Independence Party of New York | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1991; 35 years ago (1991) |
| Banned | 2022; 4 years ago (2022)[1] |
| Ideology | Populism Big tent Centrism |
| Political position | Center |
| National affiliation | None (formerlyAlliance Party) |
TheIndependence Party was a populist centrist political party in theU.S. state ofNew York. The party was founded in 1991, and it acquired ballot status in 1994. The party lost its ballot status in 2020 following changes to New York's ballot access requirements.
On December 9, 2022, New York governorKathy Hochul signed legislation banning the use of the words "independent" and "independence" from use in political party names in New York, effectively banning the party. However, in January 2025, Cuti Frisch filed a lawsuit onindependent2025 New York City mayoral election candidateJim Walden's behalf challenging the law as he has asked to run as a member of the party despite it being banned. A U.S. appeals court would later uphold the ban. Walden would later drop out of the election in September 2025.[2][3][4]
The Independence Party was founded in 1991 by aRochester, New York-based, group, later merging for a time with theBronx-based Independent Fusion Party to form theIndependence Fusion Party. The Bronx-based Independent Fusion Party had earlier been active in endorsingRudy Giuliani in the1989 mayoral election (and againin 1993), seeking to emulate theCity Fusion Party of theFiorello H. La Guardia era and taking the historicfour-leaf clover as its symbol.[5][6] The unexpectedly strong showing ofRoss Perot in the1992 U.S. presidential election raised the profile of politicalindependents in the country and led tocentrist political parties rising to prominence in many states. It first achieved ballot status in New York as the "Independence Fusion Party" in 1994, and after that election reverted to just the Independence Party again. The Independence Party was affiliated with theReform Party of the United States, which was directly founded by Perot in 1995, and broke off from that party in 2000.[7]
In the elections forGovernor of New York in 1994, 1998, and 2002, the Independence Party's candidate was businessmanTom Golisano, whose personal wealth enabled him to mount well-funded campaigns. In the 1994 election, he finished 4th, and 3rd in the 1998 and 2002 elections, far ahead of all other candidates not running on theDemocratic orRepublican ballot lines. Because Golisano received more than 50,000 votes each time, the party was guaranteed an automatic ballot line for the following four years. It has enjoyed the 4th ballot line after the 1994 election, the third line on the ballot continuously since the end of the 1998 gubernatorial election cycle. Following the 2010 election, the party was in 5th place. Following the 2014 election, it finished in 6th place and was Row F for the following four years. The party endorsed Andrew Cuomo in the 2018 election, receiving 68,713 votes on the Independence Party line.[8][better source needed]
In the 2000 elections,Fred Newman initially backed Reform presidential candidatePat Buchanan, but then he switched toNatural Law Party candidateJohn Hagelin. This resulted from squabbles between Newman's faction and the Buchanan campaign. The Independence Party chose Hagelin as the nominee overRalph Nader.[9][clarification needed]
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In 2003, members of the Republican Party successfully took over theCattaraugus County branch of the Independence Party.[10]
In 2004, the Independence Party endorsedRalph Nader in his independent bid for president. Nader also petitioned for an independent line, which he named the Peace and Justice Party. Nader received 84,247 votes on the Independence Party line as opposed to 15,626 on Peace and Justice.[11]
With the approach of the2005 elections for municipal offices, Bloomberg gave the Newman-controlled Manhattan branch of the Independence Party $250,000 to fund a phone bank seeking to recruit volunteers for Bloomberg's re-election campaign.[12] On May 28, 2005, the Independence Party endorsedMichael Bloomberg for re-election. Bloomberg won by a wide margin. During the campaign, a consulting outfit controlled by the Newman wing of the party received an additional $180,000 as a Bloomberg campaign subcontractor, according to theNew York City Campaign Finance Board.
