See also:Mayoral election in Anchorage, Alaska (2021)

David Bronson defeatedForrest Dunbar with 50.66% of the vote to Dunbar's 49.34% in a nonpartisan runoff election for mayor ofAnchorage, Alaska on May 11, 2021.^[1] Overseas ballots continued to be counted until May 25, when the Anchorage Assembly certified the results, but Dunbar conceded the election to Bronson on May 21, saying "“it is clear that Dave Bronson will be Anchorage’s next mayor”^[2] .

Dunbar and Bronson advanced to the runoff election after the April 6 general election, as neither candidate won more than 45% of the vote. Bronson received 33% of the vote to Dunbar's 31%. No other candidate received more than 15% of the vote.^[3]

IncumbentEthan Berkowitz (D) resigned from office on October 23, 2020, due to what he said was "unacceptable personal conduct that has compromised my ability to perform my duties with the focus and trust that is required."^[4]Austin Quinn-Davidson was selected by the Anchorage Assembly to serve as acting mayor.^[5]

Dunbar previously ran as aDemocrat in 2014 to representthe At-Large Congressional District ofAlaska in theU.S. House. Former state senatorJohnny Ellis (D), Planned Parenthood, and former mayoral candidatesBill Falsey andGeorge Martinez endorsed Dunbar for mayor.^[6] U.S. SenatorDan Sullivan (R), Alaska GovernorMike Dunleavy (R), and former mayoral candidateMike Robbins endorsed Bronson.^[7] See more endorsementshere.

Economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was a central issue in the race. Dunbar said he supported maintaining safety measures enacted by the Anchorage Assembly, such as a mask mandate and business restrictions, while Bronson said that he supported reconsidering or removing restrictions. Homelessness and crime were also key topics, with candidates divided over shelter funding and locations and prevention methods. Clickhere to see each candidate's positions on these issues and others.

The city government of Anchorage combines a council-manager system with a strong mayor system. The city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the chief executive of the city.

The mayor appoints a city manager to oversee the city's day-to-day operations and execute city policies.^[8] The mayor is responsible for proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing departmental directors, and overseeing the city's day-to-day operations. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national, and international levels.^[9]

See also:Mayoral election in Arlington, Texas (2021)

Jim Ross defeatedMichael Glaspie in the nonpartisan mayoral runoff election inArlington, Texas, on June 5, 2021. Ross received 54.4% of the vote to Glaspie's 45.6%. Glaspie and Ross advanced to the runoff election after receiving the most votes of the seven-candidate field in theMay 1 general election, where Ross received 47.9% of the vote to Glaspie's 21.3%.^[10][11]

This was the first mayoral election in Arlington without an incumbent seeking re-election since 2003.^[12] IncumbentJeff Williams (R) was term-limited.^[13] Mayoral elections in Arlington are nonpartisan, meaning candidates appeared on the ballot without party affiliations. TheArlington Spectator, a local blog, posted a spreadsheet showing that Glaspie had voted in two of the previous six Republican primaries and that Ross had voted in two of the previous six Democratic primaries.^[14][15]

Glaspie was a member of theArlington School Board from 1991 to 2008, including time spent as the board's president. He was also a member of theArlington City Council, representing at-large District 8 from 2012 to 2019. When he left office due to term limits, Glaspie had been serving as Arlington's mayor pro tempore.^[16] Glaspie received endorsements from former Mayor Elzie Odom, who led the city from 1997 to 2003. He received additional endorsements fromThe Dallas Morning News andall five general election mayoral candidates who did not advance to the runoff.^[17][18][19] Collectively, these five candidates received 30.7% of the vote during theMay 1 general election.

At the time of the election, Ross owned a law firm and Mercury Chophouse, a local restaurant. He previously worked as a police officer with the Arlington Police Department and served on the board of directors for the Arlington Police Foundation.^[20] Ross received endorsements from incumbent MayorJeff Williams (R) and former Mayor Richard Greene, who led the city from 1987 to 1997.^[13] Ross received additional endorsements fromfour of the city's police unions.^[21][22]

Both Glaspie and Ross emphasized their military backgrounds. Glaspie served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Ross was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps from 1979 to 1983.^[16][20]

At the time of the election, the mayorship in Arlington had been held by Republicans since at least 2003 with the election ofRobert Cluck (R), who served until Williams' election in 2015.

Arlington is located inTarrant County, Texas, which voted forJoe Biden (D) in the2020 presidential election. This was the first time the county had supported the Democratic presidential candidate since 1964 when Tarrant County voted forLyndon B. Johnson (D). In 2020, Biden received 49.3 percent of the vote toDonald Trump's (R) 49.1 percent in the county, a D+0.2 margin. Trump won Tarrant County in 2016, receiving 51.7 percent of the vote toHillary Clinton's (D) 43.1 percent, an R+8.6 margin. In 2012 and 2008,Mitt Romney (R) andJohn McCain (R) won the county by margins of R+15.7 and R+11.7 percentage points, respectively.^[23]

See also:Mayoral election in Atlanta, Georgia (2021)

Andre Dickens defeatedFelicia Moore in the general runoff election for mayor ofAtlanta, Georgia, on November 30, 2021. IncumbentKeisha Lance Bottoms announced on May 6 that she would not seek re-election, making her the first Atlanta mayor since World War II to choose not to run for a second term.^[24]

Dickens and Moore advanced to the runoff after placing second and first, respectively, in theNovember 2 general election. Moore received 41% of the vote followed by Dickens with 23%. A candidate could have won the general election outright if he or she had received at least 50% of the vote. This was the seventh mayoral runoff in the city since 1973 and the second since that time where the second-place finisher in the general election went on to win the runoff.

