1897 New York City mayoral election

1st election after New York City's consolidation January 2025 January 2025 1897 New York City mayoral election Presidential no 1894 New York City mayoral election 1894 (Manhattan and the Bronx) 1901 New York City mayoral election 1901 November 1897 File:Robert Anderson Van Wyck.gif Robert A. Van Wyck Democratic Party (United States) 233,997 44.7% Seth Low 1901 (3x4 cropped).jpg Seth Low Citizens Union CC8727 151,540 28.9% File:BFTracy.jpg Benjamin F. Tracy Republican Party (United States) 101,863 19.5% 250px Mayor William L. Strong (as mayor of Manhattan and the Bronx) Republican Party (United States) Robert A. Van Wyck (as mayor of the City of Greater New York) Democratic Party (United States) An election for Mayor of New York City was held in November 1897. This election was held in connection with the consolidation of the City of Greater New York, which passed a public referendum on December 14, 1894, and was to be effective January 1, 1898. Thus, the winner of this election would serve as the first mayor of the consolidated city. The term for the mayoralty of the newly-consolidating city was extended to four years. Incumbent mayor William L. Strong was not a candidate for re-election to a second term in office. The multipolar race featured chief justice of the City Court Robert A. Van Wyck, Columbia University president Seth Low, former U.S. secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy, and tax reformer Henry George. On October 29, just a few days before the election, George died. Van Wyck won the race with a plurality of the vote, followed by Low and Tracy. Background February 2025 On December 14, 1894, the voters in the towns of New York County (then coterminous with New York City and consisting of two boroughs, Manhattan and the Bronx), Kings County (consisting entirely of the consolidated city of Brooklyn), Richmond County, and Queens County voted to consolidate into one city with a unified municipal government. The city also annexed parts of southern Westchester County. The enlarged city would contain the majority of the state of New York's population. To allow for the consolidation to take effect on January 1, 1898, the term of mayor William Lafayette Strong was extended by a year, and the next mayoral election was moved from 1896 to 1897. General election Candidates Alfred B. CruikshankO'Brien Has Withdrawn https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1897/10/16/102063686.html?pageNumber=3 October 16, 1897 3 The New York Times (United Democracy) Henry George, political economist and tax reformer (Jeffersonian Democracy) (died October 29) Patrick Gleason, mayor of Long Island CityThe Gleason Boom The New York Times May 13, 1897 6 https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1897/05/13/100424434.html?pageNumber=6 subscription (Independent) Seth Low, president of Columbia University and former mayor of Brooklyn (Citizens Union) Lucien Sanial, newspaper editor, economist, and activist (Socialist Labor) Benjamin F. Tracy, former U.S. Secretary of the Navy and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (Republican) William T. Wardwell, perennial candidateMr. Wardwell's Acceptance https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1897/10/13/105955477.html?pageNumber=2 October 13, 1897 2 The New York Times (Prohibition) Robert Anderson Van Wyck, chief justice of the New York City Court (Democratic) Withdrew James O'Brien, former U.S. Representative (United Democracy) Results 1897 New York City mayoral electionJackson Kenneth 1995 The Encyclopedia of New York City New Haven Yale University Press and The New York Historical Society 0-300-05536-6The New York Times 1 November 4, 1897 https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1897/11/04/102099147.html?pageNumber=1 Democrats Take AllIncomplete results from the New York Times are included for the Prohibition, United Democracy, and Gleason tickets. Democratic Party (United States) Robert A. Van Wyck 233,997 44.69% Citizens Union Seth Low 151,540 28.94% Republican Party (United States) Benjamin F. Tracy 101,863 19.46% Jeffersonian Democracy Henry George (deceased) 21,693 4.14% Socialist Labor Party of America Lucien Sanial 14,467 2.76% Independent politician Patrick Gleason 1,263 0.24% Prohibition Party William T. Wardwell 900 0.17% United Democracy Alfred B. Cruikshank 673 0.13% 523,560 100.00% Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) Results by borough 1897PartyThe Bronx and ManhattanBrooklynQueens Richmond [Staten Is.]Total% Robert A. Van WyckDemocratic143,66676,1859,2754,871 233,99744.7%48.0%40.1%40.7%43.5% Seth Low Citizens' Union77,21065,6565,8762,798151,54028.9% 25.8%34.6%25.8%25.0% Benjamin F. Tracy Republican55,83437,6115,6392,779101,863 19.5% 18.6%19.8%24.7%24.8% † Henry GeorgeJefferson Democracy13,0766,9381,09658321,6934.1% Lucien Sanial Socialist Labor9,7963,59392115714,4672.8% TOTAL299,582189,98322,80711,188523,560 Note: Although separate boroughs, the Bronx and Manhattan shared New York County and reported their election results together until the separate Bronx County was formed in April 1912 and started her separate existence on January 1, 1914. The borough of Richmond changed its name to Staten Island in 1975, although the co-extensive Richmond County still retains that name. Notes References Sources Carmer Carl The Greater City: New York, 1898-1948 Columbia University Press 1948 Nevins Allan New York From Van Wyck to O'Dwyer 48008678 Krout John A. 1897 New York City New York City mayoral mayoral election Category:November 1897 in the United States