Since the summer of 2005, the party has had an internal factional struggle between libertarians in much of New York andLong Island, and followers ofMarxist psychotherapistFred Newman based in New York City.[citation needed] In September 2005, the brewing struggle resulted in the party's state executive committee's oustingLenora Fulani and other Newman followers. The catalyst was a media controversy over Fulani's refusal to publicly disavow her now-infamous 1989 statement that Jews are "mass murderers of people of color". Seventy-five percent of all state committee members supported this move. But Fulani—whose supporters called the purge racist, sexist,McCarthyistic and even antisemitic—continues to be active in the party's Newman-controlled New York City machine. The New York County chairperson Cathy Stewart and party strategist Jacqueline Salit run it on Newman's behalf.[citation needed] The New York City organization remains the most influential of the party's factions because of its small army of hard-working volunteers and the financial support it receives from prominent politicians and Newman's own political and psychotherapy base.
On February 4, 2006, the Executive Committee of the Independence Party of the State of New York dissolved the Interim County Organizations ofBrooklyn,Queens and theBronx, which had been controlled by Newman and Fulani. The Committee's resolution stated the action was a result of the antisemitism and racism espoused by Fulani and Newman, which are antithetical to the principles of the Independence Party.[13] One week later they attempted to suspend the chair of the Staten Island IP, a member of the Fulani group. The resulting court action allowed the chair to stay in office but also gave the opposing faction the right to make party endorsements for several local offices in the 2006 election. Although the "Newmanites" still control the Manhattan County organization, the recent revolt has probably ended their ability to influence the selection of the party's nominees anywhere in New York State except the borough of Manhattan.
On June 4, 2006, State Chairman Frank MacKay started dis-enrollment hearings against Fred Newman, Lenora Fulani, and almost 140 of their followers, in order to seize control of the New York City county organizations. Three different judges, in three different counties, repudiated MacKay’s efforts to disenroll Fulani, Newman and the other 140 New York City activists. In July 2006, more than 4,000 New York City Independence Party members created duly constituted County Committees inStaten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, andManhattan, so that the State Chair could not take away local control in New York City.
In November 2006,Eliot Spitzer, running for Governor, received over 190,661 votes on the Independence Party line, more than enough to secure the party's spot on Row "C" for the next four years. Also, 19% of those votes were produced by the New York City organization. Additionally, in 2006, the Independence Party had its first member elected to theNew York Legislature with the election ofTimothy P. Gordon in theState Assembly, who also ran with the Democratic endorsement.[citation needed]
In the 2008 presidential election, the Independence Party endorsedJohn McCain for President andSarah Palin for Vice President. They received 163,973 votes on the Independence Party line, compared to 170,475 on the Conservative Party line and 2,418,323 on the Republican Party line.
On April 5, 2009, the Independence Party endorsed Michael Bloomberg for Mayor of New York City.[14]
In September 2009, AssemblymanFred Thiele switched parties from the Republican Party to the Independence Party.[citation needed]
The Nassau County committee was dissolved in February 2011 after MacKay seized control over the party's operations from Bobby Kalotee.[15]
On February 18, 2011, the Independence Party's assets were frozen as a result of an investigation into the theft of $1.2 million from the campaign ofMichael Bloomberg, which ended up in the Independence Party's accounts.[16]
In 2016, in response to a change in New York state law, the Independence Party allied itself with theIndependent Democratic Conference (IDC) of theNew York State Senate, which allows the IDC to set up a caucus campaign committee.[17] The State Senate's Republican conference was a major contributor to the Independence Party's coffers, and numerous Independence Party operatives took jobs with Republican state senators.[18]
