The Bronx

==Government and politics==
===Local government===
{{Main|Government of New York City}}
Since New York City's consolidation in 1898, the New York City Charter that provides for a "strong" [[Mayor–council government|mayor–council system]] has governed the Bronx. The centralized New York City government is responsible for public education, correctional institutions, libraries, public safety, recreational facilities, sanitation, water supply, and welfare services in the Bronx.
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:1em;"
|-
! colspan="3" style="background:violet; " | Borough Presidents of the Bronx
|-
! Name !! Party !! Term †
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Louis F. Haffen]] ||[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]||1898 – Aug. 1909
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[John F. Murray (politician)|John F. Murray]] ||[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]||Aug. 1909–1910
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Cyrus C. Miller]] ||[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]||1910–1914
|- style="background:#ffe2e2;"
| |[[Douglas Mathewson]]||[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]-<br />Fusion||1914–1918
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Henry Bruckner]] ||[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]||1918–1934
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[James J. Lyons]] ||[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]||1934–1962
|- style="background:#ffe2e2;"
| [[Joseph F. Periconi]] ||[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]-<br />[[Liberal Party of New York|Liberal]]||1962–1966
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Herman Badillo]]||[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]|| 1966–1970
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Robert Abrams]]||[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]|| 1970–1979
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Stanley Simon]]||[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]||1979 – April 1987
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Fernando Ferrer]]||[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]||April 1987 – 2002
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Adolfo Carrión, Jr.]]||[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]||2002 – March 2009
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Rubén Díaz, Jr.]]||[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]||May 2009 – 2021
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Vanessa Gibson]]||[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]||2022 –&nbsp;
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" |† Terms begin and end in January<br />where the month is not specified.
|}
The office of [[Borough President]] was created in the consolidation of 1898 to balance centralization with local authority. Each borough president had a powerful administrative role derived from having a vote on the [[New York City Board of Estimate]], which was responsible for creating and approving the city's budget and proposals for land use. In 1989 the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] declared the Board of Estimate unconstitutional on the grounds that [[Brooklyn]], the most populous borough, had no greater effective representation on the Board than [[Staten Island]], the least populous borough, a violation of the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment's]] [[Equal Protection Clause]] pursuant to the high court's 1964 "one man, one vote" decision.<ref name="law.cornell.edu">[https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0489_0688_ZS.html Cornell Law School Supreme Court Collection: Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris], accessed June 12, 2006</ref>

Since 1990 the Borough President has acted as an advocate for the borough at the mayoral agencies, the [[New York City Council|City Council]], the New York state government, and corporations.

Until March 1, 2009, the Borough President of the Bronx was [[Adolfo Carrión Jr.]], elected as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] in 2001 and 2005 before retiring early to direct the [[White House Office of Urban Affairs Policy]]. His successor, Democratic [[New York State Assembly]] member [[Rubén Díaz Jr.|Rubén Díaz, Jr.]] — after winning a special election on April 21, 2009, by a vote of 86.3% (29,420) on the "Bronx Unity" line to 13.3% (4,646) for the Republican district leader Anthony Ribustello on the "People First" line,<ref name="nytimes.com">Trymaine Lee, [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/nyregion/22bronx.html "Bronx Voters Elect Díaz as New Borough President"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', New York edition, April 22, 2009, page A24, retrieved on May 13, 2009</ref><ref name="vote.nyc.ny.us">The Board of Elections in the City of New York, [http://www.vote.nyc.ny.us/pdf/results/2009/BronxBoroPresident_4_21_09/BronxBoroPresident-Recap.pdf Bronx Borough President special election results, April 21, 2009] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725025650/http://www.vote.nyc.ny.us/pdf/results/2009/BronxBoroPresident_4_21_09/BronxBoroPresident-Recap.pdf |date=July 25, 2011 }} ([[PDF]] with details by Assembly District, April 29, 2009), retrieved on May 13, 2009</ref> — became Borough President on May 1, 2009. In 2021, Rubén Díaz's Democratic successor, [[Vanessa Gibson]] was elected (to begin serving in 2022) with 79.9% of the vote against 13.4% for Janell King (Republican) and 6.5% for Sammy Ravelo (Conservative).

