2001 and was the Democratic Party nominee for ma ...
, the Democratic nominee. Several third-party candidates also ran for mayor. Bloomberg won four of the five boroughs, the exception being the Bronx. , the 2005 election is the last time a Republican was elected mayor of New York City and the last time a Republican line carried Brooklyn. (Bloomberg left the Republican Party in 2007 to register as an independent, though he was nominated for re-election by the Republican Party in 2009.)


Background

In July, mayoral candidates filed nominating petitions with the City Board of Elections.


Republican primary


Candidates

* Michael Bloomberg, incumbent Mayor since 2002 * Walter Iwachiw *
Tom Ognibene Thomas Ognibene (December 12, 1943 – October 12, 2015) was an attorney and Republican politician in New York City who served in the New York City Council from 1992 to 2001. Biography Ognibene was first elected in 1992 to become a New York C ...
, former City Councilman from
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
(1992-2002) and Council minority leader * Steve Shaw


Campaign

Tom Ognibene ran on a platform supporting tax cuts, education reform and opposed Mayor Bloomberg's smoking ban. He was expected to win the endorsement of the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. 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 and forcing him off the ballot. On August 25, a federal judge refused to allow Ognibene on Republican ballot. The first television ads were launched in English and Spanish by the Bloomberg campaign on May 18.


Endorsements

Ognibene was endorsed by the leaders of the Queens County Republican Committee on February 10.


Aftermath

Ognibene challenged the Republican nomination in a hearing on Thursday, August 25, but his challenge was unsuccessful.


Democratic primary


Candidates

* Christopher X. Brodeur, artist and Green Party candidate in 2001 *
Fernando Ferrer Fernando James Ferrer (born April 30, 1950) is an American politician who was the borough president of The Bronx from 1987 to 2001. Ferrer was a candidate for mayor of New York City in 1997 and 2001 and was the Democratic Party nominee for ma ...
, former
Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
Borough President (1987–2001) and candidate for Mayor in 2001 * C. Virginia Fields, Manhattan Borough President *
Gifford Miller Alan Gifford Miller (born November 6, 1969) is the former Speaker of the New York City Council who represented the 5th district. Barred from seeking reelection due to term limits, the Democrat ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for ...
, Speaker of the New York City Council * Arthur Piccolo * Anthony Weiner, U.S. Representative from
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...


Declined

*
Mark J. Green Mark Joseph Green (born March 15, 1945) is an American author, former public official, public interest lawyer, and Democratic politician from New York City. Green was New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner from 1990 to 1993 and New York Ci ...
, nominee for mayor in 2001 (running for
New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government o ...
in 2006) *
Bob Kerrey Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietna ...
, former U.S. Senator from
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
and President of the
New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
(declined April 20)


Campaign

On August 3, Fernando Ferrer began running campaign advertisements. On August 12, the
Gifford Miller Alan Gifford Miller (born November 6, 1969) is the former Speaker of the New York City Council who represented the 5th district. Barred from seeking reelection due to term limits, the Democrat ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for ...
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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
.


Endorsements

On September 1, Fernando Ferrer was endorsed by City Comptroller William C. Thompson and ACORN. On September 3, the
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
endorsed Ferrer in the Democratic primary. The Democratic candidates held two final debates with the first on
WNBC WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo stati ...
on September 7 and on WABC on September 8. On September 10, Reverend
Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, talk show host and politician. Sharpton is the founder of the National Action Network. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democrati ...
endorsed Ferrer. Prior to the primary, Ferrer was endorsed by New York state attorney general Eliot Spitzer,
Carl McCall Herman Carl McCall (born October 17, 1935) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. A former New York State Comptroller and New York State Senator, McCall was the Democratic candidate for Governor of New York in 2002. McCall was the ...
,
Geraldine Ferraro Geraldine Anne Ferraro (August 26, 1935 March 26, 2011) was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. She served in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985, and was the Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee ...
,
Sheldon Silver Sheldon Silver (February 13, 1944 – January 24, 2022) was an American Democratic Party politician, attorney, and convicted felon from New York City who served as speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1994 to 2015. A native of Manhattan' ...
, the Transport Workers Union, Bronx borough president Adolfo Carrión, Jr. and Ruth Messinger. Ferrer was also endorsed by Representatives
Joseph Crowley Joseph Crowley (born March 16, 1962) is an American politician and consultant who served as U.S. Representative from New York's 14th congressional district from 1999 to 2019. He was defeated by Democratic primary challenger Alexandria Ocasio-C ...
, Gregory W. Meeks,
Major Owens Major Robert Odell Owens (June 28, 1936 – October 21, 2013) was an American politician and librarian who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007, representing the New York's 11th and then 12th Congressional distri ...
, José Serrano,
Ed Towns Edolphus "Ed" Towns Jr. (born July 21, 1934) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2013. A Democrat from New York, Towns was Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committe ...
and
Nydia Velázquez Nydia Margarita Velázquez Serrano (born March 28, 1953) is a politician serving in the United States House of Representatives since 1993. A Democrat from New York, Velázquez chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus until January 3, 2011. He ...
.


