United States municipal elections, 2017

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Elections were held in 59 of the 100 largest cities by population in 2017. This included elections for 36 mayoral offices and 367 city council seats, as well as special district offices and municipal offices other than mayor. Four states—Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas—accounted for half of the mayoral elections. Ohio, Texas, and New York hosted more than a third of the city council races.

The 36 mayoral elections resulted in changes in partisan control in the following three cities: Albuquerque, El Paso, and San Antonio. These three changes resulted in no net gain for Republicans and a net loss of one seat for Democrats, since an independent won the San Antonio mayor's office formerly held by a Democrat. Click here to read more about changes in partisan control in 2017 and the role of partisanship in municipal elections.

In 2017, Ballotpedia launched comprehensive election coverage for the nation's 100 largest cities. Our coverage was previously limited to the mayors and councils of these cities. Our comprehensive coverage contains every election on the ballot in these cities, including special districts and ballot measures. In 2017, this included elections in 23 counties encompassing 42 county commissioners, 21 county officials, and 45 county special district board members.

These elections were impacted by some common public policy issues. In 2017, Ballotpedia covered the following policy storylines:

Click on the tabs in the section below for links to Ballotpedia's 2017 municipal election coverage. These tabs organize this coverage by state, date, and type. There are also tabs with more information about 2017's battleground elections, election statistics, and issues.


Overview

Eighteen of the 36 mayoral elections in the 100 largest cities in 2017 took place in four states: Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas. The map below shows the geographic distribution of mayoral races in 2017 in the largest U.S. cities by population.

Fifty-two of the largest 100 U.S. cities by population held city council elections in 2017. More than a third of those contests took place in just three states. New York held a special election for city council in February, and all 51 seats on the New York City Council were up for regular election in November. Another 50 seats across eight cities in Texas and 35 seats across four cities in Ohio were also up for election in 2017. The map below notes the geographic distribution of these city council seats.

By state

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Note: In addition to the regularly scheduled city council election on August 29, 2017, the runoff election for the 2016 special election in District 3 was held on March 14, 2017.

California

Colorado

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Note: In addition to the regularly scheduled municipal elections on November 7, 2017, there was an election for two of five seats on the Board of Directors of the Greater Boise Auditorium District on May 16, 2017.

Illinois

Kansas

Louisiana

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Note: In addition to the regular elections, a special election for the Ward 28 seat on the St. Louis Board of Aldermen was held on July 11, 2017.

Nebraska

Nevada

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

Tennessee

Texas

Note: In addition to the regular election, there was a special election for the District 8 seat on the El Paso City Council in 2017. A runoff for that election was held on July 15, 2017.

Virginia

Washington

Wisconsin

By date

February 7

General election

February 14

Special election

Primary election

February 28

Special election

March 7

Primary election

March 14

Special runoff election

April 4

Special election

Primary election

General election

May 2

Primary election

General election

May 6

Special election

General election

May 9

General election

May 16

Primary election

General election

June 6

Primary election

General election

Special election

June 10

Special election

Runoff election

June 13

Primary election

General election

July 11

Special election

July 15

Special runoff election

August 1

Primary election

August 8

Special election

Primary election

August 15

Special election

August 22

General election

August 29

Primary election

General election

September 12

Special election

Primary election

September 19

Special runoff election

September 26

Primary election

October 3

General election

Runoff election

October 10

Primary election

General election

Primary runoff election

October 14

Primary election

November 7

Primary election

General election

Runoff election

November 14

Runoff election

November 18

General election

November 21

Runoff election

December 5

Runoff election

December 7

Runoff election

By type

Cities

Counties

Battleground elections

Ballotpedia identified six of the 2017 mayoral races as battleground elections: Charlotte, El Paso, Minneapolis, Omaha, San Antonio, and Seattle. The following capsules summarize the issues in these elections.