All of the Bronx's currently elected public officials have first won the nomination of the [[Democratic Party (U.S.)|Democratic Party]] (in addition to any other endorsements). Local party platforms center on affordable housing, education and economic development. Controversial political issues in the Bronx include environmental issues, the cost of housing, and annexation of parkland for new [[Yankee Stadium]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Calder |first=Rich |date=May 8, 2017 |title="City backtracks on promise to replace Yankee Stadium parkland" |work=New York Post |url=https://nypost.com/2017/05/08/city-backtracks-on-promise-to-build-affordable-housing-units/ |access-date=March 3, 2023}}</ref>

Since its separation from [[New York County]] on January 1, 1914, the Bronx, has had, like each of the other 61 counties of New York State, its own criminal court system<ref name="courtstart" /> and [[District attorney|District Attorney]], the chief public prosecutor who is directly elected by popular vote. [[Darcel D. Clark]] has been the [[Bronx County District Attorney]] since 2016. Her predecessor was [[Robert T. Johnson (lawyer)|Robert T. Johnson]], the District Attorney from 1989 to 2015. He was the first African-American District Attorney in New York State.<ref>Mueller, Benjamin. [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/19/nyregion/robert-johnson-bronx-district-attorney-says-he-wants-to-become-a-state-judge.html "Robert Johnson, Bronx District Attorney, Says He Wants to Become a State Judge"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', September 18, 2015. Accessed May 14, 2021. "With the backing of Democratic leaders, Mr. Johnson won a contested election in 1988 to become the first black district attorney in the state."</ref>

The Bronx also has twelve [[Community boards of the Bronx|Community Boards]], appointed bodies that advise on land use and municipal facilities and services for local residents, businesses and institutions.

===Politics===
{{PresHead|place=Bronx County, New York|source1=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=August 26, 2017}}</ref>|source2=<ref name="NYCBOEPOTUS">{{cite web|url=https://web.enrboenyc.us/CD23464ADI0.html|title=Board of Elections in the City of New York 2020 Election Night Results President/Vice President|access-date=November 7, 2020|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107162601/https://web.enrboenyc.us/CD23464ADI0.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>|source3=<ref name="NYSBOEPOTUS">{{cite web|url=https://nyenr.elections.ny.gov/|title=New York State Board of Elections, 2020 General Election Night Results|access-date=November 7, 2020|archive-date=November 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120174014/https://nyenr.elections.ny.gov/|url-status=dead}}</ref>|source4=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vote.nyc/page/election-results-summary|title = Election Results Summary &#124; NYC Board of Elections}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2020|Democratic|67,740|355,374|3,579|New York}}
{{PresRow|2016|Democratic|37,797|353,646|8,079|New York}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|29,967|339,211|1,760|New York}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|41,683|338,261|1,378|New York}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|56,701|283,994|2,284|New York}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|36,245|265,801|6,017|New York}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|30,435|248,276|10,639|New York}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|63,310|225,038|17,112|New York}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|76,043|218,245|3,793|New York}}
{{PresRow|1984|Democratic|109,308|223,112|1,263|New York}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|86,843|181,090|14,914|New York}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|96,842|238,786|1,763|New York}}
{{PresRow|1972|Democratic|196,754|243,345|1,075|New York}}
{{PresRow|1968|Democratic|142,314|277,385|24,818|New York}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|135,780|403,014|800|New York}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|182,393|389,818|2,071|New York}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|257,382|343,823|0|New York}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|241,898|392,477|13,420|New York}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|173,044|337,129|112,182|New York}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|211,158|450,525|3,352|New York}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|198,293|418,931|6,980|New York}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|93,151|419,625|16,042|New York}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|76,587|281,330|42,002|New York}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|98,636|232,766|12,545|New York}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|79,583|72,840|64,234|New York}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|106,050|45,741|35,538|New York}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|40,938|47,870|7,396|New York}}
|}
After becoming a separate county in 1914, the Bronx has supported only two Republican presidential candidates. It voted heavily for the winning Republican [[Warren G. Harding]] in [[1920 United States presidential election in New York|1920]], but much more narrowly on a split vote for his victorious Republican successor [[Calvin Coolidge]] in [[1924 United States presidential election in New York|1924]] (Coolidge 79,562; [[John W. Davis]], Dem., 72,834; [[Robert M. La Follette, Sr.|Robert La Follette]], 62,202 equally divided between the [[Progressive Party (United States, 1924)|Progressive]] and [[Socialist Party of America|Socialist]] lines).

