David Dinkins

David Dinkins
David Dinkins February 5, 2007
106th Mayor of New York City
In office January 1, 1990 – December 31, 1993
Preceded by	Ed Koch
Succeeded by	Rudy Giuliani
23rd Manhattan Borough President
In office 1986–1989
Preceded by	Andrew Stein
Succeeded by	Ruth Messinger
Personal details
Born	July 10, 1927 (1927-07-10) (age 84) Trenton, New Jersey
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Joyce Dinkins nee Burrows
Residence	New York City
Alma mater	Howard University
Religion	Episcopalian

David Norman Dinkins (born July 10, 1927) is a former politician from New York City. He was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993; he was the first and is, to date, the only African American to hold that office.

Early life

Dinkins was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and raised by his father, his parents having separated when he was six years old.^[1] He moved to Harlem as a child but returned to Trenton and attended Trenton Central High School, where he graduated in 1945 in the top 10 percent of his class. After graduation, he attempted to enlist in the United States Marine Corps, but was told that a racial quota had been filled. He served in the Marine Corps from 1945 through 1946.^[2][3]

Dinkins graduated magna cum laude from Howard University with a degree in mathematics. He later graduated from Brooklyn Law School.^[3]

Political career

Dinkins rose through the Democratic Party organization in Harlem and became part of an influential group of African-American politicians that included Denny Farrell, Percy Sutton, Basil Paterson, and Charles Rangel; the latter three together with Dinkins were known as the "Gang of Four".^[4] As an investor, Dinkins was one of fifty African American investors who helped Percy Sutton found Inner City Broadcasting Corporation in 1971. He served briefly in the New York State Legislature.

Dinkins was named Deputy Mayor by Mayor Abraham D. Beame but was ultimately not appointed. He served as President of the Board of Elections from 1972 to 1973, and City Clerk from 1975 to 1985.^[5] He was elected Manhattan Borough President in 1985 on his third run for that office. Dinkins was elected Mayor of New York City on November 7, 1989, defeating three-term incumbent Mayor Ed Koch and two others in the Democratic primary and Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani in the general election.

Dinkins was elected in the wake of a corruption scandal that involved several Democratic leaders in New York City. Mayor Koch, the presumptive Democratic nominee, was politically damaged by the corruption in his administration and his handling of racial issues, and among the candidates Dinkins was his greatest challenger.^[6] Additionally, the fact that Dinkins is African-American helped him avoid criticism he was ignoring the black vote by campaigning to whites.^[7] A large turnout of African-American voters was vital to his election and he campaigned throughout the city.^{[8][not in citation given]}

In 1990, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Dinkins was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.^[9]

Mayoralty

Dinkins entered office pledging racial healing, and famously referred to New York's demographic diversity as a "gorgeous mosaic."^[10] Dinkins's term was marked by polarizing events such as the boycott of Korean-owned groceries in Flatbush and the 1991 Crown Heights riot. When Lemrick Nelson was acquitted of killing Yankel Rosenbaum during the riot, Dinkins said "I have no doubt that in this case the criminal-justice system has operated fairly and openly."^[11]

Although rates of most crimes, including all categories of violent crime, made consecutive declines during the last 36 months of his four-year term, ending a 30-year upward spiral and initiating a trend of falling rates that continued beyond his term, Dinkins was hurt by the perception that crime was out of control during his administration.^[12][13] Dinkins also initiated a hiring program that expanded the police department nearly 25%.^[14]

1993 election

In 1993, Dinkins lost to Republican Rudy Giuliani, earning 48.3 percent of the vote, down from 51 percent in 1989.^[15] Although he was a moderate with a substantial history of building coalitions and supporting Jewish causes,^[16] one factor in his loss was his perceived indifference to the plight of the Jewish community during the Crown Heights riot.

During his final days in office, Dinkins made last-minute negotiations with the sanitation workers, presumably to preserve the public status of garbage removal. Incoming mayor Giuliani blamed Dinkins for a "cheap political trick" when Dinkins planned the resignation of Victor Gotbaum, Dinkins' appointee on the Board of Education, thus guaranteeing his replacement six months in office.^[17] Dinkins also signed a last minute 99-year lease with the USTA National Tennis Center, including strict limitations on flights in and out of neighboring LaGuardia Airport during the US Open.