Both Dickens and Moore were members of theAtlanta City Council. Dickens, first elected to the city council in 2013 and winning re-election in 2017, raised $1.2 million from campaign donors according to pre-general electioncampaign finance reports. Moore, first elected to the city council in 1997 and elected its president in 2017, raised $1.3 million from campaign donors according to pre-general electioncampaign finance reports. Both candidates were Democrats.^[25][26]

Crime was a key issue in the race, with both candidates emphasizing their stances amid an uptick in murders in the city.^[27][28][29] According to data released by the Atlanta Police Department, homicides in the city increased from 99 in 2019 to 157 in 2020, a 62% increase and the highest number in the city in more than twenty years.^[30]

TheAtlanta Journal-Constitution's Jeremy Redmon wrote, "The two candidates sound remarkably similar when they talk about public safety ... Both are pitching comprehensive approaches that involve hiring more police officers, boosting their training, and tackling problems many of their supporters say are intertwined with crime: poverty, homelessness and mental illness."^[31] Dickens named his planSAFE Streets Atlanta and Moore said her plan focused on five areas—the 5 C's—"Community, Cops, Courts, Code Enforcement, and Children."^[32][33]

Redmon said the candidates differed on issues regarding the chief of police, Rodney Bryant, and a 2020 vote on police funding. Dickenssaid he would begin a 100-day contract with Bryant, who was named the permanent chief of police in May 2021, in order to track his performance. Mooresaid she would name an interim chief to replace Bryant while she searched nationally for a permanent chief.^[31] On the topic of funding, in 2020, the Atlanta City Council decided against a proposal to withhold $73 million in police funding until the city government developed a plan to change policing culture.^[31] Dickenssupported the proposal and Moore said sheopposed it.^[31]

See also:Mayoral election in Boston, Massachusetts (2021)

Michelle Wu defeatedAnnissa Essaibi George in the nonpartisan mayoral election inBoston, Massachusetts, on November 2, 2021. Both candidates were at-large city councilors, and both receivedendorsements from Democratic officials and groups that tend to back Democrats.

Media outlets described Wu as the more progressive candidate and Essaibi George as the more moderate one.^{[34][35][36][37]} Essaibi George said that she did "not neatly fit in a box."^[38] Wu said, "In city government, it’s about getting things done, not being judged on a scorecard of whether you said yes or no on certain things."^[39]

Wu called the race a "choice about whether City Hall tackles our biggest challenges with bold solutions or we nibble around the edges of the status quo."^[40] She highlighted her prioritization of climate issues and her support for rent control to provide short-term relief for renters.

Following the primary, Essaibi George said, "I want progress to be made — real progress — not just abstract ideas that we talk about. ... Instead of just advocating and participating in academic exercises and having lovely conversations as mayor, I will do these things." She emphasized her background as a teacher and her opposition to decreasing the police department budget.

For more on candidates' differences on housing and policing policy,see below.

Former incumbentMarty Walsh left office in March 2021 to become secretary of labor in PresidentJoe Biden's (D) Cabinet.Kim Janey (District 7)—the city council president at the time—succeeded Walsh. Janey ran in the primary, placing fourth. Janeyendorsed Wu in the general election.^[41]

The Boston Globe's Laura Crimaldi wrote, "Although census figures show about 65 percent of city residents identify as people of color, the upcoming election will be the first in Boston history that won’t result in a white man becoming mayor."^[42] Essaibi George is the daughter of Polish and Tunisian immigrants. Wu's parents immigrated from Taiwan.^[43]

Wu completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.Click here to read Wu's responses and to learn more about both candidates' backgrounds and key messages. Andclick here for a compilation of interviews and questionnaires from local media outlets.

The mayoral office is nonpartisan. Walsh served in thestate House of Representatives as a Democrat. As of 2021, a Republican hadn't held the mayor's office in Boston since 1930.^[44]

See also:Mayoral election in Buffalo, New York (2021)

Byron Brown (D) defeatedIndia Walton (D) in the general election for mayor ofBuffalo, New York, on November 2, 2021. Brown, who ran as a write-in candidate in the general election, received 59.6% of the vote to Walton's 40%.

Walton defeated Brown in theJune 22 Democratic primary 51% to 46%.^[45][46][47] Following his primary defeat, Brown announced he would run in the general election as a write-in candidate.^[48]

Brown was first elected mayor of Buffalo in 2005 and won re-election three times before the 2021 election. Before losing the 2021 primary, he had won the four preceding Democratic mayoral primaries by an average margin of 26.5 percentage points.^[49]

Prior to the election,The New York Times' Jesse McKinley said the mayoral race "reflects the defining tension within the national Democratic Party, pitting its new generation of left-wing politicians against its more moderate establishment," referring to Walton and Brown, respectively.^[50]

Walton, a nurse and community activist, said Brown had not delivered results as mayor and his record "showed that he doesn't have much care ... for the people of Buffalo, unless they're wealthy developers or heads of large corporations."^[51] She receivedendorsements from U.S. Senate Majority LeaderChuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the local and national branches of theDemocratic Socialists of America, and theWorking Families Party of New York.^[52][53][54] She also received a general election endorsement from the Erie County Democratic Party, which endorsed Brown in the primary but switched its support to Walton following her primary election victory.^[55]

Brown, who became the city's longest-serving mayor in January 2021, said Walton was "an unqualified, inexperienced, radical socialist," and described the general election as "a choice between proven results and false, empty promises."^[56][57] He received general election endorsements from U.S. Rep.Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Common CouncilmembersJoseph Golombek (D),Christopher Scanlon (D), andUlysees Wingo (D), and former Mayor Anthony Masiello (D).^[58][59][60] He also received endorsements fromThe Buffalo News and the local, county, and state police benevolent associations.^[61][62][63]

Both Walton and Brown also received support from satellite organizations. TheWorking Families Party’s national PAC supported Walton withsatellite spending, while the New York State Association of Realtors and theNew York Republican Party supported Brown.^[64][65][66]

Sean "Jaz" Miles (R),Benjamin Carlisle (I),William O’Dell (I), andTaniqua Simmons (I) also ran in the general election as write-in candidates.

See also:Mayoral election in Cincinnati, Ohio (2021)

Hamilton County Clerk of CourtsAftab Pureval defeated Cincinnati Councilman and former mayorDavid Mann in the general election for mayor ofCincinnati on November 2, 2021.^[67] Pureval received 65.8 percent of the vote and Mann received 34.2 percent of the vote. Pureval was elected to serve a four-year term. The two advanced from a six-person primary on May 4 in which Pureval received 39.1 percent and Mann received 29.1 percent.

This election took place following thearrest of three of the nine city council members on felony corruption charges in 2020. The charges stemmed from allegations the members had taken bribes from developers for city business. One of those arrested,P.G. Sittenfeld, was considered the frontrunner in the mayoral election according to NBC News.^[68][69] A fourth council member,Wendell Young, was charged with a third-degree felony count of tampering with records in April 2021.^[70]

In aSeptember 21 debate, both candidates referenced the corruption charges in stating their case to be mayor. Mann said that his experience in city hall would allow him to mentor the next city council, which he said would likely be younger and more inexperienced due to the city's term limits and the resignations following the corruption charges. Pureval said that he was a total newcomer to city hall who would continue to clean up corruption and said his firing of 15 people in the clerk of courts office was an instance where he had already done that.^[71]

Although the elections for and position of the mayor were officially nonpartisan, the candidates running were affiliated with political parties. Both Mann and Pureval were Democrats.^[72] Prior to this election, the last Republican to serve as mayor was Willis Gradison, who left office in 1971.