Results

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.


Other nominations


Conservative

Despite his removal from the Republican primary, Tom Ognibene ran as the Conservative Party nominee.


Independence

On May 28, the
Independence Party Independence Party may refer to: Active parties Outside United States * Independence Party (Egypt) * Estonian Independence Party * Independence Party (Finland) * Independence Party (Iceland) * Independence Party (Mauritius) * Independence Part ...
endorsed Michael Bloomberg for re-election.


Liberal

The Liberal Party of New York endorsed Bloomberg.


Green

Anthony Gronowicz, Manhattan College history professor Anthony Gronowicz was the Green Party's mayoral nominee. Gronowicz 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 an article in The Villager.


Libertarian

Audrey Silk, a former
NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
officer, community activist and founder of ''NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment,'' was nominated by the party on April 16, 2005.


General election


Candidates

* Michael Bloomberg, incumbent mayor since 2002 (Republican, Independence, Liberal) *
Fernando Ferrer Fernando James Ferrer (born April 30, 1950) is an American politician who was the borough president of The Bronx from 1987 to 2001. Ferrer was a candidate for mayor of New York City in 1997 and 2001 and was the Democratic Party nominee for ma ...
, former Bronx Borough President (Democrat) *
Tom Ognibene Thomas Ognibene (December 12, 1943 – October 12, 2015) was an attorney and Republican politician in New York City who served in the New York City Council from 1992 to 2001. Biography Ognibene was first elected in 1992 to become a New York C ...
(Conservative) * Anthony Gronowicz (Green) *
Jimmy McMillan James McMillan III (born December 1, 1946) is an American political activist, perennial candidate, and Vietnam War veteran. McMillan is best known as the founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, a New York-based political party. McMillan ha ...
(Rent Is Too Damn High) * Audrey Silk (Libertarian) * Martin Koppel (Socialist Workers) * Seth Blum (Education)


Campaign

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 West Side Stadium (also known as the New York Sports and Convention Center) was a proposed football and Olympic stadium to be built on a platform over the rail yards on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The stadium would have been ...
was defeated by the Public Authorities Control Board when Assembly Speaker
Sheldon Silver Sheldon Silver (February 13, 1944 – January 24, 2022) was an American Democratic Party politician, attorney, and convicted felon from New York City who served as speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1994 to 2015. A native of Manhattan' ...
and State Senate Majority Leader
Joseph Bruno Joseph Louis Bruno (April 8, 1929 – October 6, 2020) was an American businessman and Republican politician from upstate New York. Bruno served in the New York State Senate from 1977 to 2008 and was Senate Majority Leader from 1994 to 2008. Br ...
refused to vote for it. As a result, the new Mets ballpark, later
Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...
, had been supported by Mayor Bloomberg as the centerpiece of the revised bid. On July 6, the
IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
awarded
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
with the 2012 Summer Olympics. 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. 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 WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo stati ...
and the
New York City Campaign Finance Board The New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) is an independent New York City agency that serves to provide campaign finance information to the public, enable more citizens to run for office by granting public matching funds, increase voter part ...
. 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 January 1, 2006.


Endorsements

Bloomberg was endorsed by former mayors Rudy Giuliani and
Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was ma ...
,
Jeanine Pirro Jeanine Ferris Pirro (born June 2, 1951) is an American television host, author, and a former New York State judge, prosecutor, and politician. Pirro was the host of Fox News Channel's ''Justice with Judge Jeanine'' until 2022 when she became ...
,
Herman Badillo Herman Badillo (pronounced ''bah-DEE-yoh''; August 21, 1929 – December 3, 2014) was an American politician who served as borough president of The Bronx and United States Representative, and ran for Mayor of New York City. He was the first Pu ...
, former congressman Reverend
Floyd Flake Floyd Harold Flake (born January 30, 1945) is an American businessman and former politician who is the senior pastor of the 23,000 member Greater Allen African Methodist Episcopal Cathedral in Jamaica, Queens, New York, and former president of W ...
, Reverend
Calvin Butts Calvin Otis Butts III (July 19, 1949 – October 28, 2022) was an American academic administrator and a senior pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, which historically was the largest black church in New York City. He led the Abyssinian Devel ...
, and many prominent local Democrats who chose to cross party lines. On October 23, Bloomberg was endorsed by both Newsday and
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
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". After winning the Democratic nomination, Ferrer was endorsed by Senators
Charles Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...
and
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
on September 16. On September 19, Ferrer received the endorsement of SEIU Local 1199. He was endorsed by former mayor
David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enteri ...
on September 23. Ferrer was endorsed by the
Working Families Party 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 California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Ne ...
on September 27, but did not appear on the Working Families Party line on Election Day.
Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cu ...
endorsed Ferrer on September 29. On October 20, Ferrer campaigned with
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
on Charlotte Street in the South Bronx.


Polling


Results


Results by borough


Notes


References


External links


Mike Bloomberg for NYC webpage



Gotham Gazette 2005 webpage


See also

{{United States elections, 2005 Mayoral election, 2005 2005 New York City mayoral New York Michael Bloomberg