Since then, the Bronx has always supported the Democratic Party's nominee for president, starting with a vote of 2–1 for the unsuccessful [[Al Smith]] in 1928, followed by four 2–1 votes for the successful [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. (Both had been Governors of New York, but Republican former Gov. [[Thomas E. Dewey]] won only 28% of the Bronx's vote in 1948 against 55% for Pres. [[Harry Truman]], the winning Democrat, and 17% for [[Henry A. Wallace]] of the [[Progressive Party (United States, 1948)|Progressives]]. It was only 32 years earlier, by contrast, that another Republican former Governor who narrowly lost the Presidency, [[Charles Evans Hughes]], had won 42.6% of the Bronx's 1916 vote against Democratic President [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s 49.8% and Socialist candidate [[Allan Benson]]'s 7.3%.)<ref>''[[The World Almanac and Book of Facts]]'' for 1929 & 1957; ''[[The Encyclopedia of New York City]]'', edited by [[Kenneth T. Jackson]] ([[Yale University Press]] and the [[New-York Historical Society]], [[New Haven, Connecticut]], 1995 {{ISBN|0-300-05536-6}}), article on "government and politics"</ref>

===Federal Representatives===
As of 2023, four Democrats represented the Bronx in the [[United States House of Representatives]]: <ref name="govtrack.us 2018">{{cite web | title=New York Senators, Representatives, and Congressional District Maps | website=GovTrack.us | date=May 21, 2018 | url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/NY#representatives | access-date=December 29, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230030025/https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/NY#representatives | archive-date=December 30, 2018 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Adriano Espaillat]] (first elected in 2016) represents [[New York's 13th congressional district]], which includes the Bronx neighborhoods of [[Bedford Park, Bronx|Bedford Park]], [[Jerome Park, Bronx|Jerome Park]], [[Kingsbridge Heights, Bronx|Kingsbridge Heights]], [[Norwood, Bronx|Norwood]], and parts of [[Fordham, Bronx|Fordham]], [[Kingsbridge, Bronx|Kingsbridge]], [[Morris Heights, Bronx|Morris Heights]], and [[University Heights, Bronx|University Heights]], as well as portion of Manhattan.
* [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] (first elected in 2018) represents [[New York's 14th congressional district]], which includes the neighborhoods of [[City Island, Bronx|City Island]], [[Country Club, Bronx|Country Club]], [[Van Nest, Bronx|Van Nest]], [[Morris Park, Bronx|Morris Park]], [[Parkchester, Bronx|Parkchester]], [[Pelham Bay, Bronx|Pelham Bay]], [[Schuylerville, Bronx|Schuylerville]], and [[Throgs Neck, Bronx|Throggs Neck]], as well as a portion of Queens.
* [[Ritchie Torres]] (first elected in 2020) represents [[New York's 15th congressional district]], which includes [[West Bronx]] and [[South Bronx]].
* [[Jamaal Bowman]] (first elected in 2020) represents [[New York's 16th congressional district]], which includes the neighborhoods of [[Wakefield, Bronx|Wakefield]], as well as a portion of Westchester County.

===Elections for Mayor of New York===
The Bronx has often shown striking differences from other boroughs in [[New York City mayoral elections|elections for Mayor]]. The only Republican to carry the Bronx since 1914 was [[Fiorello La Guardia]] in 1933, 1937, and 1941 (and in the latter two elections, only because his 30% to 32% vote on the [[American Labor Party]] line was added to 22% to 23% as a Republican).<ref>(The Republican line exceeded the ALP's in every other borough)</ref> The Bronx was thus the only borough not carried by the successful Republican re-election campaigns of Mayors [[Rudy Giuliani]] in 1997 and [[Michael Bloomberg]] in 2005. The anti-war [[Socialist Party of America|Socialist]] campaign of [[Morris Hillquit]] in the [[1917 New York City mayoral election|1917 mayoral election]] won over 31% of the Bronx's vote, putting him second and well ahead of the 20% won by the incumbent pro-war Fusion Mayor [[John Purroy Mitchel]], who came in second (ahead of Hillquit) everywhere else and outpolled Hillquit citywide by 23.2% to 21.7%.<ref>To see a comparison of borough votes for Mayor, see [[New York City mayoral elections#How the boroughs voted]].</ref>

