Who Was John Lindsay?

Running for Mayor

“New York is indeed a city in crisis and I for one cannot stand by while the decline and fall of New York continues headlong.” With these words, John Lindsay announced his run for mayor of New York City on May 13, 1965. In order to overcome his minority Republican status in a historically Democratic city, Lindsay put together a fusion ticket, with the nomination not only of the Republicans but also of the Liberal Party.

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Lindsay called on liberals and reformers from all parties join his campaign. He ran on his congressional record, as a supporter of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, and as an architect of civil rights legislation.

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Lindsay injected some new and sometimes controversial ideas into the campaign. He proposed to put civilians on the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigated allegations of police misconduct—an idea that was decried by the police and welcomed in many minority communities. He maintained that modern management techniques could be used to run the city’s agencies more efficiently and productively. And he criticized the Wagner administration for fiscal mismanagement.

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The candidate employed his personal charisma effectively, becoming the first mayoral candidate in New York City’s history to fully exploit the medium of television to reach voters. The spots were filmed on the streets in stark cinéma vérité style against a deteriorating cityscape. In them, Lindsay spoke directly to camera, telling voters that New York needed to solve its problems—and that it could succeed with his agenda.

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On November 2, 1965, Lindsay won the election City Hall with a plurality of 1,149,106 votes, or 43.3% of all the ballots cast. Democrat Abe Beame, the runner-up, garnered 39.5% of the vote, and the Conservative Party candidate, public intellectual William F. Buckley, Jr., came in last with only 12.9%. Key to Lindsay’s victory was winning 40% of the black vote, 40% of the Jewish vote, and 25% of the Puerto Rican vote, cutting significantly into three traditionally Democratic constituencies.

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