MayorJohn Cranley was not able to file for re-election in 2021 due to term limits.^[73] The other four candidates in the primary election were state Sen.Cecil Thomas,Gavi Begtrup,Herman Najoli, andRaffel Prophett. The filing deadline for this election was February 18, 2021.

See also:Mayoral election in Cleveland, Ohio (2021)

Justin Bibb defeatedKevin Kelley in the general election for mayor ofCleveland, Ohio, on November 2, 2021. The two candidates advanced to the general election after placing first and second, respectively, in theSeptember 14 top-two primary election. While the race was officially nonpartisan, Bibb and Kelley were both Democrats.Cleveland.com's Seth Richardson described the general election as a contest "between the more experienced – and entrenched – Kelley, 53, and the upstart, 34-year-old newcomer in Bibb."^[74]

At the time of the election, Bibb was a chief strategy officer with Urbanova, a technology company focused on cities. His professional background included working as an executive in urban consulting.^[75] He receivedendorsements fromOur Revolution Ohio and two former mayors: Jane Campbell (D) and Michael White (D), who served from 2002 to 2006 and 1990 to 2002, respectively.^[76][77][78] Describing his campaign, Bibb said, "now is the time for bold, new, dynamic, visionary leadership and not the failed politics and policies of the past."^[74][79]

Kelley had served on theCleveland City Council since 2005 and became president of the council in 2013. His professional background included work as a social worker and an attorney.^[80][81] Kelley received endorsements from incumbent MayorFrank Jackson (D) and several unions, including the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council.^[82][83] Kelley emphasized his city council experience, saying, "Every candidate will talk about change. The question is: who knows to and who has a record of making change," adding, "I believe that I have had a record of making change."^[84]

This was the first mayoral election without an incumbent on the ballot in Cleveland since 2001. Incumbent MayorFrank Jackson (D), the longest-serving mayor in Cleveland's history, did not seek re-election. Jackson was first elected in 2005 after defeating incumbent Jane Campbell (D). He was re-elected in 2009, 2013, and2017.

See also:Mayoral election in Detroit, Michigan (2021)

IncumbentMike Duggan andAnthony Adams ran in the general election formayor ofDetroit, Michigan, on November 2, 2021. Major issues in the race were economic development, affordable housing, and police-community relations.^[85][86]

Before becoming mayor, Duggan was president and CEO of Detroit Medical Center from 2004 to 2012.^[87] He was assistant corporation counsel for Wayne County from 1985 to 1986, deputy Wayne County executive from 1987 to 2000, and Wayne County prosecutor from 2001 to 2003. Duggan was first elected mayor in2013 when he defeated opponentBenny Napoleon (D) with 55% of the vote to Napoleon’s 45%. In 2017, he was re-elected by a margin of nearly 44 points, defeatingColeman Young II (D) with 71.6% of the vote to Young’s 27.8%. Duggan said that, if re-elected in 2021, he would "work every day to continue to make sure every neighborhood has a future and every Detroiter has a true opportunity to achieve your dreams."^[88] He also said he would work with the city council and manufacturers to bring more high-paying jobs into the city.^[89]

Adams was an attorney as of the primary and served as deputy mayor of Detroit under former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D).^[90] He was also an executive assistant to Mayor Coleman Young, was a board member and general counsel for Detroit Public Schools, and was interim director of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. Adams said his "extensive leadership experience, unwavering commitment, and enlightened skill-set uniquely position him to move the city of Detroit forward" and that he was "committed to serving the ordinary people of Detroit and not Special Interest Groups.”^[91] Adams also said he would support a universal basic income plan and an income-based water billing system and emphasized early intervention as a means to reduce crime.

The city of Detroit uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.

See also:Mayoral election in Fort Worth, Texas (2021)

Mattie Parker defeatedDeborah Peoples in the nonpartisan runoff election for mayor ofFort Worth, Texas on June 5, 2021.^[92] Incumbent MayorBetsy Price announced on January 5, 2021, that she would not run for re-election.^[93]

Peoples received 33.6% of the vote in the general election, and Parker received 30.8%. Parker worked in education and formerly worked as the chief of staff for the Fort Worth Mayor and City Council.^[94] She was endorsed by incumbent Mayor Betsy Price (R). Peoples formerly worked as a business executive and was chairwoman of the Tarrant County Democratic Party.^[95] She was endorsed by U.S. Rep.Marc Veasey (D). Writing for theFort Worth Star-Telegram, Luke Ranker said: "As partisanship increasingly wriggles into nonpartisan local elections, voters will again choose between a moderate Republican and a Democratic stalwart."^[96]

Price was first elected in 2011, and then re-elected in 2015 and 2019. In 2019, Price won with 56% of the vote, and Peoples was the runner-up with 42%.^[97] Prior to her 2011 win, Fort Worth had not elected an openly Republican mayor in twenty years. In the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections,Joe Biden (D) andHillary Clinton (D) won the city with 52% and 56% of the vote, respectively.^[98]

A central issue in the race was how the city should respond to its recent population growth, according toThe Texan.^[99] Between 2010 and 2018, Fort Worth's population grew by 17%, compared to 14% in the whole of Texas and 6% in the United States.^[100][101] Parker said she would focus on increasing job opportunities and career training, lowering taxes, and encouraging community safety by supporting police and fire services.^[102] Peoples said her priorities included increasing economically accessible housing, investing in infrastructure and transportation, and increasing job opportunities in areas she said had been underserved.^[103][104]

See also:Mayoral election in Hialeah, Florida (2021)

Esteban Bovo Jr. defeatedIsis Garcia-Martinez,Fernando Godo,Julio Martinez, andJuan Santana in a nonpartisan primary election for mayor ofHialeah, Florida, on November 2, 2021. Bovo received 59 percent of the vote, meaning he won the primary outright. If no candidate had received a majority of the votes, the top-two candidates would have competed in a general election on November 16, 2021.