The Independence Party endorsedGary Johnson in the2016 presidential election, cross-endorsing with theLibertarian Party of New York.[19] Notably, the Independence Party endorsed Johnson over Republican Party nomineeDonald Trump, who (during his2000 campaign for the Reform Party nomination) had previously been a member of the Independence Party.[20] Johnson received 119,160 votes on the Independence Party line and 57,438 votes on the Libertarian Party line.[21]
Ben Walsh, despite coming from a family of prominent Republicans, refused to affiliate with the Republican Party. When he ran for mayor of Syracuse in 2017, he did so on two minor party lines: The Independence Party of New York and theReform Party of New York State line. In what was generally seen as an upset, Walsh defeated Democratic candidate Juanita Perez Williams.[22]
In 2017, the Independence Party endorsed Paul Massey for mayor of New York City.[23]
The Independence Party endorsed entrepreneur and independent candidateBrock Pierce in the2020 presidential election.[24]
The Independence Party was affiliated with theAlliance Party in 2020.[25][26] In 2021, both the Alliance Party and the Independence Party agreed to disaffiliate, but stated that they still intend to work with each other.[26]
In 2020, New York election law was changed to require that political parties receive at least 130,000 votes in a statewide election every two years to maintain ballot status. In the 2020 election, the party failed to achieve that total and lost its ballot status.[27]
In 2022, the Independence Party of New York attempted to regain ballot access by supportingLee Zeldin, the Republican nominee for governor. A petition was filed with theNew York State Board of Elections, with the Republican slate seeking to restore the Independence Party line.[28] On July 14, 2022, the Board of Elections denied the petitions submitted by the Zeldin campaign, due to contested signatures.[29][30]
On December 9, 2022, New York governorKathy Hochul signed legislation banning the use of the words "independent" and "independence" from use in political party names in New York state.[31][32]
In January 2025, Cuti Frisch filed a lawsuit onindependent2025 New York City mayoral election candidateJim Walden's behalf challenging the law as Walden has asked to run as a member of the party despite it being banned. Though a U.S. appeals court would later uphold the ban In August. Walden would later drop out of the election in September 2025.[2][3]
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The Independence Party has been described as a populist,[33] centrist,[34] and "big tent"[35] political party.
During eachgubernatorial election, the votes received by each party determine the order in which the parties will be listed on all state ballots for the next four years. The Independence Party placed fourth in 1994 with its own candidate,Tom Golisano to Row D, and moved up to third in 1998 and 2002, again with Golisano to achieve Row C. In 2006, the Independence Party endorsed Democratic candidateEliot Spitzer, and retained its place as the top minor party-Row C. DemocratAndrew Cuomo won the party's nomination for governor in 2010. However, Cuomo drew less than 140,000 votes on the Independence line (compared to the 190,000 Spitzer drew in 2006), which resulted in the Independence Party falling to Line E as of 2011 behind theConservative Party and theWorking Families Party.[36][37] It fell to Line F in the2014 gubernatorial election, garnering less than 80,000 votes and falling behind theGreen Party.
Thechairman of the Independence Party of New York wasFrank MacKay, also the leader of the party inSuffolk County and National Chairman of the newly formedIndependence Party of America; he resigned as of 2022.[38][better source needed]
| Name | Tenure | Hometown |
|---|---|---|
| Laureen A. Oliver | 1991–1996 | Rochester |
| Jack R. Essenberg | 1996 – February 2000 April–May 2000[39] | Miller Place |
| Frank M. MacKay | February–April 2000[39] May 2000[39] – January 2022 | Rocky Point |
New York:
| Year | RV |
|---|---|
| 1996 | 70,114 |
| 1997 | 92,625 |
| 1998 | 122,172 |
| 1999 | 147,545 |
| 2000 | 172,471 |
| 2001 | 202,550 |
| 2002 | 217,930 |
| 2003 | 263,803 |
| 2004 | 280,532 |
| 2005 | 328,752 |
| 2006 | 339,382 |
| 2007 | 336,847 |
| 2008 | 355,934 |
| 2009 | 400,178 |
| 2010 | 413,855 |
| 2011 | 425,891 |
| 2012 | 447,170 |
| 2013 | 475,123 |
| 2014 | 482,356 |
| 2015 | 475,276 |
| 2016 | 475,566 |
| 2017 | 479,212 |
| 2018 | 481,831 |
| 2019 | 485,037 |
| 2020 | 483,870 |
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)New York political parties | ||
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| No ballot access | ||
| Inactive | ||
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