Seattle

See also: Mayoral election in Seattle, Washington (2017)
Jenny Durkan
Cary Moon

After former Seattle Mayor Ed Murray (D) announced that he would not seek re-election on May 9, 2017, the competition to replace him swelled to a 21-candidate field. Former U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan and community activist Cary Moon emerged from that primary to advance to the general election. Both women identify as Democrats although the election and office are both nonpartisan. Durkan received notable endorsements from Murray, The Seattle Times, and the Washington State Council of County and City Employees, while Moon's notable endorsements included Democracy for America, King County Democrats, and the Seattle Education Association. The main issues during the campaign were housing costs, homelessness, the city budget, and a recently-passed income tax ordinance on high-wage earners. Durkan defeated Moon to become Seattle's first lesbian mayor and its first female mayor since Bertha Knight Landes served from 1926 to 1928.[1]

Charlotte

See also: Mayoral election in Charlotte, North Carolina (2017)
Vi Lyles (D)
Kenny Smith (R)

After Democratic City Councilwoman Vi Lyles defeated incumbent Jennifer Roberts (D) in the Democratic primary on September 12 by nearly 10 percentage points, the general election matched Lyles against Councilman Kenny Smith (R). Each vied to become Charlotte’s seventh different mayor since 2009. A Smith win would have made Charlotte the third-largest city in the U.S. with a Republican mayor after San Diego (Kevin Faulconer) and Jacksonville (Lenny Curry). Instead, Lyles became the city's first black female mayor. The two candidates debated the city's 2016 non-discrimination ordinance, public transportation, housing, and taxation at candidate forums in the lead-up to the general election. Polling in October had pointed to a close general election contest, with a survey by Spectrum News and SurveyUSA showing Lyles favored by 41 percent of residents, Smith by 40 percent, and 19 percent undecided. The 2015 mayoral election had also been tight; Jennifer Roberts (D) defeated Edwin Peacock (R) with 52.3 percent of the vote. However, the 2017 election did not turn out to be close. Lyles won by over 16 percentage points and received more than 58 percent of the vote.

Minneapolis

See also: Mayoral election in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2017)
Betsy Hodges
Jacob Frey
Raymond Dehn

Members of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) have held the mayor's office in Minneapolis since 1978, including Mayor Betsy Hodges, who was seeking a second term in office. However, Hodges lost her bid for a second term to Councilman Jacob Frey (DFL). The outcome of the election was not determined until the day after the election, since the city uses ranked choice voting (RCV) and no candidate received a majority of first-preference votes. A high-profile shooting of an Australian citizen by a Minneapolis police officer in July 2017, as well as other police-involved shootings, caused the issues of police culture and administration of the city's police department to become central topics in this campaign. This debate extended to broader racial equity and race relations problems in the city, including daily police-community relations, housing accessibility, and employment and income gaps. Hodges also failed to secure the DFL's endorsement for her re-election bid after she failed to win the 60 percent support needed at the party's convention in July. She came in third with 24 percent support, trailing state Rep. Raymond Dehn (32 percent) and Frey (28 percent).

Omaha

See also: Municipal elections in Omaha, Nebraska (2017)
Jean Stothert (R)
Heath Mello (D)

The mayoral race between incumbent Jean Stothert (R) and challenger Heath Mello (D) attracted national attention with visits by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) prior to the general election. Sanders campaigned with Mello on April 20, 2017, while Walker campaigned with Stothert on April 24, 2017. During the campaign, Stothert and Mello disagreed over approaches to public safety, a proposed streetcar project, tax policy, the 2016 annexation of several subdivisions into the city boundaries, and the Stothert administration’s handling of a rare snowstorm in February 2017. Five candidates ran in the primary election on April 4, 2017, with Stothert finishing first ahead of Mello by 1,400 votes out of over 58,000 cast. In the general election on May 9, 2017, Stothert won re-election with 53 percent of the vote.[2][3]
In Omaha, the general election functions as a runoff since all candidates appear on the primary ballot, regardless of party, and if no one receives a majority of the votes, the top two candidates meet in the general election.