Media attention focused on Bovo and Garcia-Martinez, who also led infundraising.^{[105][106][107]} After winning a seat on the Hialeah City Council in 1998, Bovo was elected to theFlorida House of Representatives in 2008 inDistrict 110 and served on the Miami-Dade county commission from 2011 to 2020. Bovo ran formayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida, in 2020, coming in first in the primary but losing the general election. Garcia-Martinez served on the Hialeah City Council from 1991 to 1997 and again from 2007 to 2019.^[108]

Infrastructure, traffic, pandemic response measures, and housing and utility costs were major issues in the race.^[109] TheMiami Herald's Aaron Leibowitz wrote, "The front-runners, Bovo and Isis Garcia-Martinez, have to distinguish themselves: They’re both conservatives, both of Cuban descent, and both staples on the Hialeah political scene...On key issues, Bovo and Garcia-Martinez have similar platforms: keep taxes low, promote new development, support small businesses, address high water rates, and work to keep and attract young people to the majority-Cuban, working class city."^[110]

Bovo and Garcia-Martinez disagreed on Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis' (R) approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bovo agreed with DeSantis on a rule issued by Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo that prevented school districts from enforcing mask mandates and making quarantine decisions, saying “I’m not in favor of mandates on anything." Garcia-Martinez did not explicitly support mask mandates, but said DeSantis should do more to encourage mask wearing. "I’ve always been a Republican, but I totally disagree with this governor,” she said. “We don’t want to just mandate something, but the reality is, you don’t want to lose families to this virus."^[111] Clickhere to read more about the candidates' platforms.

Bovo and Garcia-Martinez criticized each other's records in campaign materials. A mailer from Garcia-Martinez's campaign said Hialeah “deserves better than a career politician like Bovo,” while Bovo's campaign distributed mailers saying the city “can’t trust Isis to run Hialeah’s finances” because of her votes on taxes during her time as a city council member.^[112]

Although the elections for and position of the mayor are officially nonpartisan, the candidates running are affiliated with political parties. Both Bovo and Garcia-Martinez are affiliated with theRepublican Party.^[113][114]

The mayor serves as the city's chief executive officer and is responsible for proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing departmental directors, and overseeing the city's day-to-day operations. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national and international levels. The incumbent MayorCarlos Hernandez was term-limited.

See also:Mayoral election in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2021)

IncumbentJacob Frey (D) won the general election for mayor ofMinneapolis, Minnesota, on November 2, 2021. Frey,AJ Awed (D),Katherine Knuth (D),Sheila Nezhad (D), and thirteen other candidates ran. The filing deadline for this election was August 10, 2021.

Minneapolis usedranked choice voting to elect city officials. Voters could rank up to three candidates on their ballots. Clickhere to learn more about how ranked choice voting worked in this election.

Elections in Minneapolis are officially nonpartisan, but the Minneapolis City Charter allows mayoral and city council candidates to choose a party label to appear below their name on the official ballot. Ballotpedia includes candidates' party or principle to best reflect what voters will see on their ballot.^[115] Eight candidates identified as Democrats, while two identified as Republicans. The remaining seven candidates identified with a mixture ofminor parties or identified as independents.

Awed, Frey, Knuth, and Nezhad led innoteworthy endorsements andfundraising.

In theStarTribune, reporter Kelly Smith described the mayoral andcity council elections as microcosms of a more general rift in the Democratic Party, writing "[t]he split between moderate and progressive Democratic candidates ahead of the Nov. 2 election reflects a broader gap across Minnesota and nationwide as the Democratic establishment faces intense competition from a newly energized and insurgent progressive wing of the party."^[116] The divide between the moderate and progressive mayoral candidates was seen most clearly in the debate over criminal justice reform, housing policy, and three proposed amendments to the city's charter, which voters decided on November 2.

The proposed amendments included one that would change the structure of the city government from a weak mayor-council system to astrong mayor-council system (Question 1), one that would replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a Department of Public Health (Question 2), and one that would authorize the city to enact rent control policies (Question 3).^{[117][118][119]}

Clickhere to see the candidates' positions on the amendments.

Frey, who was elected mayor in 2017, opposed the amendment that would replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a Department of Public Health.^[120] Awed, the executive director of the Cedar-Riverside Community Council neighborhood association, was critical of the amendment to replace the Minneapolis Police Department.^[121] Knuth, a former state representative who runs a consulting agency focused on climate change and civic institutions, said she supported the amendment that would replace the Minneapolis Police Department.^[122] Nezhad, a community organizer who founded Nezhad Consulting, said she supported supports the amendment to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a Department of Public Safety.^[123]

Troy Benjegerdes (D),Clint Conner (D),Christopher W. David (D),Mark Globus (D),Bob Carney (R), andLaverne Turner (R) ran in the election. Third party, independent, and write-in candidates includedJerrell Perry,Marcus Harcus,Paul E. Johnson,Mike Winter,Nate Atkins (L),Doug Nelson, andKevin Ward.

Minneapolis last elected a Republican mayor in 1957.^[124] The last Republican mayor to hold office was Richard Erdall (R), who became acting mayor for one day on December 31, 1973.^[125] In 2020,Joe Biden (D) wonHennepin County by a 43.21% margin.^[126]

See also:Mayoral election in New York, New York (June 22, 2021, Democratic primary)

Eric Adams (D) defeated 12 other candidates in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City on June 22, 2021.^[127] Incumbent MayorBill de Blasio (D) did not run for re-election due toterm limits.

The primary election featured the first use ofranked-choice voting (RCV) for a mayoral primary in the city's history.Click here to read more about how ranked-choice voting works.

The following six Democratic candidates received the mostmedia attention andnoteworthy endorsements:^{[128][129][130]}

• Eric Adams, Brooklyn borough president
• Kathryn Garcia, former New York City sanitation commissioner
• Raymond McGuire, former Wall Street executive
• Scott Stringer, New York City comptroller
• Maya Wiley, former mayoral counsel
• Andrew Yang, entrepreneur

Click here to read more about each candidate's professional background and key messages.

Major endorsements for Adams included Bronx Borough PresidentRuben Diaz Jr. and Queens Borough PresidentDonovan Richards Jr..The New York Times,New York Daily News, and the New York League of Conservation Voters endorsed Garcia. McGuire was backed by Rep.Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and state Sen.Leroy Comrie (D).^[131][132]

The top issues in this race were crime, policing, affordable housing, jobs, and healthcare.^[133]Click here to compare each candidate's policy proposals on these issues.

De Blasio was first elected in 2013 andwon re-election in 2017 with 66% of the vote. Including de Blasio, four of the previous six mayors were Democrats.

See also:Mayoral election in Omaha, Nebraska (2021)

IncumbentJean Stothert (R) won re-election to a third term after defeatingRJ Neary (D) in the nonpartisan mayoral general election inOmaha, Nebraska, on May 11, 2021. Stothert received 64% of the vote to Neary's 35%, with write-in votes accounting for the remaining 1%.^[134] Ballotpedia determined candidates' party affiliations through theNebraska Voter Information Lookup.

