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| Elections in New York City |
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District attorney elections |
An election forMayor of New York City was held in November 1897. This election was held in connection with the consolidation of theCity 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 mayorWilliam L. Strong was not a candidate for re-election to a second term in office. The multipolar race featured chief justice of the City CourtRobert A. Van Wyck, Columbia University presidentSeth Low, former U.S. secretary of the NavyBenjamin F. Tracy, and tax reformerHenry 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.
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On December 14, 1894, the voters in the towns of New York County (then coterminous withNew York City and consisting of two boroughs,Manhattan andthe Bronx), Kings County (consisting entirely of the consolidated city ofBrooklyn),Richmond County, andQueens County voted to consolidate into one city with a unified municipal government. The city also annexed parts of southernWestchester 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 mayorWilliam Lafayette Strong was extended by a year, and the next mayoral election was moved from 1896 to 1897.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert A. Van Wyck | 233,997 | 44.69% | |
| Citizens Union | Seth Low | 151,540 | 28.94% | |
| Republican | Benjamin F. Tracy | 101,863 | 19.46% | |
| Jeffersonian Democracy | Henry George (deceased) | 21,693 | 4.14% | |
| Socialist Labor | Lucien Sanial | 14,467 | 2.76% | |
| Independent | Patrick Gleason | 1,263 | 0.24% | |
| Prohibition | William T. Wardwell | 900 | 0.17% | |
| United Democracy | Alfred B. Cruikshank | 673 | 0.13% | |
| Total votes | 523,560 | 100.00% | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||
| 1897 | Party | The Bronx and Manhattan | Brooklyn | Queens | Richmond[Staten Is.] | Total | % |
| Robert A. Van Wyck | Democratic | 143,666 | 76,185 | 9,275 | 4,871 | 233,997 | 44.7% |
| 48.0% | 40.1% | 40.7% | 43.5% | ||||
| Seth Low | Citizens' Union | 77,210 | 65,656 | 5,876 | 2,798 | 151,540 | 28.9% |
| 25.8% | 34.6% | 25.8% | 25.0% | ||||
| Benjamin F. Tracy | Republican | 55,834 | 37,611 | 5,639 | 2,779 | 101,863 | 19.5% |
| 18.6% | 19.8% | 24.7% | 24.8% | ||||
| †Henry George | Jefferson Democracy | 13,076 | 6,938 | 1,096 | 583 | 21,693 | 4.1% |
| Lucien Sanial | Socialist Labor | 9,796 | 3,593 | 921 | 157 | 14,467 | 2.8% |
| TOTAL | 299,582 | 189,983 | 22,807 | 11,188 | 523,560 |
Note: Although separate boroughs,the Bronx andManhattan 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 toStaten Island in 1975, although the co-extensive Richmond County still retains that name.
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