# 2009 New York City Comptroller election

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vte :
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. 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.

## Democratic nomination

Four candidates sought the Democratic Party nomination.
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. As part of this bid, Liu donated $10,000 to the Working Families Party; they endorsed him less than 6 months later. Liu raised $3 million for his political run, more than his competitors.
Beginning in May, Liu picked up several endorsements. The Village Independent Democrats, The Queens County Democratic organization, the local Americans for Democratic Action chapter and the Working Families Party, 1199 SEIU union local and the Uniformed Firefighters Association endorsed him. On September 1, the United Federation of Teachers endorsed Liu.

### 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.

### 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. The Daily News wrote that Yassky and Liu slung mud in a spirited debate on September 24, 2009. On September 29, Liu won the run-off by taking 55.6% of the vote against Yassky.

## Republican nomination

One candidate sought the Republican Party nomination.
* Joe Mendola

## 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
| 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% |
| John C. Liu | 32.9% | 42.5% | 36.8% | 43.2% | 37.0% | 140,356 | 37.8% |
| David Yassky | 44,272 | 9,882 | 40,775 | 16,671 | 3,162 | 114,762 | 30.9% |
| David Yassky | 39.8% | 22.2% | 35.1% | 19.1% | 26.3% | 114,762 | 30.9% |
| Melinda Katz | 21,143 | 11,400 | 20,115 | 20,211 | 3,342 | 76,211 | 20.5% |
| Melinda Katz | 19.0% | 25.6% | 17.3% | 23.2% | 27.8% | 76,211 | 20.5% |
| David I. Weprin | 9,223 | 4,285 | 12,366 | 12,630 | 1,077 | 39,581 | 10.7% |
| David I. Weprin | 8.3% | 9.6% | 10.7% | 14.5% | 8.9% | 39,581 | 10.7% |
| 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.
| 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% |
| John C. Liu | 47.6% | 65.2% | 57.1% | 62.0% | 55.6% | 135,100 | 56.0% |
| David Yassky | 40,644 | 9,633 | 32,391 | 20,391 | 3,047 | 106,106 | 44.0% |
| David Yassky | 52.4% | 34.8% | 42.9% | 38.0% | 44.4% | 106,106 | 44.0% |
| T O T A L | 77,550 | 27,652 | 75,511 | 53,628 | 6,865 | 241,206 | |

### General election

2009 New York City comptroller election debate :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Rent Is Too Damn High |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | John Liu | Salim Ejaz |
| 1 | Oct. 18, 2009 | League of Women Voters of New York City New York City Campaign Finance Board WABC-TV WXTV-DT | Diana Williams | C-SPAN | P | P |
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% |
| John C. Liu | Working Families Party | 12,635 | 3,404 | 18,641 | 8,811 | 2,310 | 45,801 | 4.7% |
| John C. Liu | Total | 204,383 | 99,199 | 222,140 | 189,060 | 35,552 | 750,334 | 76.9% |
| John C. Liu | Total | 81.0% | 83.7% | 80.0% | 73.5% | 50.5% | 750,334 | 76.9% |
| Joseph A. Mendola | Republican | 39,103 | 15,166 | 43,718 | 57,266 | 29,803 | 185,056 | 19.0% |
| Joseph A. Mendola | Republican | 15.5% | 12.8% | 15.7% | 22.3% | 42.3% | 185,056 | 19.0% |
| Stuart Avrick | Conservative | 3,325 | 2,119 | 6,439 | 6,818 | 3,930 | 22,631 | 2.3% |
| Stuart Avrick | Conservative | 1.3% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2.7% | 5.6% | 22,631 | 2.3% |
| 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 | Total Write-ins | 15 | 7 | 20 | 14 | 10 | 66 | 0.01% |
| Total Votes | 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