Stothert received 57% of the vote in theApril 6 primary followed by Neary with 16%. In total, all five Democratic candidates in the primary, Neary included, received 43% of the vote. In response to the results, theOmaha World-Herald's Reece Ristau and Paul Goodsell wrote, "[Neary will] have to put together a broad coalition of voters, including some who sat out the primary, to overcome a massive advantage held by Stothert."^[135]

Stothert was first elected mayor in 2013 with 57% of the vote. She was re-elected in2017 with 53% of the vote. Before running for mayor, Stothert was a member of the Omaha City Council from 2009 to 2013 and theMillard Board of Education from 1998 to 2009.

Neary was the chairman of Investors Realty, a commercial real estate company. He was chairman of the Omaha Planning Board and involved with organizations such as the Urban Land Institute and Omaha Habitat for Humanity.^[136]

Stothert and Neary offerred differing ideas regarding Omaha's future. Stothert emphasized her experience as mayor and priorities of public safety and infrastructure improvements, adding, "I want to continue all the great partnerships with so many people and business owners and organizations that make this city so successful."^[137] Neary emphasized his professional experience with long-term real estate and development planning. Neary called "Omaha a great city but one that struggles with racial inequities," adding that he "envisions a more equal Omaha, with more and better affordable housing, and a more sustainable transportation system."^[138]

At the time of the election, Stothert had served as Omaha's mayor for eight years, making her the city's longest-serving Republican mayor since 1906 when Frank E. Moores (R) died in office after serving for nine years. Before Stothert's election in 2013, Democrats had controlled Omaha's mayorship from 2001 to 2013.

Omaha is located primarily inNebraska's 2nd Congressional District. During the2020 election, the 2nd Congressional District voted forJoe Biden (D) after voting for RepublicansMitt Romney (R) andDonald Trump (R) in 2012 and 2016, respectively. From 2012 to 2020, the presidential election margin in the district shifted 13.7 percentage points from Republicans to Democrats. Romney won by 7.1 points, which decreased to a 2.2-point victory for Trump. Biden won by 6.6 percentage points in 2020.^[139]

See also:Mayoral election in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (May 18, 2021 Democratic primary)

Edward Gainey (D) defeated incumbentBill Peduto (D),Tony Moreno (Pennsylvania) (D), andMichael Thompson (D) in the May 18, 2021, Democratic primary. No Republicans filed to run in the May 18 Republican primary. Moreno received 1,379 write-in votes in the Republican primary and accepted the Republican nomination.^[140][141]

Peduto was first elected mayor in 2013. He was re-elected in2017 after winning 68.9% of the vote in the Democratic primary. He ran unopposed in the general election. Before becoming mayor, Peduto served on the Pittsburgh City Council, representing District 8, from 2002-2013. Peduto's campaign focused on his tenure as mayor, including policies enacted in response to the coronavirus pandemic.^[142] On March 8, the Allegheny County Labor Council, which represents 135 local unions, endorsed Peduto.^[143] 32BJ SEIU Pennsylvania, which represents custodians and security workers, endorsed Peduto on March 4, 2021.^[144]

Gainey was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to represent District 24 in 2012. He was re-elected in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020. His mayoral campaign focused on law enforcement, the economy, and affordable housing. He received the endorsement of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, earning 326 votes to Moreno's 224. Peduto did not seek the Committee's endorsement.^[145] SEIU Healthcare, which represents healthcare workers, endorsed Gainey on February 20, 2021.^[146] It previously backed Peduto in 2013.^[147]

Moreno, a military veteran and retired Pittsburgh police officer, pointed to his experience in law enforcement, saying he "knows what it takes to build the public’s trust in its law enforcement."^[148] He ran on hisPlan for Pittsburgh, which covered public works, public safety, and city-first reforms.^[148] The Boilermakers Local 154 union endorsed Moreno.^[149]

Thompson, a math tutor and driver for Lyft and Uber, said that his campaign won't take funding from corporations and developers. He said that makes him "the only candidate that can overcome the hurdles that are put in the way of creating more affordable housing." He also said he had lived in public housing for 13 years.^[150]

Criminal justice reform was a central theme in the race. Peduto pointed to policies he implemented as mayor, including mandatory de-escalation practices and implicit bias training. He also said he created an Office of Community Health and Safety to reduce interactions between the police and people in need of social or mental health services, saying, "[t]he point is to make sure police officers aren’t the ones responding to these calls, but rather social workers, and professionals who have an expertise in this area."^[151] Gainey called for reforming the mandatory arbitration process used in police disciplinary cases to make it easier to discipline or fire officers when necessary.^[152] He's criticized Peduto for failing to follow through on earlier campaign promises to defund the police, saying "it just hasn't happened. There’s no strategy at all. And so no one's gonna believe in something they can't see. They're not gonna believe in it."^[153] Moreno said he would use crisis intervention training he created to "develop and implement community policing programs." He called for putting more police officers on the street to coordinate traffic.^[154] Thompson proposed reducing police funding by 50% and using that money to provide housing.^[155]

The last Republican mayor of Pittsburgh was John S. Herron, who assumed office in 1933 and served for one year.^[156] Pittsburgh is located inPennsylvania's 18th Congressional District. During the 2020 election, the 18th Congressional District voted forJoe Biden (D) overDonald Trump (R). Biden won the district by 31 percentage points.^[157]

See also:Mayoral election in San Antonio, Texas (2021)

MayorRon Nirenberg won re-election in a 14-candidate nonpartisan election inSan Antonio, Texas, on May 1, 2021. Nirenberg received 61.9% of the vote. 2019 challengerGreg Brockhouse received 31.5% of the vote. No other candidate received more than 2% of the vote.

Media coverage focused on Nirenberg, Brockhouse (who previously ran against Nirenberg in 2019 and lost by 2.2 percentage points in the runoff election), andDenise Gutierrez-Homer.^[158][159] Nirenberg led infundraising, acquiring $317,620 in contributions from January 1 to March 22, 2021, compared to Brockhouse's $100,755 for the same period. Gutierrez-Homer, the only other candidate to report contributions for this period, raised $7,061.

Brockhouse and Gutierrez-Homer both disagreed with Nirenberg's response to the pandemic. “I would have never shut us down,” Brockhouse said, “I would have not promoted mandatory masks. I would have worked within the science and the parameters of helping us keep moving throughout our community.” Gutierrez-Homer said the city was “closed for too long,” and that Nirenberg was "getting too much direction" from Bexar County JudgeNelson W. Wolff (D) (who serves as the county's chief executive officer).^[160] Nirenberg said that it was essential to keep safety measures in place, and described GovernorGreg Abbott's (R) lifting of business restrictions and mask mandates as like “cut[ting] off your parachute just as you’ve slowed your descent.”^[161]

Proposition B, aballot measure repealing local authority for collective bargaining with the San Antonio Police Officers Association to negotiate wages, healthcare, leave, and other policies was also an issue in the race. Nirenberg said he would leave the issue up to voters, and it was his "job as mayor to make sure there are good-faith negotiations happening in the next collective bargaining agreement of which we are now engaged." Brockhouse and Gutierrez-Homer both oppose Proposition B. Brockhouse said the proposition was a form of defunding the police, and if enacted, “Police officers will leave, and it will make us less safe.” Gutierrez-Homer also opposed the measure, saying that collective bargaining “is vital for any recruitment and retention of top notch employees."^[162]

The mayor is a member of the city council. He or she presides over council meetings and official city ceremonies. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national and international levels.^[163] The filing deadline for this election was February 12, 2021.

