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Mayoral elections in Albany, New York

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Elections are held every four years in the off-year immediately after United States presidential election years in Albany, New York, to elect the city's mayor.

Elections before 2005

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2005

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2005 Albany mayoral election

← 2001 November 8, 2005 2009 →
 
Nominee Gerald Jennings Alice Green Joseph Sullivan
Party Democratic Green Republican
Popular vote 15,367 5,548 1,465
Percentage 68.65% 24.79% 6.54%

Mayor before election

Gerald Jennings
Democratic

Elected mayor

Gerald Jennings
Democratic

The 2005 Albany mayoral election occurred on November 8, 2005. Incumbent Democrat Gerald Jennings was reelected to a fourth consecutive term.

Primaries

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Primary elections were held on September 13, 2005.

Democratic

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Candidates
2005 Albany Democratic mayoral primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Gerald Jennings (incumbent) 10,223 68.32%
Democratic Archie Goodbee 4,741 31.68%
Total votes 14,964 100%

Conservative

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2005 Albany Conservative mayoral primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Gerald Jennings (write-in) 22 81.48%
Conservative Joseph Sullivan (write-in) 3 11.11%
Conservative Paul Latimer (write-in) 1 3.70%
Conservative Joseph McElroy (write-in) 1 3.70%
Total votes 27 100%

General election

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In the general election, Jennings defeated Green Party candidate Alice Green, and Republican Party candidate Joseph Sullivan, a perennial candidate and local activist.[3] This was a great result for Green who, 7 years earlier as the running mate of Al Lewis, helped the nascent Green Party of New York to achieve automatic ballot access by winning over 50,000 votes in the 1998 New York gubernatorial election.[4]

2005 Albany mayoral election[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Gerald Jennings (incumbent) 14,295 63.86%
Independence Gerald Jennings (incumbent) 561 2.51%
Conservative Gerald Jennings (incumbent) 511 2.28%
Total Gerald Jennings (incumbent) 15,367 68.65%
Green Alice Green 5,548 24.79%
Republican Joseph Sullivan 1,465 6.54%
Benzie Johnson (write-in) 4 0.02%
Total votes 22,384 100%

2009

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2009 Albany mayoral election

← 2005 November 3, 2009 2013 →
 
Nominee Gerald Jennings Corey Ellis Nathan Lebron
Party Democratic Working Families Republican
Alliance Conservative
Popular vote 10,466 4,801 1,178
Percentage 63.52% 29.14% 7.15%

Mayor before election

Gerald Jennings
Democratic

Elected mayor

Gerald Jennings
Democratic

The Albany, New York, mayoral election of 2009 occurred on November 3, 2009. It saw the reelection of Democrat Gerald Jennings to a fifth consecutive term.

Democratic primary

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The Democratic Party primary was held on September 15, 2009. Incumbent Mayor Gerald Jennings defeated Corey Ellis, a city council member, by a vote of 8,130 to 6,301.[6][7]

2009 Albany Democratic mayoral primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Gerald Jennings (incumbent) 8,130 56.34%
Democratic Corey Ellis 6,301 43.66%
Total votes 14,431 100%

General election

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In the general election, Jennings (running on both the Democratic and Conservative Party lines) defeated Ellis (running as the Working Families Party candidate), and Republican Party candidate Nathan Lebron. Jennings got 10,466 votes in total, Ellis came in second with 4,801 votes, and LeBron got 1,178 votes; there were also a few dozen write-in votes.[8]

2009 Albany mayoral election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Gerald Jennings (incumbent) 9,953 60.41%
Conservative Gerald Jennings (incumbent) 513 3.11%
Total Gerald Jennings (incumbent) 10,466 63.52%
Working Families Corey Ellis 4,801 29.14%
Republican Nathan Lebron 1,178 7.15%
Write-ins 31 0.19%
Total votes 16,476 100%

2013

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2013 Albany mayoral election

← 2009 November 5, 2013 2017 →
 
Nominee Kathy Sheehan Jesse Calhoun
Party Democratic Republican
Alliance
Popular vote 13,134 1,025
Percentage 83.49% 6.52%

Mayor before election

Gerald Jennings
Democratic

Elected mayor

Kathy Sheehan
Democratic

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 nominee Kathy Sheehan.