San Antonio

See also: Municipal elections in San Antonio, Texas (2017)
Ivy R. Taylor (D)
Ron Nirenberg (I)

Mayor Ivy R. Taylor’s (D) re-election bid attracted a field of 14 candidates, including District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg (I) and Bexar County Democratic Party Chair Juan Manuel Medina. Prominent issues that impacted this race were legislation considered by the Texas State Legislature regarding immigration enforcement and how best to meet the city's increasing water needs. Taylor finished first with 42 percent of the vote in the general election on May 6, 2017, while Nirenberg was second with 37 percent. However, in the runoff election on June 10, 2017, Nirenberg was elected mayor with almost 55 percent of the vote.

El Paso

See also Municipal elections in El Paso, Texas (2017)
Dee Margo
David Saucedo

Ethics and government transparency were central issues in the 2017 municipal elections in El Paso. Mayor Oscar Leeser (D) was one of five city officials alleged to have violated the state's Open Meetings Act by attending closed-door meetings about proposed locations for a city arena. Leeser decided not to run for re-election to a second term in 2017. Dee Margo (R) and David Saucedo (R) were the top two vote recipients in the general election on May 6, 2017, with Margo taking 45 percent of the vote in an eight-candidate field. During the runoff campaign, Saucedo alleged that corruption and preferential treatment existed in El Paso's city government. Subsequently, Margo was endorsed by Leeser and five city council members, and Margo refused to participate in further debates and candidate forums with Saucedo. In the runoff election, Margo was elected with 57 percent of the vote.[4][5]

Statistics

Fifty-nine of America's largest 100 cities by population and 23 large counties held elections in 2017. A total of 587 positions were up for election in those 82 jurisdictions. Incumbents ran in 428 (72.9 percent) races, and 55 of them (12.9 percent) were defeated in their re-election bids. There were 130 elections (22.1 percent) in which a single candidate filed to run.

Cities

Fifty-nine of the 100 largest U.S. cities by population held elections for mayor, city council, and special district officials in 2017. A total of 479 positions were up for election, and incumbents ran in 354 (73.9 percent) of those races. Forty-six incumbents (13.0 percent) lost their re-election bids, and 83 elections (17.3 percent) featured only one candidate.

Fifty-four of the 59 large cities with elections in 2017 elected a mayor and/or members of the city council. A total of 36 mayoral seats and 367 city council seats were up for election. In the previous odd-numbered year, 2015, 58 large cities held elections for 33 mayoral seats and 467 city council seats. Forty-five large cities held elections for 25 mayoral seats and 216 city council seats in 2016, and 43 large cities held elections for 24 mayoral seats and 198 city council seats in 2014.

In 2017, incumbents ran for re-election in 24 mayoral races (66.7 percent) and 274 city council races (74.7 percent). Five mayors (20.8 percent) and 37 city councilmembers (13.5 percent) were defeated in their re-election bids. In the previous odd-numbered year, 2015, four (16.0 percent) of the 25 mayoral incumbents (75.8 percent) who ran for re-election were defeated and 30 (9.7 percent) of the 309 city council incumbents (66.2 percent) who ran were defeated. Fifteen mayors (60.0 percent) and 156 city councilmembers (72.2 percent) ran for re-election in 2016, and four mayors (26.7 percent) and 22 councilmembers (14.1 percent) were defeated. In 2014, 14 mayors (58.3 percent) and 130 city councilmembers (65.7 percent) ran for re-election, and two mayors (14.3 percent) and 21 councilmembers (16.2 percent) were defeated.

None (0.0 percent) of the 2017 mayoral races and 47 (12.8 percent) of the 2017 city council races featured only one candidate. In the previous odd-numbered year, 2015, three mayoral races (9.1 percent) and 97 city council races (20.8 percent) featured only one candidate. A single candidate ran in four mayoral elections (16.0 percent) and 48 city council elections (22.2 percent) in 2016 and two mayoral elections (8.3 percent) and 31 city council elections (15.7 percent) in 2014.