See also:Mayoral election in Seattle, Washington (2021)

Bruce Harrell defeatedLorena González in the nonpartisan general election for mayor ofSeattle, Washington, on November 2, 2021. MayorJenny Durkan did not seek re-election.^[164]

Harrell was city council president from 2016 to 2017 and from 2018 to 2019. González was the city council president as of the election.Associated Press's Chris Grygiel wrote that the primary "set up a choice between candidates representing the political divide between activist-left residents and more moderate progressives in one of the nation’s most liberal cities," with González representing the former camp and Harrell, the latter.^[165]

Harrell said after the primary, "Our campaign’s message of unity, accountability, and action clearly resonated with voters. I’m looking forward to taking this energy into the general election and into office as Mayor as we unite Seattle to make real progress."^[166]

González said, "Of votes counted to date, two-thirds of voters voted against the corporate-backed, status-quo candidate. That reflects the frustration I’ve heard from voters all over the city — they want bold, decisive, progressive action from their leaders."^[166]

Homelessness and housing policy were major issues in the race. González and Harrell differed on zoning rules and their approach to encampments.Click here for more on their positions.Click here for candidates' responses to questions fromThe Seattle Times on policy questions including defunding the police department by 50%, property and sales tax increases, and rent control.

Two council members who did not endorse in the 2021 primary—Alex Pedersen andDebora Juarez—endorsed Harrell on August 16. Juarez and Pedersen were the two candidates of seven who won city council elections in 2019 with endorsements from the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce's PAC, Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy, which spent $2 million toward the elections.

Four of nine Seattle City Council membersendorsed González in the primary. Three of them were up for election in2019. Two were endorsed that year by the political action committee (PAC) Civic Alliance for a Progressive Economy. Committees affiliated with labor group UNITE HERE! supportedAndrew Lewis, who endorsed González. Combined, these PACs spent more than $1 million in 2019.

Click here for background information on the 2019 elections.

As of November 1, the PACs that were active in the 2019 elections were not engaged in the 2021 mayoral election. The two groups that had spent the most in the 2021 election were Bruce Harrell for Seattle's Future, which hadspent $493,000 supporting Harrell and $655,000 opposing González, and Essential Workers for Lorena, which spent $443,000 supporting González and $467,000 opposing Harrell.

Seattle uses astrong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.^[167]

See also:Mayoral election in St. Louis, Missouri (March 2, 2021, top-two primary)

St. Louis TreasurerTishaura Jones and AlderwomanCara Spencer advanced from the primary for mayor ofSt. Louis, Missouri, on March 2, 2021, and ran against each other in the general election on April 6. Jones received 25,374 votes while Spencer received 20,649 votes. Aldermen PresidentLewis Reed and2017 mayoral candidateAndrew Jones, the other two candidates in the primary, received 17,162 and 6,422 votes, respectively. To read more about each of the four candidates,click here.

This was the first election cycle in the city using a new primary election method following the approval ofProposition D on November 3, 2020. Candidates ran in the primary election without partisan labels. Voters could choose any number of candidates to vote for and the two candidates that received the most votes advanced to the general election. This method of voting is calledapproval voting.^[168]

Each candidate made crime akey priority in this campaign. Andrew Jones said St. Louis' violent crime problem made it harder for the city to attract new businesses and retain existing ones, so addressing crime would improve safety while also improving the local business climate. Tishaura Jones said that she supported restructuring the police department's budget to reallocate funding towards mental health services, job training programs, and treating substance abuse. Reed called for a strategy known asfocused deterrence with groups most likely to commit violent crimes.^[169] Spencer, citing her background in mathematics and modeling, said she would implement a data-driven strategy for crime reduction in the city.

On November 18, 2020, MayorLyda Krewson (D) announced that she would not seek re-election. "After a lot of thinking and a lot of discussion with my family, I have decided to retire in April and not file to run for reelection this coming Monday," she said. She became the city's first female mayor after winning election onApril 4, 2017, with more than 67% of the vote.^[170]

Prior to the 2021 election, the last 10 mayors of St. Louis were all Democrats. The last time a Republican held the mayor's office was Aloys Kaufmann, mayor from 1943 to 1949.^[171]

See also:Mayoral election in St. Petersburg, Florida (2021)

Ken Welch defeatedRobert Blackmon 60% to 40% to win the general election for mayor ofSt. Petersburg, Florida on November 2, 2021. Incumbent MayorRick Kriseman (D) did not run for re-election due to term limits.^[172]

Welch served as a Pinellas County Commissioner from 2000 to 2020, and Blackmon had served on the St. Petersburg City Council since 2020.^[173][174] Though the race was officially nonpartisan, Welch was a registered Democrat and Blackmon was a registered Republican.^[175][176]

St. Petersburg was one of seventeen of the 100 largest cities to hold general elections for mayor on Nov. 2, 2021. Heading into the election, 63 of the 100 largest cities' mayors were Democrats, 26 were Republicans, 10 were either nonpartisan or independent, and one mayor's affiliation was unknown. Following the Nov. 2 election, no mayoral offices changed partisan control. To read more about mayoral elections in 2021,click here.

