# 1973 New York City Council presidential election

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vte :
An election was held on November 6, 1973 to elect the President of the New York City Council. Democratic incumbent Sanford Garelik initially did not run for re-election, choosing instead to run for mayor in the Democratic Party primary. After dropping out of the mayoral primary and running for re-election, Garelik was defeated in the Democratic primary by Paul O'Dwyer.
In the general election, O'Dwyer defeated Thomas F. Galvin and Simeon Golar by a wide margin.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Anthony G. DiFalco, Assemblyman from Manhattan
* Sanford Garelik, incumbent City Council President since 1970
* Paul O'Dwyer, former City Councilman from Manhattan at-large and candidate for U.S. Senate in 1968 and 1970

### Results

1973 Democratic Council President primary (unofficial) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Paul O'Dwyer | 268,919 | 41.40% |
| | Democratic | Sanford Garelik (incumbent) | 232,509 | 35.80% |
| | Democratic | Anthony G. DiFalco | 148,115 | 22.80% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 649,543 | 100.00% |
Garelik dropped out of the mayoral race at the filing deadline on April 12, filing instead for re-election as Council President.
Because O'Dwyer received more than forty percent of the vote, a runoff was not necessary. Nevertheless, Garelik asserted that "irregularities", including the misplacement of voter identification cards, had marred the election and called for a recount. In light of these claims, Garelik said, “it was almost a miracle I did as well as I did.” He pledged to contest the general election as an independent in the event that the recount did not succeed in forcing a runoff.
O'Dwyer, who had lost races for city and statewide offices in 1965, 1968 and 1970, suggested Garelik was not "accustomed" to losing.

## General election
### Candidates

* Thomas F. Galvin, architect, real estate developer, and former chair of the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals (Republican and Conservative)
* Simeon Golar, former chair of the New York City Housing Authority and aide to mayor John Lindsay (Liberal)
* Paul O'Dwyer, former City Councilman from Manhattan at-large and candidate for U.S. Senate in 1968 and 1970 (Democratic)

### Results

1973 New York City Council President election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Paul O'Dwyer | 867,515 | 59.43% |
| | Republican | Thomas F. Galvin | 442,655 | 30.33% |
| | Liberal | Simeon Golar | 149,447 | 10.24% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,459,617 | 100.00% |