The 2005 New York City mayoral election occurred on November 8, 2005. Incumbent Republican mayor Michael Bloomberg soundly defeated former Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer, the Democratic nominee. Several third-party candidates also ran for mayor. In July, mayoral candidates filed nominating petitions with the City Board of Elections.
Bloomberg won four of the five boroughs, the exception being the Bronx. He flipped the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. To date, this is the last time a Republican was elected mayor of New York City, and the last time a Republican line carried Brooklyn. Bloomberg left the Republican Party in 2007 to register as an independent, but the Republican Party nominated him for reelection in 2009.
Tom Ognibene ran on a platform supporting tax cuts, education reform and opposed Mayor Bloomberg's smoking ban. He was expected to win the endorsement of the Conservative Party. He received 8,100 signatures, 600 more than the necessary 7,500 signatures to appear on the primary ballot. But the Bloomberg campaign challenged many signatures, leaving Ognibene with 5,848 eligible signatures and forcing him off the ballot. On August 25, a federal judge refused to allow Ognibene on the Republican ballot.
The first television ads were launched in English and Spanish by the Bloomberg campaign on May 18.
Ognibene was endorsed by the leaders of the Queens County Republican Committee on February 10.
Ognibene challenged the Republican nomination in a hearing on August 25, but his challenge was unsuccessful.
On August 3, Ferrer began running campaign advertisements. On August 12, the Gifford Miller campaign launched its own television ads. The Democratic candidates held their first debate on August 16. The Anthony Weiner campaign launched television ads on August 19, the same day voter registration for the primary elections ended. The Democratic candidates held their second televised debate on August 21, sponsored by WCBS and The New York Times.
On September 1, Ferrer was endorsed by City Comptroller Bill Thompson and ACORN. On September 3, The New York Times endorsed Ferrer in the Democratic primary. The Democratic candidates held two final debates, on WNBC on September 7 and on WABC on September 8. On September 10, Reverend Al Sharpton endorsed Ferrer.
Before the primary, Ferrer was endorsed by New York state attorney general Eliot Spitzer, Carl McCall, Geraldine Ferraro, Sheldon Silver, the Transport Workers Union, Bronx borough president Adolfo Carrión Jr., and Ruth Messinger. He was also endorsed by Representatives Joseph Crowley, Gregory Meeks, Major Owens, José E. Serrano, Edolphus Towns and Nydia Velázquez.
The Democratic primary was held on September 13, with initial returns showing Ferrer receiving 39.95% of the votes, just short of the 40% needed to avoid a runoff with Weiner. Despite at first seeming poised to continue, the next morning Weiner conceded the election to Ferrer. But the city election board insisted on proceeding with a $12 million election scheduled for September 27, with an additional debate even planned. This prompted a lawsuit supported by both candidates to prevent the runoff, which was avoided when the final count gave Ferrer just over 40% of the vote.
Despite his removal from the Republican primary, Tom Ognibene ran as the Conservative Party nominee.
On May 28, the Independence Party endorsed Bloomberg for reelection.
The Liberal Party of New York endorsed Bloomberg.
Manhattan College history professor Anthony Gronowicz was the Green Party's mayoral nominee. Gronowicz sought to strengthen affordable housing, supported renewable sources of energy and sought to provide free tuition to City University of New York. He was featured in an article in The Villager.
Audrey Silk, a former NYPD officer, community activist and founder of NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, was nominated by the party on April 16, 2005.
Issues in the 2005 mayoral race included education, taxes, crime, transportation, public housing, homeland security funding, and the city budget. One prominent issue throughout 2005 was New York's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games, as New York City was one of the finalists to serve as host city. On June 6, the planned West Side Stadium was defeated by the Public Authorities Control Board when Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno refused to vote for it. As a result, Bloomberg had supported the new Mets ballpark, later Citi Field, as the centerpiece of the revised bid. On July 6, the IOC awarded London the 2012 Summer Olympics.
On October 23, Ferrer proposed Home Owner Property Exemption, or HOPE, a tax break for homeowners with a home property value of less than $100,000.
On October 6, a mayoral debate was held at the Apollo Theater with Ferrer and Ognibene; Bloomberg was absent. The last day for voter registration for the general election was October 14. The first mayoral debate between Ferrer and Bloomberg was on October 30, and broadcast on WABC. They debated each other again on November 1, at a debate sponsored by WNBC and the New York City Campaign Finance Board.
The general election was held on November 8. Members of the New York City Council, as well as the offices of borough president, city comptroller, public advocate, and district attorney, were also up for election. At 10:30 p.m. on November 8, Ferrer conceded to Bloomberg in a speech at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Bloomberg was sworn in for a second term on January 1, 2006.
Bloomberg was endorsed by former mayors Rudy Giuliani and Ed Koch, Jeanine Pirro, Herman Badillo, former congressman Floyd Flake, Reverend Calvin Butts, and many prominent local Democrats.
On October 23, Bloomberg was endorsed by both Newsday and The New York Times in the general election, with the New York Daily News following on the 31st. The Times wrote that Bloomberg could be "one of the greatest mayors in New York history" but criticized "his 'obscene' unlimited spending on his political campaigns", creating an "uneven playing field".
After winning the Democratic nomination, Ferrer was endorsed by Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, as well as former President Bill Clinton, on September 16. On September 19, he was endorsed by SEIU Local 1199. He was endorsed by former mayor David Dinkins on September 23. Ferrer was endorsed by the Working Families Party on September 27, but failed to receive enough votes from the party's coordinating council to be nominated for the Working Families Party's ballot line. Andrew Cuomo endorsed Ferrer on September 29. On October 20, Ferrer campaigned with Bill Clinton on Charlotte Street in the South Bronx.