Incumbent Democratic mayor Gerald Jennings did not seek reelection.

Background

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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.[9] Jennings is the second-longest-serving mayor in the history of Albany (Erastus Corning 2nd was the city's longest-tenured mayor).[10]

Democratic primary

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On November 17, 2012, Sheehan announced herself as a candidate for mayor.[11] On September 10, 2013, Sheehan defeated Corey Ellis in the Democratic primary.[12] 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 (28.99%), with 601 write in votes (5.29%) and a few void and blank ballots.[13]

2013 Albany Democratic mayoral primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kathy Sheehan 7,468 65.72%
Democratic Corey Ellis 3,294 28.99%
Write-ins 601 5.29%
Total votes 14,431 100%

General election

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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.[14]

On November 5, Sheehan won the general election in a landslide, receiving over 83% of the total vote.[15]

2013 Albany mayoral election[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kathy Sheehan 11,884 75.55%
Working Families Kathy Sheehan 826 5.25%
Independence Kathy Sheehan 424 2.70%
Total Kathy Sheehan 13,134 83.49%
Republican Jesse D. Calhoun 1,025 6.52%
Green Theresa M. Portelli 715 4.55%
Conservative Joseph P. Sullivan 681 4.33%
Write-ins 176 1.12%
Total votes 15,731 100%
Democratic hold

2017

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2017 Albany mayoral election

← 2013 November 7, 2017 2021 →
 
Nominee Kathy Sheehan Frank Commisso Jr.
Party Democratic Independence
Alliance
Popular vote 11,520 3,687
Percentage 70.42% 22.54%

Mayor before election

Kathy Sheehan
Democratic

Elected mayor

Kathy Sheehan
Democratic

The 2017 mayoral election in Albany, New York, was held on November 7, 2017, and resulted in the incumbent Kathy Sheehan, a member of the Democratic Party, being re-elected to a second term over Conservative Party candidate Joseph Sullivan, Green Party candidate Bryan Jimenez, and Independence Party candidate Frank Commisso Jr.[16][17]

Democratic primary

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Sheehan won the Democratic primary election with less than 50 percent of the vote. Frank Commisso Jr., a member of the Albany Common Council; and Carolyn McLaughlin, the president of the Common Council, also ran.[17]

2017 Albany Democratic mayoral primary[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kathy Sheehan 6,650 49.37
Democratic Frank Commisso Jr. 4,446 33.01
Democratic Carolyn McLaughlin 2,056 15.26
Write-ins 317 2.35
Total votes 13,469 100

General election

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Commisso ran again in the general election as the candidate of the Independence Party. He criticized Sheehan over her handling of the city's finances and on the issue of tax breaks. Sheehan responded to Commisso's criticism through television advertisements, which were funded by a $387,000 loan from Sheehan to her campaign.[17]

2017 Albany mayoral election[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kathy Sheehan 10,247 62.63
Working Families Kathy Sheehan 994 6.08
Women's Equality Kathy Sheehan 279 1.71
Total Kathy Sheehan 11,520 70.42
Independence Frank Commisso Jr. 3,687 22.54
Conservative Joseph P. Sullivan 709 4.22
Green Bryan Jimenez 374 2.29
Write-ins 70 0.43
Total votes 16,360 100
Democratic hold

2021

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2021 Albany mayoral election

← 2017 2 November 2021 2025 →
Turnout14,015
 
Candidate Kathy Sheehan Alicia M. Purdy Gregory J. Aidala
Party Democratic Republican Independence Party of New York
Alliance Conservative
Popular vote 8,837 2,385 2,374
Percentage 63.05% 17.02% 16.94%

