A trailblazer in New York City politics, former Mayor David Dinkins has died at the age of 93.
New York City Police Department officers were called to former Mayor Dinkins’ home Nov. 23 where it is believed he died of natural causes.
The city’s first and only African-American mayor, Dinkins broke barriers with his 1989 mayoral run, defeating three-term incumbent Ed Koch in the Democratic primary and Republican Rudy Giuliani in the general election by just 47,000 votes, the narrowest electoral margin in New York City history.
Giuliani offered his condolences on Twitter, saying Dinkins “gave a great deal of his life in service to our great city. That service is respected and honored by all.”
Born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1927, Dinkins graduated from Howard University and earned a law degree from Brooklyn Law School. Also a veteran, he served in the Marines in Korea before marrying Joyce Burrows.
He briefly practiced law before being elected a Harlem state assemblyman and going on to serve as president of the Board of Elections, city clerk and Manhattan borough president. He spent 14 years of his career working in the city’s Municipal Building which was named after him in 2015.
“Those of us who were lucky to serve in the Dinkins Administration had the honor of serving a leader who took challenges head on,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement at the time. “He’s left an indelible impact on this city – and on Chirlane’s and my lives. We are so grateful for Mayor Dinkins’ decades of public service and everything he’s done to ensure a stronger, safer city.”
Giuliani defeated Dinkins in his bid for reelection in 1993. Dinkins accepted a share of the blame for the 1991 riots but blamed his loss on “racism, pure and simple” in his 2013 memoir.
After leaving office, Dinkins became a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He still remained active in New York City politics and hosted a weekly radio show, according to his city biography.
“The NAACP is saddened to learn of the passing of David N. Dinkins,” said Derrick Johnson, NAACP president and CEO. “Winning his election against all odds, he showed us what was possible at a time when opportunities were limited.
During his tenure, Dinkins created an all-civilian structure of the Civilian Complaint Review Board – a quasi-independent city agency that monitors and investigates complaints of police officer misconduct – and significantly strengthened its powers to combat abuses of power by the police.
“Though his tenure saw New York City’s highest-ever murder rate in 1990, it fell every successive year of his term, and overall major crime dropped throughout Dinkins’ final three years.”
Dinkins is survived by his son, David Jr.; and daughter, Donna and two grandchildren.