Counties

Twenty-three large counties held elections for county and special district officials in 2017. A total of 108 positions were up for election, and incumbents ran in 74 (68.5 percent) of those races. Nine incumbents (12.2 percent) lost their re-election bids, and 47 elections (43.5 percent) featured only one candidate.

Issues

While mayoral and city council campaigns often focus on local issues, certain national topics emerged as focal points in multiple jurisdictions. With the Trump administration’s focus on immigration in 2017, election campaigns in many cities included discussions about sanctuary policy conflicts between the federal and local governments. Click here to read more of Ballotpedia’s discussion of sanctuary policy conflicts. Some other common issues in 2017 included:

Taxes

Taxes were a prominent issue in several municipal elections in 2017. In 2011, the city of Omaha began to assess a 2.5 percent tax on the total value of all food and beverages purchased at restaurants in the city, in addition to local and state sales taxes. Democratic challenger Heath Mello criticized Republican incumbent Jean Stothert for not cutting this tax despite her promises to cut taxes during her 2013 election campaign. Stothert countered that although she supported a cut to the restaurant tax, she focused instead on lowering property taxes. She also contended that the city was able to enact two property tax rate cuts in her first term.[6]

On July 10, 2017, the Seattle City Council unanimously approved an income tax of 2.25 percent on all single residents with annual incomes over $250,000 and married residents with annual incomes over $500,000. This ordinance met the deadline set by a unanimous May 1 vote by the council requiring adoption of a "progressive income tax targeting high-income households." On August 9, 2017, The Freedom Foundation and 19 other plaintiffs filed a complaint in King County Superior Court against the city's income tax ordinance arguing that Washington cities are only capable of levying taxes as granted by the state legislature. The complaint also contends that a 1984 state prohibition on net income taxes and the lack of an income tax power in the city's charter should invalidate the ordinance. Click here for more about Seattle's income tax, including statements by municipal candidates on the issue.[7][8][9][10][11]

Crime and policing

Crime and policing was also an issue in municipal elections in 2017. Mayoral candidates in St. Louis addressed the city’s crime rate in the Democratic primaries. Democratic primary winner Lyda Krewson proposed hiring 200 additional police officers. She also called for a pay raise for law enforcement as well as more training, technology, and equipment for the force. The St. Louis Police Officers Association endorsed her in the primary. Second-place finisher and former state Representative Tishaura Jones (D) supported increases to police pay but not to the overall size of the force. Jones' crime plan included a focus on mental health and substance abuse by both training the police force to be better able to respond to those cases and by decriminalizing some drug-related crimes. Krewson went on to win the general election on April 4, 2017.[12][13][14]

On May 16, 2017, voters in Los Angeles approved Charter Amendment C allowing Los Angeles Police Department officers to have their disciplinary hearings overseen by a panel of three civilians instead of a panel of one civilian and two officers ranking captain or higher. These disciplinary panels, called boards of rights, have the power to penalize officers up to and including termination of employment. Proponents of the change emphasized the importance of citizen involvement and civilian oversight in the city's policing. They also asserted that the removal of police hierarchy from the process improves the fairness and transparency of the rulings. Critics responded with concerns over the tendencies of civilian panelists to give more lenient rulings in favor of officers and worries over how to ensure that civilian panelists have the necessary expertise to rule in these cases. This amendment was approved by a 55-45 margin. Click here and here for more information and background about this measure.[15][16]

In Omaha, the two general election mayoral candidates had different policy prescriptions to reduce the city's crime rate. Jean Stothert said that during her first term, she contributed to a number of changes in the city: the addition of 56 full-time officers to the city's police department, funding for community programs for at-risk youth, and plans for a fifth police precinct. Heath Mello argued for strengthening the city's citizen review board for police, employing an independent group to review police staffing needs, and creating a council to help people find work after leaving prison. Stothert won re-election on May 9, 2017, with 53 percent of the vote.[17]

Water

Eight cities in Texas among the 100 largest cities in the U.S. by population held municipal elections on May 6, 2017, and runoff elections on June 10, 2017. Two of these campaigns saw discussions among candidates about how best to provide sufficient and high-quality water to city residents.