Mayor before election

Kathy M. Sheehan
Democratic

Elected mayor

Kathy M. Sheehan
Democratic

The 2021 mayoral election in Albany, New York, was held on November 2, 2021. Incumbent Democratic mayor Kathy Sheehan won re-election to a third term in office.[20][21]

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Declared
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Disqualified
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  • Marlon Anderson, advocate[23] (continued as a write-in candidate)[24]
  • Lukee Forbes, activist[22][25]
Declined
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2021 Albany Democratic mayoral primary[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kathy Sheehan (incumbent) 3,688 63.8
Democratic Valerie Faust 2,093 36.2
Total votes 5,781 100

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Third-party and independent candidates

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General election

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2021 Albany mayoral election[29]
Party Candidate Votes %
New York Democratic Party Kathy Sheehan (Incumbent) 8,837 63.05%
New York Republican Party Alicia M. Purdy 1,862 13.29%
Conservative Party of New York Alicia M. Purdy 523 3.73%
Total Alicia M. Purdy 2,385 17.02%
Independence Party of New York Greg J. Aidala 2,374 16.94%
Write-in 419 2.99%
Total 14,015 100%

References

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  1. ^ Feliciano, Kimberly. "Archie Goodbee to challenge Jennings for Albany mayor". The Free Library.
  2. ^ a b "2005 Albany Primary Election" (PDF).
  3. ^ Fries, Amanda (16 January 2019). "Albany's Joe Sullivan, a frequent political candidate, has died". Times Union.
  4. ^ "New York State Green Party has best showing ever". Green Party of New York.
  5. ^ "2005 Albany Mayoral Election" (PDF).
  6. ^ "2009 Primary Election Results" (PDF). Albany County Board of Elections. November 3, 2009. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  7. ^ Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan (September 16, 2009). "Ellis falls short of win by at least 1,600 votes". Albany Times Union. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  8. ^ "2009 General Election Results" (PDF). Albany County Board of Elections. November 3, 2009. p. 171. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  9. ^ Benjamin, Ian (May 15, 2013). "DOCUMENT: Officials react to Jennings' decision not to run for re-election". The Record. Retrieved October 9, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Sanzone, Danielle (May 16, 2019). "Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings' decision to retire was not made lightly". The Saratogian. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  11. ^ Kristen V. Brown (November 19, 2012). "Sheehan announces bid for Albany mayor". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "OFFICIAL RECANVASS (2013 primary)" (PDF). Albany County Board of Elections. September 25, 2013. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ a b "Election Results". Albany County. November 27, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  16. ^ "Democrat Kathy Sheehan re-elected Albany mayor". NYup.com. November 8, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  17. ^ a b c Fries, Amanda (22 December 2017). "Four more years for Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan". Times Union. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  18. ^ "Albany County Election Results". app.albanycounty.com. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  19. ^ "Election Results". Albany County. December 29, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  20. ^ "Hinting At Run For Third Term, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan Says 2020 "Changed Everything"". WAMC. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  21. ^ a b c d Lucas, Dave (22 December 2020). "Sheehan First Into 2021 Race As She Seeks A Third Term". www.wamc.org.
  22. ^ a b Hughes, Steve (January 16, 2021). "Third candidate enters Albany mayoral race". Times Union.
  23. ^ Lucas, Dave (7 February 2021). "Marlon Anderson Enters Albany Mayoral Race". www.wamc.org.
  24. ^ a b "Albany's Mayoral Candidates Discuss Pressing City Issues as Campaign Season Nears". 28 May 2021.
  25. ^ a b c "Mayoral election in Albany, New York (2021)".
  26. ^ "Albany Common Council President Corey Ellis Could Mount 2021 Campaign". WAMC. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  27. ^ "Alicia Purdy enters Albany mayoral race". February 25, 2021.
  28. ^ Lucas, Dave (28 January 2021). "Local Actor/Comedian Joins Albany Mayoral Race, But Won't Run In Democratic Primary". www.wamc.org.
  29. ^ "Albany County Election Results". app.albanycounty.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2022.