Gotham Gazette Campaign 2005 Mayor (original) (raw)
The Race ...
Candidates...
The Incumbent:
Michael Bloomberg
Challenger(s):
Charles Barron
Fernando Ferrer
C. Virginia Fields
A. Gifford Miller
Thomas Ognibene
Steve Shaw
Anthony Weiner
Campaign Contributors According to the Campaign Finance Board ...
Candidate Bios ...
The Incumbent:
Michael Bloomberg | Rep |
Michael R. Bloomberg was elected as New York City Mayor in 2001. He is the head of Bloomberg LP, an international finance company that he founded and eventually expanded into a news conglomerate. Bloomberg served on the boards of 20 different civic, cultural, educational and medical institutions. Before founding his company, Bloomberg worked at Salomon Brothers on Wall Street for 15 years. He graduated from John Hopkins University and has a Master's of Business Administration from Harvard.
Challenger(s):
Charles Barron | Dem |
A longtime political and community activist, Charles Barron has been a member of the Black Panther Party and founding chair of the Black United Front's Harlem chapter. He was on the steering committee for Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign. In 1985, Barron founded Dynamics of Leadership Inc., a leadership-training consulting group. Barron was elected to the city council from the 42nd District in Brooklyn in 2001.
Fernando Ferrer | Dem |
Raised in the South Bronx, Fernando Ferrer served in the New York City Council from 1982 and until 1987 when he was elected Bronx borough president. He held that post for 14 years. In 2001, Ferrer ran for mayor, narrowly losing a run-off election to Mark Green. Since then, he has served as president of the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, a non-profit organization that works on economic and social justice issues.
C. Virginia Fields | Dem |
A social worker who has lived in New York City since 1971, C. Virginia Fields served as an administrator of social services for the Children's Aid Society and supervisor of social services for the city's Work Release program. She also was a Democratic district leader and chair of Community Board 10. Fields won election to City Council in 1989 and served two four-year terms. She was elected Manhattan borough president in 1997.
A. Gifford Miller | Dem |
A lifelong resident of the Upper East Side, Gifford Miller began his political career after graduating from college when he went to work on the staff of U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney. At age 26, he was elected to City Council in 1996. In 2002, other members of the council selected him as speaker.
Thomas Ognibene |
Thomas Ognibene, the former City Council minority leader, left the council in 2002 after representing District 30, in Queens, for 10 years.
Steve Shaw | Rep |
Steve Shaw works as an investment banker at a Canadian investment bank. He has also worked at Bear, Stearns and Company. He was president of his co-op board for three years and has lived on the Upper West Side and in Park Slope.
Anthony Weiner | Dem |
Anthony Weiner went to work for then U.S. Representative Charles Schumer after graduating from college. In 1991, he was elected to the City Council at the age of 27. When Schumer left the House in 1998 to run for Senate, Weiner was one of several Democrats who sought the seat, representing the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn and Queens. With Schumer's endorsement, he narrowly won the primary and went on to win the general election.
Campaign Trail ...
Below are the latest Campaign Trail items for the Mayor race. For the full Campaign Trail archive, go here
Mayor Splits With Bush on Social Security
Mayor Michael Bloomberg distanced himself from
President George W. Bush yesterday on the president's
proposal to divert some Social Security taxes into
private investment accounts, describing the plan as
excessively risky. Also at: (Newsday)
(Daily News)
February 4, 2005 (NY Times)
Queens GOP May Spurn Bloomberg
The Queens County Republican Party, sources say, is
prepared to reject Mayor Michael Bloomberg's
re-election bid and instead endorse former Queens
Councilmember Thomas Ognibene in the Republican
primary.
February 4, 2005 (NY 1)
City Council Speaker Gifford Miller will hold a
campaign event at Brooklyn Borough Hall today where he
will receive endorsements from about 15 elected
officials, including some members of the City Council
and State Assembly.
February 4, 2005 (NY Post)
Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to hold his unofficial campaign kickoff at B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in Manhattan on Feb. 15 -- and his campaign has apparently been inviting Democrats by the dozen.
February 3, 2005 (Newsday)
Representative Anthony Weiner has convinced some
contributors to take back their checks to his
congressional campaign and instead contribute to his
mayoral race, according to filings made public
yesterday. The records show Weiner voided or returned
checks worth $376,857 which later turned up as part
of his $1,501,025 war chest for a City Hall run. The
trade-ins are entirely legal.
February 2, 2005 (NY Post)
Ferrer Calls for Auctioning Stadium Land
Mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer said yesterday that
the Metropolitan Transportation Authority should get
competing bids for the development rights to its West
Side railyard, rather than simply sell it to the Jets
for a $1.6 billion stadium.
February 2, 2005 (NY Times)
State Senator Carl Kruger and Assemblymember Steven
Sanders yesterday announced their endorsements of
Fernando Ferrer for mayor.
February 2, 2005 (NY Post)
C. Virginia Fields Playing Catch Up
C. Virginia Fields, who would be the city's first woman and second African-American mayor, is trying to catch up with a Democratic field that has four other candidates, most of whom turned up campaigning and staff building months ago.
February 1, 2005 (NY Times)
Bloomberg's Plan to Limit Campaign Contributions
A proposal by Mayor Bloomberg to limit campaign gifts from people doing business with the city got a full airing yesterday - but not before Bloomberg took some heat. In a bid to end so-called pay-to-play donations, Bloomberg has proposed lowering to $250 the amount lobbyists and others doing business with the city can contribute to elected officials.
February 1, 2005 (Daily News)
Mayor Backs Out of Town Hall Meeting
Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered his commissioners to back out of a town hall meeting in Queens Monday night after he learned a potential mayoral rival also was on the agenda.
February 1, 2005 (Newsday)
Brooklyn Council Member Endorses Ferrer, Not Miller
City Council Speaker Gifford Miller's mayoral campaign suffered another blow yesterday after a long-standing ally threw his support behind former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer. Councilman Lew Fidler (D-Brooklyn) informed Miller he couldn't back him, despite an intense courtship and a flurry of phone calls over the weekend to get the lawmaker to commit to Miller.
February 1, 2005 (NY Post)
For the Mayor, The Party Line May Be Tough to Get Past
In the months after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg played host to the Republican National Convention, his Democratic challengers repeatedly used the event to tar him for his links to a party that many New Yorkers detest.
January 31, 2005 (New York Times)
Full Mayor Campaign Trail Archive
Mayor Campaign Trail in RSS format. 