In San Antonio, the city council voted unanimously in 2014 to approve the construction of a $3 billion water pipeline to transport water approximately 140 miles to the city. Supporters said the pipeline was necessary to meet the needs of the growing population of the area, while critics argued that the city had other options—such as desalination and conservation—to address water needs that would reduce risks to the long-term water security of the area. Click here for a more thorough discussion of the policy implications of this pipeline project.

In Corpus Christi, concerns about water quality had impacted city residents in the years before the 2017 elections. In July 2015, E. coli contamination was found in water samples, and the city issued a water boil notice. Low levels of chlorine used to disinfect the water supply prompted a second water advisory in some parts of the city in September 2015, and positive tests for non-harmful bacteria led to a third in May 2016. A fourth water advisory was issued in December 2016, after city officials found an unidentified chemical in the water supply. Former councilman Joe McComb, who received 52 percent of the vote in an eight-candidate field to become Corpus Christi’s new mayor, stated that not enough city funds had gone toward repair and maintenance of streets, water, and sewer lines.[18][19]

See also

Local Politics 2017 Election Analysis
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Poll Closing Times
Municipal government
Local courts
School boards
Local ballot measures
Local recalls

Municipal elections, 2017
Local court elections, 2017
School board elections, 2017
Local ballot measure elections, 2017
Political recall efforts, 2017

Municipal: Partisanship in United States municipal elections
Local: Preemption conflicts between state and local governments
Local: Sanctuary policy preemption conflicts between the federal and local governments


Footnotes

  1. ↑ Seattle Times, "Jenny Durkan defeats Cary Moon to become Seattle’s first woman mayor since the 1920s," November 8, 2017
  2. ↑ KETV, "Bernie Sanders to campaign for Omaha mayoral candidate Heath Mello at April 20 rally," April 7, 2017
  3. ↑ Omaha World-Herald, "Scott Walker coming to Omaha to rally voters for Jean Stothert," April 19, 2017
  4. ↑ KVIA, "Saucedo Fires Back: 'Birds of a Feather Flock Together," May 11, 2017
  5. ↑ KVIA, "Margo Declines to Participate in Forums with Saucedo Headed Towards Runoff Election," May 16, 2017
  6. ↑ Omaha World-Herald, "Stothert and Mello both talk tax cuts, but any changes would likely be small," March 6, 2017
  7. ↑ Bloomberg, "Seattle Approves New Income Tax for Wealthy Residents," July 10, 2017
  8. ↑ City of Seattle, "LEG Progressive Income Tax SUM," May 1, 2017
  9. ↑ Washington State Department of Revenue, "City-county assistance," accessed May 3, 2017
  10. ↑ Washington State Legislature, "RCW 36.65.030," accessed May 3, 2017
  11. ↑ The Freedom Foundation, "Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief," August 9, 2017
  12. ↑ Lyda Krewson for Mayor, "My Commitment to Safe Neighborhoods," accessed January 20, 2017
  13. ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "What to do about crime? St. Louis mayoral candidates weigh in," January 29, 2017
  14. ↑ Tishaura O. Jones for Mayor, "Criminal Justice Reform and Public Safety," accessed March 13, 2017
  15. ↑ 89.3 KPCC, "Plan for LAPD civilian discipline panels moves forward," January 12, 2017
  16. ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Union-backed changes to LAPD disciplinary system could go to voters," November 23, 2016
  17. ↑ Omaha World-Herald, "On public safety, Stothert and Mello take different approaches," April 11, 2017
  18. ↑ Corpus Christi Caller-Times, "Timeline: Corpus Christi Water Issues Since 2015," December 22, 2016
  19. ↑ Corpus Christi Caller-Times, "Mayoral Candidates Talk Water Future, Water Past," March 24, 2017
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