A central issue in the race was the redevelopment of Tropicana Field and the question of whether the location would continue to be the home stadium of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. In an Oct. 11debate, Welch said: "I absolutely think we can keep the Rays in St. Peterburg. Secondary, if we can't keep them certainly Tampa Bay is the next option." He went on to say that: "I have said that it [baseball] is secondary. [...] The priority is the jobs and equitable development and it has to be a fair deal to the City of St. Pete and the taxpayers." Blackmon said: "I still hold out hope that we can have the Rays have a stadium [in St. Petersburg]." He also said: "I need to look at the harsh realities that are constantly evolving on the site. That site is the future of economic development for our city. It is where we can put hotel space. It is where we can put office space."^[177]

In an article about Welch’s campaign, theTampa Bay Times quoted Cesar Fernandez, Kriseman’s 2013 campaign manager, as saying: “The advantage Ken Welch has is people love living in St. Pete. All of these things make it hard for a Blackmon to say, ‘We had it wrong. We need change.’” In an article about Blackmon’s campaign, theTimes wrote: “Barry Edwards, a local political strategist informally advising the Blackmon campaign, said the path for a Republican is to run as a change agent and disruptor against a long-time elected official close to the current administration.”^[175][176]

Blackmon and Welch were the two top vote-getters in the August 24, 2021, primary with 28.6% and 39.1% of the vote, respectively. Since no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, Blackmon and Welch advanced to the November 2 general election. Seven other candidates ran against Blackmon and Welch in the primary. Of these candidates,Darden Rice, who received 16.5% of the vote, was the only one to poll over 10%. Rice endorsed Welch in the general election.^[178]

This was the first open race for mayor of St. Petersburg since 2009.^[179] The last Republican to serve as mayor of St. Petersburg wasBill Foster from 2010 to 2014.^[180] Kriseman defeated Foster in the 2013 mayoral election, and was subsequentlyre-elected in 2017.

See also:City council elections in Dallas, Texas (2021)

Six districts held runoff elections for Dallas City Council on June 5, 2021. Three races were for open seats, and three were between an incumbent and a challenger. All fourteen seats were up for election this year.

In Districts 2, 11, and 13, incumbent councilmembersAdam Medrano,Lee Kleinman, andJennifer Staubach Gates did not run for re-election due to term limits.^{[181][182][183]} In District 2,Jesse Moreno defeatedSana Syed 58% to 43%. In District 11,Jaynie Schultz defeatedBarry Wernick 54% to 46%. In District 13,Gay Donnell Willis defeatedLeland Burk 54% to 47%.

Three races with incumbents advanced to a runoff. In District 4, incumbentCarolyn King Arnold defeatedMaxie Johnson 55% to 45%. In District 7, incumbentAdam Bazaldua defeatedKevin Felder 64% to 36%. In District 14,Paul Ridley defeated incumbentDavid Blewett 61% to 39%.

Writing forD Magazine, Alex Macon said: “If there is one issue driving Dallas City Council candidates this election season, it’s public safety.”^[184] An increase in violent crime brought attention to the issue. Between 2019 and 2020, Dallas saw a 27% increase in aggravated assaults and a 23% increase in murders.^[185] Additionally, followingprotests in response to the death of George Floyd, the council faced calls to reallocate some police department funding to other areas. In September 2020, the council voted to increase the police department’s budget to $24 million. In this budget, the council reallocated $7 million from police overtime funding to hire more civilian workers in the department, increase street lighting, and invest in other programs to address crime.^[186]

The Dallas City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for setting policy, approving the budget, determining the tax rate, issuing and selling municipal bonds, purchasing and selling city property, establishing city departments, holding public meetings, approving city ordinances, determining city services, and appointing the city manager, city attorney, city auditor, city secretary, and municipal court judges.^[187]

The city council consists of 14 members elected by district, and one mayor elected at large.^[187]

All fourteen seats on the Dallas City Council are up for election every two years.

See also:City elections in Miami, Florida (2021)

The city ofMiami, Florida, held general elections for mayor and city commission on November 2, 2021. Two of five commission seats were up for election in 2021. District 3 CommissionerJoe Carollo won re-election andChristine King defeated District 5 CommissionerJeffrey Watson. Watson was appointed to the position on November 18, 2020, to serve the remainder ofKeon Hardemon's term.

Four candidates total ran for District 3, and seven ran for District 5. The filing deadline for this election was September 18, 2021. This page covers the city commission elections.Click here to learn more about the city's mayoral election.

TheMiami Herald described the relationship between the mayor's and the city commission's powers as follows:^[188]

Conflict between the Miami police chief and the city commission unfolded in the weeks leading up to the election.Click here to learn more.

See also:City elections in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2021)

The city ofMinneapolis, Minnesota, held general elections for all 13 of its city council seats on November 2, 2021. Fifty-eight candidates—including eleven incumbents—ran in the elections. Minneapolis usedranked-choice voting in the election which allowed voters to rank up to three candidates on the ballot.

Of the 11 incumbents running for city council,six won re-election andfive lost. All incumbents were Democrats exceptCam Gordon, who ran as Green Party candidate. In the two open city council seats,Jason Chavez won in District 9 andAisha Chughtai won in District 10.^[190] As a result, seven of the 13 city councilmembers were newcomers in 2022. All winners were Democrats except forRobin Wonsley who was a member of theDemocratic Socialists of America.^[191]

On Nov. 12, 2021, Ward 2 candidateYusra Arab announced she would seek a recount, which was scheduled for Nov. 19.^[192] The initial post-election tally showed Arab trailingRobin Wonsley Worlobah by 19 votes in the third round of tallying.^[193] On Nov. 22, the Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services announced that Worlobah remained the winner, with the margin decreasing to 14 votes.^[194] To read more about recount laws in Minnesota, clickhere.

TheStar Tribune's Kelly Smith described the city council andmayoral elections as microcosms of a more general rift in the Democratic Party, writing "[t]he split between moderate and progressive Democratic candidates ahead of the Nov. 2 election reflects a broader gap across Minnesota and nationwide as the Democratic establishment faces intense competition from a newly energized and insurgent progressive wing of the party."^[195]Axios Twin Cities' Nick Halter also observed the rift, writing, "[t]he City Council has been moving to the left for several years now, and a slate of challengers [in Wards 3, 4, and 11] could move the needle back toward the middle."^[196]

Following the election,Axios' Halter wrote that the council "that had been moving to the left in recent elections took a step back toward the right."^[197] Halter identified the winners in Wards 3, 4, and 11 as more moderate than their predecessors and the winners in Wards 1 and 9 as more liberal, resulting in a net gain of one seat for moderate councilmembers.^[197]

Elections in Minneapolis are officially nonpartisan, but the Minneapolis City Charter allows mayoral and city council candidates to choose a party label to appear below their name on the official ballot. Ballotpedia includes candidates' party or principle to best reflect what voters will see on their ballot.^[198]

Of the 58 candidates who sought election, 42 were Democrats, four were Republicans, and 12 were independent or some other party. While 42 candidates identified as Democrats, the MinneapolisDemocratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) issued its own official endorsements in seven wards. The party did not issue endorsements in six races, five of which featured incumbents. Learn more about the Minneapolis DFL endorsement processhere.

See also:City council elections in Seattle, Washington (2021)

Seattle, Washington's two at-large city council seats, elected citywide, were up for election on November 2, 2021.

