Albany mayoral election, 2013
The Albany, New York mayoral election of 2013 took place on November 5, 2013. The general election was preceded by the primaries on September 10, 2013. The winner of the election was Democratic candidate Kathy Sheehan.
Background
The 2013 mayoral election was the City of Albany's first open-seat mayoral election since 1993. Incumbent Mayor Gerald Jennings announced on May 14, 2013 that he would not run for a sixth term.[1] Jennings was leaving office after 20 years as the second-longest serving mayor in the history of Albany, following only Erastus Corning 2nd. Following the election, Albany would have just its fourth elected mayor since 1941.
It was widely expected that the next mayor would effectively be chosen in the Democratic primary. The mayor's office has been in Democratic hands without interruption since 1921, and no Republican has won a citywide race since 1931.
Candidates
- City Treasurer Kathy Sheehan (Democrat)
- 11th Ward Leader and Former City Council Member Corey Ellis (Democrat)
- Marlon Anderson (Democrat)
- Web Radio Host Jesse Calhoun (Republican)
- Business Owner Alex Portelli (Libertarian), replaced on the ballot by his mother
- Former Board Of Education Member Theresa Portelli (Green)
- Neighborhood Activist Joseph Sullivan (Conservative)
- Rev. Valerie Faust (independent)
Polling
There was very little public polling of the election.
| Poll source | Date | 1st | 2nd | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YNN/Siena College
Margin of error: ±3.8%
|
July 22–24, 2013 | Kathy Sheehan 54% |
Corey Ellis 23% |
Undecided 23% |
Democratic primary
On November 17, 2012, Sheehan announced herself as a candidate for mayor.[2] She was initially joined by former City Councilman Corey Ellis and activist Marlon Anderson. Ellis gained ballot access, but Anderson submitted insufficient signatures to be included on the ballot.
On September 10, 2013, Sheehan defeated Corey Ellis in the Democratic primary.[3] According to official returns released on October 9, Sheehan won the Democratic nomination with 7,468 votes (65.72%) to Ellis's 3,294 votes (29%), with 601 write in votes (5.29%) and a few void and blank ballots.[4]
General election
In addition to Sheehan, who ran on the Democratic, Working Families, and Independence Party lines, Jesse D. Calhoun was the candidate of the Republican Party, Joseph P. Sullivan ran on the Conservative Party line, and Theresa M. Portelli (a former Albany City school board member) ran on the Green Party line.[5]
There were several debates, some of which included one or two of the independent candidates, Anderson and Faust.
Results
On November 5, Sheehan won the general election in a landslide, with over 83% of the total vote.[6] It was noted that turnout was unusually low, with less than 20% of eligible voters taking part in the election.
See also
References
- ↑ Layton, Jessica. "Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings will not seek re-election". WNYT. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ↑ Kristen V. Brown (November 19, 2012). "Sheehan announces bid for Albany mayor". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved September 11, 2013.
- ↑ Danielle Sanzone (September 10, 2013). "Sheehan wins Albany Mayor primary; Shahinfar is the city's next treasurer". The_Record_(Troy). Archived from the original on September 11, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
- ↑ "OFFICIAL RECANVASS" (PDF). Albany County Board of Elections. September 25, 2013. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ↑ "the Voters of the County of Albany: The Following is a complete list of all candidates nominated for office to be voted for at the General Election to be held in the county of Albany, N.Y., on November 5, 2013". Albany County. October 9, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ↑ http://app.albanycounty.com/boe/electionresults/default.asp?type=2013general