Election 1999 Wrap-Up



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Election '99:
A Good Night to Be a Democrat!
Dems sweep big city mayoral elections, Kentucky governorship
Rudy loses big in NYC referendum as his pet Charter Revision proposition loses by landslide

by David J. Gonzo

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 3, 1999--NEW YORK (APJ)--Last night was a good night to be a Democrat.

Make that a great night.

Democrats swept big-city mayoral offices and the Kentucky governorship in 1999's general elections -- and served up a heaping helping of significant "No ways" to Republican- and business-sponsored ballot initiatives and referenda.

And although most of yesterday's off-off-year elections were local, they are already raising concerns among Republicans because of overwhelming and notable gains made by Dems. One source close to the RNC told APJ, "This has a lot of [top RNC] people concerned. The GOP will play up the Virginia state house victory for everything its worth, you can count on that, but there's little else to spin. The party took it on the chin -- even in New York City."

Here's a wrap-up of yesterday's results.

STATES & CITIES

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA: Councilman Bernard Kincaid (D) became Birmingham's first new Democrat mayor since 1979 in an upset victory, beating interim mayor William Bell, who took over after former mayor Richard Arrington stepped down this summer.

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA: Lawyer Bobby Bright defeated conservative Emory Folmar, who had been mayor since 1978.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Mayor Willie Brown (D) has been forced into a run-off election. The only people this seems to have come as a surprise to are CNN and the national wire services -- Brown had some fourteen challengers, including former mayor and Police Chief Frank Jordan, millionaire political consultant Clint Reilly, and a well-organized last-minute candidate, Board of Supervisors President Tom Ammiano (D), whose write-in campaign cut into Brown's numbers. Brown and Jordan look likely to face off on December 14.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA: Bart Peterson (D) was elected mayor -- the first Democrat since 1963 to win that office, defeating Sue Ann Gilroy (R). A major factor -- Republicans have been moving to the suburbs for the last decade. A minor factor -- New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani campaigned on behalf of Gilroy -- while trying to carpetbag for contributions to his own Senate bid! Worth noting: outgoing Mayor Stephen Goldsmith (R) is now the senior domestic policy advisor to presidential candidate George W. Bush.

KENTUCKY: Gov. Paul Patton (D) easily cruised to reelection as Governor of Kentucky. Patton becomes the first Kentucky governor in two centuries to win a second consecutive term due to a change in the state's constitution. Patton defeated publicist Peppy Martin (R) and Gatewood Galbraith (Reform).

Patton was also helped by recent statements by Ms. Martin, including an outrageous claim during a live television appearance that 80 percent of sheriffs and 30 percent of state police were "bootlegging" in hard drugs.

Lt. Gov. Henry Martin (R) said "Martin brought a new level of negative campaigning in Kentucky that hopefully we won't see again.'' Our spin-terpretation: "That's no way to endear yourself to the law enforcement community, honey!"

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: Martin O'Malley (D) easily won the mayoral race -- but this should be no surprise, since Baltimore is one of the most civilized cities in America, with Democrats outnumbering Republicans by nearly 9 to 1.

MISSISSIPPI: The governor's race is too close to call -- neither Mike Parker (R) nor Lieutenant Governor Ronnie Musgrove (D) won a majority. This means that there is a sizable likelihood that the Democratic-controlled state House will choose. Gov. Kirk Fordice (R) could not run because he is term-limited.

NEW JERSEY: Democrats picked up two seats in the State Assembly, narrowing the sizable GOP majority from 48-32 to 46-34.

CINCINNATI, OHIO: Former Rep. Charles Luken (D) got a second chance at the mayor's office by outdrawing 19 other candidates who were running for nine City Council seats. Luken previously held the mayor's office from 1984 to 1990.

COLUMBUS, OHIO: Michael Coleman (D) became the first black mayor of Columbus and the first Democrat since 1970 to be elected mayor, defeating county commissioner Dorothy Teater (R).

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: John F. Street (D) narrowly defeated Sam Katz (R) in an embarrassing defeat for the GOP, who will hold their nominating convention in Philadelphia next year. The current mayor, Ed Rendell (D), was recently named chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

HOUSTON, TEXAS: Mayor Lee Brown (D) was reelected.

SALT LAKE CITY: Rocky Anderson (D) defeated Stuart Reid (D) in a nonpartisan election. Incumbent Dee Dee Corradini did not run.

VIRGINIA turned out to be one of the few states where it was not good to be a Democrat as Republicans seized control of both houses of the Virginia's Legislature for the first time in history. CNN is treating this as the "big" story to come out of the '99 elections -- but is downplaying the fact that the majorities are very narrow.

