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2009 New York City Comptroller election

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2009 New York City comptroller election

← 2005 November 3, 2009 2013 →
 
GOP
Candidate John Liu Joe Mendola
Party Democratic Republican
Alliance Working Families
Popular vote 750,334 185,056
Percentage 76.9% 19.0%

Results by borough

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.

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

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

They were:

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]

Primary election

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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

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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

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One candidate sought the Republican Party nomination.

Polling

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Source Sample size Date Katz Liu Weprin Yassky Undecided
SurveyUSA[16] 2,200 August 14–18, 2009 22% 23% 12% 15% 28%

Election returns

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Democratic primary election

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First round, Tuesday, September 15, 2009[17]

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

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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.[18]

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

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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 [1] Archived January 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "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 (November 4, 2009). "Liu Becomes First Asian-American in City-Wide Office". NBC. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Races to Watch - New York City Comptroller". Eyewitness News: Campaigns & Elections. WABC-TV. June 17, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ David Seifman (March 22, 2009). "'Family'-Man Wannabes $helling Out". New York Post. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
  6. ^ Hicks, Jonathan P. (September 25, 2008). "Queens Councilman Leaning Toward Comptroller Run". New York Times City Page Blog. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
  7. ^ "Village Independent Democrats (VID)". Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ April 23, 2009 "Working Families » WFP Endorses Councilmember John Liu for Comptroller". Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  11. ^ Fahim, Kareem; Bosman, Julie (August 31, 2009). "Liu and de Blasio Gain Key Endorsements". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  12. ^ a b "Liu, Yassky head for Comptroller Run-off". September 17, 2009.
  13. ^ "Controller hopefuls John Liu, David Yassky sling mud in debate". Daily News. September 25, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  14. ^ "De Blasio, Liu Claim Victory In Primary Runoff". NY1. September 29, 2009. Archived from the original on October 3, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ SurveyUSA
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "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.