Later career and legacy

Dinkins is a Professor in the Practice of Public Affairs at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.^[18] Each year Columbia hosts the Annual David N. Dinkins Leadership and Public Policy Forum. In 2011 the 14th Annual Forum focused on Crisis in State Budgets, with keynote speaker U.S. Senator Kristen Gillibrand. Although he has not attempted a political comeback, he has remained somewhat active in politics, and his endorsement of various candidates, including Mark J. Green in the 2001 Mayoral race, was well-publicized. He supported Democrats Fernando Ferrer in the 2005 New York mayoral election and Bill Thompson in 2009.

In the campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, Dinkins served as an elected delegate for Hillary Clinton from New York.^[19]

A 2009 report looking back at the Dinkins administration suggested that its legacy was not as negative as Giuliani stated, noting:

• Significant accomplishments in lowering the crime rate and increasing the size of the New York Police Department later in the administration, and the hiring of Raymond W. Kelly as police commissioner;
• The cleanup and revitalization of Times Square, including persuading the Walt Disney Corporation to rehabilitate an old 42nd Street theater;
• Major commitment to rehabilitation of dilapidated housing in northern Harlem, the South Bronx and Brooklyn despite significant budget constraints-—more housing rehabilitated in a single term than Mr. Giuliani did in two terms;
• The USTA lease, which in its final form Mayor Bloomberg called "the only good athletic sports stadium deal, not just in New York but in the country";
• Mental-health facility initiatives; and
• Policies and actions that decreased the size of the city's homeless shelter population to its lowest point in 20 years.^[20]

Personal life

Dinkins is married to Joyce Dinkins (née Burrows); they have two children. The couple are members of the Church of the Intercession in New York City. Dinkins' radio program "Dialogue with Dinkins" can be heard Saturday mornings on WLIB radio in New York City.^[21]

Dinkins is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha and Sigma Pi Phi ("the Boule"), the oldest collegiate and first professional Greek-letter fraternities, respectively, established for African Americans.

Humanitarian causes

Dinkins sits on the Board of Directors of The Jazz Foundation of America.^[22] Dinkins also sits on the Honorary Founders Board, having worked with the Jazz Foundation to save the homes and the lives of America's elderly jazz and blues musicians, including musicians who survived Hurricane Katrina, since its inception.^[23]

Citywide tickets on which Dinkins ran

1989 NYC Democratic ticket

• Mayor: David Dinkins
• City Council President: Andrew Stein
• Comptroller: Elizabeth Holtzman

1993 NYC Democratic ticket

• Mayor: David Dinkins
• Public Advocate: Mark J. Green
• Comptroller: Alan Hevesi