And it's a mystery to us why Republicans haven't had the majority in both Virginia legislative chambers already -- after all, as the home and/or headquarters of such neo-fascist luminaries as Ollie "Kill the Commie Wetbacks" North, Brent "Put Conservative Lies Back in Media" Bozell, Jerry "Televangetubbie" Falwell and Ken Starr.

WASHINGTON: Democrats failed to break a 49-49 tie in the state's House as a special election in a rural district near Idaho that has voted Republican since 1936 was won by a GOP candidate. The results, however, were far closer than pollsters and Republicans had predicted, and Democrats retain control of the state Senate and the Governor's office.

REFERENDA & INITIATIVES

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA: Voters passed a proposal that would allow developers of a new arena for the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes to recover all sales taxes generated at the venue for five years.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: In a widely-watched referendum fight, voters overwhelmingly banned surcharges at ATMs. Bankers promise a court fight. Watch for this story to gain momentum in coming weeks.

COLORADO: Voters gave thumbs-up to a $2.3 billion bond issue for transportation, including funding to widen the notoriously congested I-25 around Denver.

MIAMI, FLORIDA: A charter amendment passed, eliminating the city manager's job and creating a strong-mayor form of government.

MAINE: Voters gave thumbs-up to legalizing marijuana for some medicinal purposes, thumbs down to another measure that would bar late-term abortions.

SAINT PAUL, MINN.: A referendum measure to increase sales taxes to help fund a new baseball stadium for the Minnesota Twins was defeated.

MISSISSIPPI: Term limits go down in flames: a constitutional amendment to limit legislators to two consecutive terms was defeated.

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.: Voters defeated a 15-year extension of sales tax, half of which was to be used to fund a light rail system.

OREGON: A referendum measure that would have allowed murder convictions by an 11-1 jury vote instead of a unanimous one was rejected.

HOUSTON, TEXAS: Residents defeated a proposed plan to spend nearly $100 million in public funds on a downtown arena for the Houston Rockets and a possible future hockey team

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Voters approved an increase in hotel and car rental taxes to help fund a $175 million arena for the Spurs basketball team.

WASHINGTON: No old taxes, no new taxes! A measure to slash the car tax and give voters veto power over all future taxes and fees was approved; voters rejected a ban on most commercial fishing nets.

RUDY'S BAD DAY

It was an all-crow breakfast for Mayor Rudolph Giuliani this morning as he saw his pet charter revision proposal go down in flames.

Giuliani had been behind Proposition 2, a massive, 14-point revision of the City Charter that would have increased the mayor's power and changed the chain and rules of succession. The jam-packed Prop included:

requiring a two-thirds vote of the City Council instead of a majority to increase taxes;

creating an emergency budget fund from city surpluses; and

changing the rules of mayoral succession.

At this time, should the mayor leave office, he is succeeded by the Public Advocate. This turns out to be a liberal Democrat named Mark Green -- a man reportedly loathed personally and professionally by the Mayor.

Giuliani had tried to make the prop more palatable and "spin" it as a "keep our kids safe" bill by declaring "gun free'' safety zones and a "tax-stopper" bill that would require a 2/3 vote rather than majority vote by the City Council on any proposed increases in taxes.

Giuliani and his allies outspent opponents of the proposition by some 10 to 1 in television, print and mail advertising.

And they were defeated -- by more than 3 to 1. The "mayoral commission" that had cobbled together the proposal -- and financed its promotion -- were caught off guard by organized opposition from Democratic officials, unions and good-government groups led by Green and City Council Chairman Peter Vallone.

Late last night, Rudy was quoted as saying "I made a mistake in presenting charter revision this year.... It's kind of like losing a baseball game 13 to 1.... The vote against it makes it clear that it was a mistake, and I accept responsibility for it and certainly respect the views of the voters.''

Rudy humbled. What a laugh. If he had any respect for Fun City voters -- who, by the way, support Green -- he wouldn't have tried to sneak a power-grab into a mega-proposition.

Rudy's bad day has already set off alarm bells among Republicans at the state and national level. The overwhelming defeat of the proposition proves that Rudy is vulnerable to organized, targeted opposition -- and the proposition itself could prove fodder for critical attacks on Giuliani as his Senate race against Hillary Rodham Clinton begins in earnest.

It also boosts the power, prestige and visibility of both Green and Vallone, who has managed to organize, galvanize and execute the most successful defeat of Giuliani during his tenure as Mayor.

Be afraid, Rudy. Be very afraid!