1969 New York City mayoral election

1969 New York City mayoral election

November 4, 1969

Candidate John Lindsay Mario Procaccino John J. Marchi Party Liberal Democratic Republican Alliance Civil Service Conservative Popular vote 1,012,633 831,772 542,411 Percentage 42.4% 34.8% 22.7%

Results by Borough   Procaccino—40–50%   Marchi—60–70%   Lindsay—30–40%   Lindsay—60–70%

Mayor before election John Lindsay Republican Elected Mayor John Lindsay Liberal

The 1969 New York City mayoral election occurred on Tuesday, November 4, 1969, with incumbent Liberal Party Mayor John Lindsay elected to a second term. Lindsay defeated the Democratic candidate, New York City Comptroller Mario Procaccino, and the Republican candidate, state senator John Marchi.

Lindsay received 42.36% of the vote to Procaccino's 34.79%, a Liberal victory margin of 7.57%.^[1] Marchi finished a distant third with 22.69%.

In one of the most unusual primary seasons since the consolidation of greater New York, the incumbent Lindsay and former mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. both lost their parties' respective primaries. In the Republican primary, Lindsay was defeated narrowly by state senator John J. Marchi of Staten Island. Procaccino won the Democratic primary with less than 33% of the vote against four opponents, including Wagner, Bronx Borough President Herman Badillo, Congressman James H. Scheuer, and author Norman Mailer, who ran on a platform proposing secession from the state of New York.

Background

1965 election

Incumbent mayor John Lindsay was elected in 1965 as a Republican with Liberal Party support. However, Lindsay failed to win a majority of the vote, primarily due to the rise of the Conservative Party, which polled over thirteen percent of the vote behind candidate William F. Buckley Jr. Liberal Party support, which typically went to the Democratic Party nominee, was therefore crucial to Lindsay's win.

Race relations

In summer 1967, New York was one of many American cities rocked by urban riots, with four killed after an off-duty NYPD officer shot and killed a Puerto Rican man, Renaldo Rodriguez, who lunged at him with a knife. In response to the unrest throughout the country, President Lyndon B. Johnson established the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders.^[2] Lindsay served on the Commission and used it as an opportunity to publicly campaign for urban renewal, visiting riot-damaged sites accompanied by national and local press, and he was influential in its final report.^[3]

In April 1968, one month after the report was released, rioting broke out in more than 100 American cities following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. In New York, however, Lindsay was credited with averting a crisis when he traveled personally to the Black-majority neighborhood of Harlem to tell residents that he regretted King's death and was working to end urban poverty.^[4] His administration also sponsored the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, at which Lindsay was introduced as "our blue-eyed soul brother."^[5]

Blizzard of 1969

See also: February 1969 nor'easter

On February 10, 1969, New York City received 15 inches (38 cm) of snow and in one day alone, 14 people died and 68 were injured.^[6] For three days, the city was completely paralyzed; streets, subways, airports, and schools were suspended. Lindsay faced repeated criticism during and after the blizzard that he had prioritized his native borough of Manhattan over the four other boroughs, particularly Queens, which remained unplowed over one week after the storm.^[7] The criticism prompted Lindsay to visit Queens but, after his limousine became trapped in Rego Park, he was forced to abandon it in favor of a four-wheel truck and was heckled by local residents.^[8]

Ultimately, 42 people died as a result of the snowstorm, half of them in Queens, and 288 were injured.^[9] Biographer Vincent J. Cannato attributed Lindsay's failed handling of the snowstorm to a hesitation to exceed his budget and potentially, deliberate sabotage by the city's sanitation workers, who held a grudge against Lindsay for his heavy-handed negotiation tactics during their 1968 strike.^[10]

Republican primary

Candidates

• John Lindsay, incumbent mayor since 1966
• John J. Marchi, state senator from Staten Island

Withdrawn

• Vito P. Battista, State Assemblyman from Brooklyn and perennial candidate (ran for Controller; endorsed Marchi)

Results

Marchi claimed victory at 12:40 a.m. in a speech claiming that the primary "mark[ed] the beginning of [a] revitalized Republican Party."