{| border="2" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" "border="2" cellpadding="3"; border-collapse:collapse; font-size:90%;"
| colspan="8" style="background:#d5d5d5;" | {{center|'''The Bronx County vote for Mayor since 1953'''}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
|- style="background:#ff7;"
! style="text-align:center; background:#ffd588;" |Year
! style="text-align:center; background:#e5e5e5;" |Candidate carrying<br />the Bronx
! style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;" |Elected Mayor
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" |[[2021 New York City mayoral election|2021]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Eric Adams]],<br />D|| style="background:#edffff;" |[[Eric Adams]],<br />D
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" |[[2017 New York City mayoral election|2017]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Bill de Blasio]],<br />D-[[Working Families Party|Working Families]] || style="background:#edffff;" |[[Bill de Blasio]],<br />D-[[Working Families Party|Working Families]]
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" |[[2013 New York City mayoral election|2013]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Bill de Blasio]],<br />D-[[Working Families Party|Working Families]] || style="background:#edffff;" |[[Bill de Blasio]],<br />D-[[Working Families Party|Working Families]]
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" |[[2009 New York City mayoral election|2009]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Bill Thompson (New York politician)|Bill Thompson]],<br />D-[[Working Families Party|Working Families]]|| style="background:#fff3f3;" |[[Michael Bloomberg]],<br />R–[[Independence Party of New York|Indep'ce]]/Jobs & Educ'n
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" |[[2005 New York City mayoral election|2005]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Fernando Ferrer]], D || style="background:#fff3f3;" |[[Michael Bloomberg]], R/Lib-[[Independence Party of New York|Indep'ce]]
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" |[[2001 New York City mayoral election|2001]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Mark Green (New York politician)|Mark Green]],<br />D-[[Working Families Party|Working Families]]|| style="background:#fff3f3;" |[[Michael Bloomberg]],<br />R-[[Independence Party of New York|Independence]]
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" | [[1997 New York City mayoral election|1997]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Ruth Messinger]], D|| style="background:#fff3f3;" |[[Rudy Giuliani]], R-Liberal
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" | [[1993 New York City mayoral election|1993]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[David Dinkins]], D || style="background:#fff3f3;" |[[Rudy Giuliani]], R-Liberal
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" | [[1989 New York City mayoral election|1989]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[David Dinkins]], D || style="background:#edffff;" |[[David Dinkins]], D
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" | [[1985 New York City mayoral election|1985]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Ed Koch]], D-Indep.|| style="background:#edffff;" |[[Ed Koch]], D-Independent
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" | [[1981 New York City mayoral election|1981]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Ed Koch]], D-R || style="background:#edffff;" |[[Ed Koch]], D-R
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" | [[1977 New York City mayoral election|1977]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Ed Koch]], D|| style="background:#edffff;" |[[Ed Koch]], D
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" | [[1973 New York City mayoral election|1973]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Abraham Beame]], D || style="background:#edffff;" |[[Abraham Beame]], D
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" | [[1969 New York City mayoral election|1969]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Mario Procaccino]],<br />D-Nonpartisan-Civil Svce Ind. || style="background:#fefeea;" |[[John Lindsay]], Liberal
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" | [[1965 New York City mayoral election|1965]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Abraham Beame]],<br />D-Civil Service Fusion || style="background:#fff3f3;" |[[John Lindsay]],<br />R-Liberal-Independent Citizens
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" | [[1961 New York City mayoral election|1961]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Robert F. Wagner Jr.]],<br />D-Liberal-Brotherhood || style="background:#edffff;" |[[Robert F. Wagner Jr.]],<br />D-Liberal-Brotherhood
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" | [[1957 New York City mayoral election|1957]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Robert F. Wagner Jr.]],<br />D-Liberal-[[Electoral fusion (New York)|Fusion]]|| style="background:#edffff;" |[[Robert F. Wagner Jr.]],<br />D-Liberal-[[Electoral fusion (New York)|Fusion]]
|-
| style="background:#ffd588;" | [[1953 New York City mayoral election|1953]]|| style="background:#def;" |[[Robert F. Wagner Jr.]], D || style="background:#edffff;" |[[Robert F. Wagner Jr.]], D
|}
* For details of votes and parties in a particular election, click the year or see [[New York City mayoral elections]].