IncumbentTeresa Mosqueda defeatedKenneth Wilson for the position 8 seat.Sara Nelson defeatedNikkita Oliver for the position 9 seat. Position 9 incumbentLorena González ran for mayor in 2021. MayorJenny Durkan did not seek re-election. This page focused on the open position 9 race.

Nelson co-owned Fremont Brewing as of the election. She served as a legislative advisor to former councilmemberRichard Conlin and placed third in a2017 at-large city council primary. She said Seattle voters were "tired of the ideological rhetoric and the failed policies that come out of council" and described herself as progressive and pragmatic.^[199]

Oliver (they/them), an attorney and the executive director of the organization Creative Justice, was a founding member of the Seattle Peoples Party. They placed third in the2017 mayoral primary. Oliver said, "Seattle is ready to do the work to address the root causes of the crises that we’re facing [with] solutions that are actually commensurate to its crises."^[199]

All four city council candidates filled outBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. For select responses, including candidates' key messages,click here. For full survey responses, click candidates' names above to see their profile pages on Ballotpedia.

For coverage of the August 3, 2021, primary election,click here.

Seattle City Council members serve four-year terms. The other seven seats are elected by district, and the most recent elections were held in2019.Click here for background information on the 2019 elections.

See also:Comptroller election in New York, New York (June 22, 2021, Democratic primary)

Brad Lander won the Democratic primary forNew York City comptroller on June 22, 2021. Ten candidates ran in the primary. The general election was on November 2, 2021.

Seven candidates were mentioned by media outlets as leading candidates and led inendorsements and/orfundraising:^[200][201]Brian Benjamin,Michelle Caruso-Cabrera,Zachary Iscol,Corey Johnson,Brad Lander,Kevin Parker, andDavid Weprin.

The primary election featured the use ofranked-choice voting (RCV). Voters were allowed to rank up to five candidates on their ballot in order of preference. A candidate had to receive a majority of votes cast to win the election, and votes for eliminated candidates were redistributed based on the next preference on the ballot. Lander received more than 50% of the vote after 10 rounds of tabulation.Click here to learn more about RCV in this election.

The comptroller's duties include performing audits of city agencies and managing five public pension funds. As of March 2021, the funds totaled $253 billion in assets.^[202] Discussing the city's elections in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic,The New York Times' Jeffery C. Mays wrote, "Like the race for mayor, the contest for comptroller may be the city’s most consequential in decades, and the June 22 Democratic primary will most likely decide its winner. ... The city had a 20 percent unemployment rate, and is still projecting hefty future budget gaps." Mays also wrote that the comptroller would oversee how federal stimulus money issued in response to the pandemic was spent.^[203]

Each candidate argued that their background equipped them for the office.

• Benjamin, a state senator, previously worked for a housing developer and in financial management for Morgan Stanley.
• Caruso-Cabrera was a financial analyst for CNBC.
• Iscol served in the Marines and is a business and nonprofit founder.
• Johnson was speaker of the New York City Council at the time of the primary.
• Lander, also on the city council as of the primary, co-founded the council's Progressive Caucus.
• Parker, a state senator, previously worked for investment banking firm UBS PaineWebber and as project manager for the New York State Urban Development Corporation.
• Weprin, a state assemblyman, previously served on the city council, where he was chair of the Finance Committee for eight years.

At the first officialdebate on June 10, candidates offered different ideas about which city agencies should be audited more frequently. As of 2021, agency audits were required every four years. Lander said he would prioritize auditing the Department of Corrections in addition to big agencies like the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Department of Education. Caruso-Cabrera said she would prioritize auditing the Department of Education. Johnson proposed annual audits for the education, homeless services, housing preservation and development, and police departments. Weprin said he would audit all city agencies every year. Iscol said he would audit the city's "holistic response, a multiagency response to specific problems, like public safety, like homelessness, like the education gap." Parker said big agencies should be audited more frequently and that the first one should be the NYPD. Benjamin also said he would prioritize auditing the NYPD.^[204]

Click here to view candidates' key messages.

Also running in the primary wereTerri Liftin,Alex Pan, andReshma Patel.

See also:City attorney election in Seattle, Washington (2021)

Ann Davison defeatedNicole Thomas-Kennedy in a general election forcity attorney ofSeattle, Washington, on November 2, 2021, with 55.1% of the vote to Thomas-Kennedy's 44.1%.^[205]

Davison and Thomas-Kennedy advanced from theprimary after winning 32.7% and 36.4% of the vote, respectively. IncumbentPete Holmes, who was first elected in 2010, received 30.6% of the vote.

Crosscut, a nonprofit Seattle news site, said the race "will be one of clear contrasts and highlights just how divided the city is over issues of crime, public safety and criminal justice."^[206] In aCrosscut Elway poll from September 7-9 where respondents were provided with a list of issues to choose from and more than one answer was allowed, 79% chose homelessness, 47% percent chose police, and 45% chose crime.^[207]

Seattle news blogMy Northwest described Davison "as more of an overt conservative, as a registered Republican who’s been vocal on her 'tough on crime' politics" compared to Thomas-Kennedy, whose "position as an 'abolitionist' in favor of ending the prosecution of low-level misdemeanors would represent a sizable shift in the City Attorney’s Office."^[208][209] As of October 17, 2021, Thomas-Kennedy led Davison in overall fundraising, having raised a total of $336,598.00 to Davison's $317,646.00.^[210]

At the time of the election, Davison was a Seattle attorney and arbitrator and previously ran as a Republican forlieutenant governor of Washington in 2020. Davison said the city needs "balanced leadership that makes us smart on crime: proactive not reactive” and said she would "focus on improving efficiencies within division in regards to zoning” and “transform existing Mental Health Court to specialized Behavioral Health Court for cases that involve mental health, substance use disorder or dual diagnosis."^[211] Former governor Dan Evans (R), former King County Prosecutor Chris Bayley (R), former Seattle Municipal Judge Ed McKenna, and theSeattle Times endorsed Davison.^[212]

Thomas-Kennedy worked as a public defender and criminal and eviction attorney.^[213] She ran on a platform of decriminalizing poverty, community self-determination, green infrastructure, and ending homeless sweeps. Her campaign website said, "Every year the City Attorney chooses to prosecute petty offenses born out of poverty, addiction and disability. These prosecutions are destabilizing, ineffective, and cost the City millions each year."^[214] The Seattle newspaperThe Stranger, Former Seattle MayorMike McGinn (D) and several local Democratic party organizations endorsed Thomas-Kennedy.^[215]

In Seattle, the city attorney heads the city's Law Department and supervises all litigation in which the city is involved. The city attorney supervises a team of assistant city attorneys who provide legal advice and assistance to the City's management and prosecute violations of City ordinances.^[216]