Changing New York City Politics - Hardcover

Arian, Asher; Goldberg, Arthur S.; Mollenkopf, John H.; Rogowsky, E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 041590420X ISBN 13: 9780415904209

Publisher: Routledge, 1991

Synopsis

The glamour of New York City politics competes in the American consciousness with the scourges of crime, crack and homelessness. The political structure of the city is undoubtedly very complicated, with an extremely diverse mix of ethnic and racial groups and correspondingly complex electoral alignments. This book looks at the motivation behind the election by the voters of NYC of their first African-American mayor, David Dinkins. While race may seem the obvious explanation, the authors show that it is far from the whole story. Dinkins' election was dependent on vast numbers of defections from traditional Democratic voting groups. While New York's blacks did vote overwhelmingly for Dinkins, he could not have won without support from white liberal, Latino and Jewish voters and even a significant fraction of white ethnic Catholics. "Changing New York City Politics" addresses issues central to the political agenda of the United States and of any country with a population of very mixed ethnic origin. This book should be of interest to postgraduates and researchers in American studies, voting behaviour and racial studies.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

In this analysis of how David Dinkins became New York City's first black mayor, the authors, members of the Wagner Institute of the City University of New York, recount that New York has been victimized by the forces of deindustrialization, white flight, ethnic and racial tensions, class polarization and financial disaster. Dinkins's victory was predicated on a unique set of circumstances, including the length of his predecessor Edward I. Koch's incumbency and the rampant corruption that became apparent late in his administration. The authors argue that Dinkins was able to defeat Koch in the primary and Rudolph Giuliani in the general election because of support from Latino voters and from white voters who characterize themselves as "very liberal." The other message of the book is that New York is less black, more Latino, less Protestant, and more Catholic and Jewish--and more liberal--than other large American cities, which in turn are more liberal politically than the rest of the country. Useful as it may be for specialists, this dry and repetitive volume drains the color out of New York's rough-and-tumble political wars.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

The authors, affiliated with the Wagner Institute of CUNY, seek to isolate and interpret the underlying factors that led to the narrow victory of David Dinkins in the 1989 mayoralty race in New York City; he is the first African American to win that prize. Their research findings, based on voter polling, show that while race may seem the obvious explanation, Dinkins's 47,000-vote victory margin was also based on the support he got from white liberals, Latinos, and even a significant number of white, ethnic Catholics. They find evidence of the reemergence of New York's historic alliance between liberal whites, blacks, and Hispanics, but this time led by blacks. The technical appendixes on polling techniques are useful for research on voter behavior. Suitable for academic urban affairs collections.
- Harry Frumerman, formerly with Hunter Coll., CUNY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 041590420X
• ISBN 13: 9780415904209
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1