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 Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the s ...

. The Democratic and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

primaries were held on September 15, 2009. There was a

run-off election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

for the Democratic Party nomination on September 29, 2009. Joe Mendola was nominated as the Republican candidate.

John Liu John Chun Yah Liu (born January 8, 1967) is an American politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, he is a member of the New York State Senate for the 11th district in northeast Queens. He previously served as the 43rd New Y ...

was nominated as the candidate of the Democratic Party; he was also on the

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Nev ...

line in November. Liu won the race and was elected Comptroller, becoming the first

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

to be elected to a citywide office.

Democratic nomination

Four candidates sought the Democratic Party nomination. They were: *

Melinda Katz Melinda R. Katz (born August 29, 1965) is an American attorney and politician from New York City, serving as District Attorney of Queens since January 1, 2020. A Democrat, she previously served as the Queens Borough President. Katz was also a N ...

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

member and former State Assemblywoman *

, City Council member *

David Weprin David Ira Weprin (born May 2, 1956) is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing District 24 in Queens since 2010, when he replaced his brother Mark. In the Assembly he has supported progressive causes, such as a surcha ...

, City Council member and former Deputy Superintendent of the New York State Banking Commission *

David Yassky David S. Yassky (born March 3, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician. He was a member of the New York City Council from 2002 until 2009, the chairperson of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, and the Dean of Pace University Schoo ...

, City Council member In March 2009, Liu announced that he was running for the post of

. As part of this bid, Liu donated $10,000 to the

; 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 Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting prog ...

chapter and the

, 1199 SEIU union local and the Uniformed Firefighters Association endorsed him. On September 1, the

United Federation of Teachers The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is the labor union that represents most teachers in New York City public schools. , there were about 118,000 in-service teachers and 17,000 paraprofessional educators in the union, as well as about 54,000 ...

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

Election returns

Democratic primary election

First round, Tuesday, September 15, 2009 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.

General election

John Liu won the general election held on Tuesday, November 3, 2009. ''Source: Board of Elections in the City of New York'

References

{{New York elections

Comptroller Election Comptroller 2009