In conceding the results, Lindsay proclaimed that they were "not the voice of the Republicans of this city ... not the voice of the Democrats ... not the voice of New York." He pledged to wage a new campaign against "the twin horsemen of doubt and fear" with a "new coalition" in city politics.

1969 New York City Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John J. Marchi	113,698	51.43%
	Republican	John Lindsay (incumbent)	107,366	48.57%
Total votes			221,064	100.00%

Results by borough

1969 Republican primary
		Manhattan	The Bronx	Brooklyn	Queens	Staten Island	Total
	[Lindsay minus Marchi]	+ 31,779	– 3,910	– 13,119	– 13,811	– 7,271	– 6,332
	John V. Lindsay	44,236	12,222	20,575	26,658	3,675	107,366
	John J. Marchi	12,457	16,132	33,694	40,649	10,946	113,698
							221,064

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Herman Badillo, Bronx Borough President
• Norman Mailer, author
• Mario Procaccino, New York City Comptroller
• James H. Scheuer, U.S. Representative from the Bronx
• Robert F. Wagner Jr., U.S. Ambassador to Spain and former mayor of New York City (1954–65)

Withdrawn

• Hugh Carey, U.S. Representative from Brooklyn (ran for City Council President; endorsed Wagner)
• Norman Frank, public relations advisor to the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association
• Robert A. Low, member of the City Council (ran for City Council President; endorsed Carey)
• John M. Murphy, U.S. Representative from Staten Island
• Paul R. Screvane, former President of the City Council (endorsed Wagner)

Results

1969 New York City Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mario Procaccino	255,529	32.85%
	Democratic	Robert F. Wagner Jr.	224,464	28.86%
	Democratic	Herman Badillo	217,165	27.92%
	Democratic	Norman Mailer	41,288	5.31%
	Democratic	James H. Scheuer	39,350	5.06%
Total votes			777,796	100.00%

Results by borough

1969 Democratic primary
		Manhattan	The Bronx	Brooklyn	Queens	Staten Island	Total
	Mario Procaccino	26,804	50,465	87,650	79,002	11,628	255,529
	percentage	16%	34%	36%	40%	52%	33%
	Robert F. Wagner Jr.	40,978	33,442	81,833	61,244	6,967	224,464
	percentage	25%	23%	33%	31%	31%	29%
	Herman Badillo	74,809	48,841	52,866	37,880	2,769	217,165
	percentage	45%	33%	22%	19%	12%	28%
	Norman Mailer	17,372	4,214	10,299	8,700	703	41,288
	percentage	10%	3%	4%	4%	3%	5%
	James H. Scheuer	7,117	10,788	11,942	8,994	509	39,350
	percentage	4%	7%	5%	5%	2%	5%
							777,796

General election

Candidates

• John Lindsay, incumbent mayor since 1966 (Liberal and Independent)
• John J. Marchi, state senator from Staten Island (Republican and Conservative)
• Mario Procaccino, New York City Comptroller (Democratic and Civil Service)
• Rasheed Storey (Communist)

Lindsay was also nominated on an independent ticket, while Procaccino received the Civil Service ballot line, and Marchi received the Conservative Party ballot line.

Campaign

During the campaign, Lindsay made a conscious effort to appeal to Jewish New Yorkers through symbolic gestures. In late September, he gave an extraordinary reception to Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir in a sukkah, emphasizing his support for the State of Israel in the Arab–Israeli conflict.^[11]

Results

Turnout dropped to 2.4 million from 2.6 million in 1965. (In the same election, Lindsay's 1965 opponent Abe Beame was easily returned to his old job of Comptroller.)^[12]

1969 New York City mayoral election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Lindsay (incumbent)	872,660	36.50%	25.5
	Independent	John Lindsay (incumbent)	139,973	5.85%
	Total	John Lindsay (incumbent)	1,012,633	42.35%	2.6
	Democratic	Mario Procaccino	774,708	32.40%	6.1
	Civil Service	Mario Procaccino	57,064	2.39%	0.1
	Total	Mario Procaccino	831,772	34.79%	6.2
	Republican	John J. Marchi	329,506	13.78%
	Conservative	John J. Marchi	212,905	8.91%	5.5
	Total	John J. Marchi	542,411	22.69%	N/A
	Communist	Rasheed Storey	4,018	0.17%	N/A
Total votes			2,390,834	100.00%

