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.

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

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.

• Joe Mendola^[3]

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

• New York City Comptroller
• Government of New York City
• New York City mayoral election, 2009
• New York City Public Advocate election, 2009

References

1. "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. "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. "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. "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.
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. October 20, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2009.