References

1. ^ McQuiston, John T. (October 20, 1991). "William Dinkins, Mayor's Father And Real Estate Agent, Dies at 85". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/20/nyregion/william-dinkins-mayor-s-father-and-real-estate-agent-dies-at-85.html. 
2. ^ "David Dinkins Biography - 1190 WLIB - Your Praise & Inspiration Station". Wlib.com. http://wlib.com/pages/2927519.php. Retrieved September 23, 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Cheers, D. Michael. "Mayor of 'The Big Apple': 'nice guy' image helps David N. Dinkins in building multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition – New York City", Ebony (magazine), February 1990. Accessed September 4, 2008.
4. ^ "Harlem 'trailblazer', former World War II Tuskegee Airmen Percy Sutton dies", Rich Schapiro, New York Daily News, December 27, 2009.
5. ^ "NYC 100 - NYC Mayors - The First 100 Years". Nyc.gov. http://www.nyc.gov/html/nyc100/html/classroom/hist_info/mayors.html#dinkins. Retrieved September 23, 2011. 
6. ^ "pp. 237–238, paragraph 3". Books.google.com. http://books.google.com/books?id=_A1GDIGAyTQC&pg=PA237&lpg=PA237&dq=mayor+koch+scandal+mayoral+election+1989&source=bl&ots=sYv0lfIFXX&sig=G7kTYp8K7kjtuzqniUClpxmfYTI&hl=en&ei=kDt5TbX8PMaC0QG2w-DuAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=mayor%20koch%20scandal%20mayoral%20election%201989&f=false. Retrieved September 23, 2011. 
7. ^ J. Phillip Thompson, David Dinkins' Victory in New York City: The Decline of the Democratic Party Organization and the Strengthening of Black Politics, Political Science & Politics, June 1990.
8. ^ "paragraph 8". Nytimes.com. September 10, 1989. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/10/nyregion/black-voters-say-it-s-time-for-dinkins.html. Retrieved September 23, 2011. 
9. ^ A Memorial Tribute to Harrington, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 23, 1990.
10. ^ Todd S. Purdum (January 2, 1990). "Mayor Dinkins; Dinkins Sworn In; Stresses Aid to Youth". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/02/nyregion/mayor-dinkins-dinkins-sworn-in-stresses-aid-to-youth.html. Retrieved August 13, 2010. 
11. ^ The Politics of grievance: Dinkins, the Blacks, and the Jews," New York Magazine, December 7, 1992, p. 19
12. ^ Wayne Barrett (June 25, 2001). "Giuliani's Legacy: Taking Credit For Things He Didn't Do". Gotham Gazette. http://www.gothamgazette.com/commentary/91.barrett.shtml. Retrieved November 15, 2007. 
13. ^ Patrick A. Langan; Matthew R. Durose (December 2003). "The Remarkable Drop in Crime in New York City" (PDF). International Conference on Crime. http://www.istat.it/istat/eventi/2003/perunasocieta/relazioni/Langan_rel.pdf. Retrieved November 15, 2007. "According to NYPD statistics, crime in New York City took a downturn starting around 1990 that continued for many years, shattering all the city’s old records for consecutive-year declines in crime rates." 
14. ^ Sam Roberts (August 7, 1994). "As Police Force Adds to Ranks, Some Promises Still Unfulfilled". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E1DE1E31F934A3575BC0A962958260. Retrieved November 15, 2007. 
15. ^ Purdum, Todd S. (November 3, 1993). "THE 1993 ELECTIONS: Mayor; GIULIANI OUSTS DINKINS BY A THIN MARGIN; WHITMAN IS AN UPSET WINNER OVER FLORIO". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE4DF153EF930A35752C1A965958260&pagewanted=2. 
16. ^ "Archives Main Page". Blackpressusa.com. November 11, 1989. http://www.blackpressusa.com/history/archive_essay.asp?NewsID=1538&Week=45. Retrieved September 23, 2011. 
17. ^ Siegel, Fred The Prince of the City (San Francisco, Encounter Books, 2005) pp. 90
18. ^ "SIPA: Faculty David N. Dinkins". Sipa.columbia.edu. http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/academics/directory/dd98-fac.html. Retrieved September 23, 2011. 
19. ^ "Reporters Notebook: New Yorkers make their mark on Maryland politics". Gazette.net. October 1, 2010. http://www.gazette.net/stories/10012010/polinew192830_32533.php. Retrieved September 23, 2011. 
20. ^ "Political Memo: Another Look at the Dinkins Administration, and Not by Giuliani" by Michael Powell, The New York Times, October 25, 2009 (p. A19 October 26, 2009 NY ed.). Retrieved October 26, 2009.
21. ^ "1190 WLIB – Your Praise & Inspiration Station – Praise Team: On-Air Schedule". Wlib.com. January 6, 2009. http://wlib.com/pages/143245.php. Retrieved September 23, 2011. 
22. ^ JazzFoundation.org. May 10, 2009. URL:http://www.jazzfoundation.org/JFA_2007_invite.pdf. Accessed: May 10, 2009. (Archived by The JFA at http://www.jazzfoundation.org/JFA_2007_invite.pdf)
23. ^ patrickmcmullan.com. May 10, 2009. URL:http://www.patrickmcmullan.com/site/event_detail.aspx?eid=25724. Accessed: May 10, 2009. (Archived by The patrick mcmullan at http://www.patrickmcmullan.com/site/event_detail.aspx?eid=25724)

External links

• Finding Aid for the David N. Dinkins Papers housed at Columbia University's Rare Book and Manuscript Library

	Biography portal
	United States Marine Corps portal

• David Dinkins's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project

New York Assembly
Preceded by new district	New York State Assembly, 78th District 1966	Succeeded by Edward Stevenson
Political offices
Preceded by Andrew Stein	Borough President of Manhattan 1986–1989	Succeeded by Ruth Messinger
Preceded by Edward I. Koch	Mayor of New York 1990–1993	Succeeded by Rudolph W. Giuliani

Persondata
Name	Dinkins, David N.
Alternative names
Short description	106th Mayor of New York City
Date of birth	July 10, 1927
Place of birth	Trenton, New Jersey
Date of death
Place of death