• By themselves, the straight Democratic and Republican lines added up to less than 50% of the mayoral vote (1,104,214 or 46.2%), but more than the total vote for Lindsay (1,012,633 or 42.4%).
• Procaccino's general election votes on the Democratic line alone (774,708) were slightly fewer than the total votes received by all candidates in the Democratic primary (777,796).
• Lindsay's general election votes on the Liberal line alone (872,660) exceeded Procaccino's total votes on all lines (831,772).

Results by borough

Reflecting the three-way split in the race, three candidates garnered double-digit support citywide, and the five boroughs split between the three candidates. Lindsay scored a mayor victory in Manhattan with 67.1% of the vote, while also winning a narrow plurality in Queens with 36.3% of the vote. Procaccino won pluralities by small margins in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Marchi won Staten Island with 62.0% of the vote.

1969 General Election	party	Manhattan	The Bronx	Brooklyn	Queens	Richmond [Staten Is.]	Total	%
John V. Lindsay	Liberal - Independent	328,564	161,953	256,046	249,330	16,740	1,012,633	42.4%
		67.1%	40.1%	36.0%	36.3%	17.5%
Mario Procaccino	Democratic - Civil Service Fusion	99,460	165,647	301,324	245,783	19,558	831,772	34.8%
		20.3%	41.0%	42.4%	35.8%	20.5%
John Marchi	Republican - Conservative	61,539	76,711	152,933	192,008	59,220	542,411	22.7%
		12.6%	19.0%	21.5%	27.9%	62.0%
subtotal		489,563	404,311	710,303	687,121	95,518	2,386,816	99.8%
Rasheed Storey	Communist						4,018	0.2%
T O T A L							2,390,834	100.0%

References

1. "New York City Mayoral Election 1969". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
2. Hrach, Thomas J. (2008). The News Media and Disorders: The Kerner Commission's Examination of Race. ISBN 9780549689546. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
3. Hrach, Thomas J. (2008). The News Media and Disorders: The Kerner Commission's Examination of Race. ISBN 9780549689546. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
4. Purnick, Joyce (December 21, 2000). "Remembering A Mayor, Faults and All". New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
5. Greene, Bryan (June 2017). "Parks and Recreation: Harlem at a Crossroads in the Summer of '69". Poverty and Race Research Action Council.
6. Fox, Sylvan (February 11, 1969). "A Paralyzed City Digs Out of Snow; 14 Dead, 68 Hurt". The New York Times, p. 1.
7. Stern, Michael (February 20, 1969). "Now Is the Winter of Discontent in Queens; Snow Mess Makes Baysiders Feel City Couldn't Care Less About Them", The New York Times.
8. Chan, Sewell (February 10, 2009). "Remembering a Snowstorm That Paralyzed the City". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
9. Chan, Sewell (February 10, 2009). "Remembering a Snowstorm That Paralyzed the City". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
10. Chan, Sewell (February 10, 2009). "Remembering a Snowstorm That Paralyzed the City". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
11. Taffet 2013.
12. page 437 of The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York By Vincent J. Cannato (Basic Books, 2001, ISBN 0-465-00843-7)

Further reading

• Cannato, Vincent, J. The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York (2001) pp 389–42 excerpt
• Klebanoff, Arthur M. "Is There a Jewish Vote." Commentary 49.1 (1970): 43–47.
• Lizzi, Maria C. "" My Heart Is as Black as Yours": White Backlash, Racial Identity, and Italian American Stereotypes in New York City's 1969 Mayoral Campaign." Journal of American Ethnic History (2008): 43-80. in JSTOR
• Morris, Charles R. The Cost of Good Intentions: New York City and the Liberal Experiment (1980)
• Taffet, Jeffrey F. (2013). "The Snubs and the 'Sukkah': John Lindsay and Jewish Voters in New York City". American Jewish History. 97 (4): 413–438.