1961 Philadelphia municipal election

Last updated

Philadelphia's municipal election of November 7, 1961, involved the election of the district attorney, city controller, and several judgeships. Democrats swept all of the city races but saw their vote totals much reduced from those of four years earlier, owing to a growing graft scandal in city government. District Attorney James C. Crumlish, Jr. and City Controller Alexander Hemphill, both incumbents, were returned to office. Several ballot questions were also approved, including one permitting limited sales of alcohol on Sundays.

Contents

Background

Easily reelected in 1959, Mayor Richardson Dilworth grew less popular by 1961. Richardson Dilworth.jpg
Easily reelected in 1959, Mayor Richardson Dilworth grew less popular by 1961.

In 1957 and 1959, Philadelphia Democrats had achieved citywide victories over the Republicans, capping a string of electoral wins that had begun in 1951. [1] Their 1959 victory, especially, indicated a complete domination of the city's politics as Mayor Richardson Dilworth carried 58 of 59 wards in his reelection bid; he and other Democrats running for citywide seats took nearly two-thirds of the vote. [1] It was followed up by a resounding success in the presidential election of 1960, when Democratic Senator John F. Kennedy carried the state thanks to a 330,000-vote majority in Philadelphia. [2] The coalition of independent reformers and organization Democrats looked to further increase their success in 1961, with Democratic City Committee chairman William J. Green, Jr., predicting a margin of 100,000 votes in the off-year election. [2]

As the election neared, however, some cracks began to show in the Democrats' dominance. Dilworth held a neighborhood meeting to announce a plan to charge for parking in South Philadelphia, and was pelted with rocks and garbage in a near-riot. [3] [4] Even more embarrassing to a party that had been elected on a platform of reform was an investigation that year into political corruption and bribery in City Hall. [3] Republicans demanded that a grand jury be convened to investigate further, but Judge Raymond Pace Alexander (who had served as a Democratic city councilman from 1952 to 1959) rejected their petition. [3] While Green asked voters for "indorsement for continuance in office on solid accomplishments," Republican City Committee chairman Wilbur H. Hamilton drew attention to the scandals and called the erstwhile reform movement a "broken idol" that "promised much and delivered little." [5]

District Attorney

1961 Philadelphia District Attorney's race by ward, with Crumlish in blue and Smith in red 1961PhiladelphiaDistrictAttorneyByWard.png
1961 Philadelphia District Attorney's race by ward, with Crumlish in blue and Smith in red

Philadelphia elects a district attorney independently of the mayor, in a system that predates the charter change. [6] Since 1957, district attorney elections have followed mayoral and city council elections by two years. [7] In that year, Philadelphians reelected Victor H. Blanc as District Attorney of Philadelphia by a thirteen-percentage-point margin. Three years later, Governor David L. Lawrence appointed Blanc to the court of common pleas. [8] Blanc's first assistant, Paul M. Chalfin, served as acting district attorney while the common pleas judges decided on a replacement who would serve until the 1961 election. [9] The fight for the interim post became a battle between political factions with Green's preferred candidate, James C. Crumlish, Jr., getting the judges' approval in March 1961. Crumlish ran for a full four-year term that fall. [9]

Republicans nominated Theodore B. Smith, Jr., a former assistant district attorney who had been in private practice since 1958, without primary opposition. [10] [11] Smith and the Republicans accused Crumlish of being a tool of the Democratic party machine and said that he covered up corruption in the graft investigation. [12] Democrats were confident of an easy victory for Crumlish, but he won by just 47,000 votes. The margin was far less than expected and the worst showing for Democrats in a district attorney contest since 1947. [2] Crumlish trailed all citywide Democratic candidates, which The Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Joseph C. Goulden attributed to the growing perception of corruption in the party, and in the district attorney's office in particular. [13]

Philadelphia District Attorney election, 1961 [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic James C. Crumlish, Jr. 335,806 53.90 −2.33
Republican Theodore B. Smith, Jr. 287,25246.10+2.33

City Controller

Philadelphia elects a City Controller to sit at the head of an independent auditing department. The Controller approves all payments made out of the city treasury and audits the executive departments. [15] As an independently elected official, the Controller is not responsible to the mayor or the city council. [15] The office was created under the 1919 City Charter and later given expanded powers as one of the good-government reforms intended to reduce the corruption that had previously plagued city government and led to the reform coalition of 1951. [15]

Democrat Alexander Hemphill had been elected to the office in 1957 and ran for reelection. He was a lawyer with a long history of involvement in Democratic politics who had worked with reformers in the campaigns that ultimately defeated the Republican organization in 1951. Hemphill was the organization's nominee in 1957, but often clashed with Dilworth and others. His investigation had brought to light the initial evidence leading to the graft charges against members of his own party. [11]

Hemphill's opponent was Joseph C. Bruno, a West Philadelphia lawyer, who fended off a surprisingly strong primary protest vote for Joseph A. Schafer, an accountant from Northeast Philadelphia. [10] Despite Hemphill's investigation into the alleged misconduct, the Democratic Party's scandals reduced his totals as well, though still giving him a 55,000-vote victory over Bruno. [12] Hemphill continued in office until 1967, when he resigned to run for mayor. [16]

Philadelphia City Controller election, 1961 [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Alexander Hemphill 340,164 54.54 −2.42
Republican Joseph C. Bruno 283,58345.46+2.42

Judges and magistrates

Although Pennsylvania's judges are elected in partisan elections, there had been a tradition of not challenging the re-election of incumbents. To that end, judicial candidates were typically endorsed by both major parties but in 1953 Democrats broke the informal pact and endorsed just three of the sitting judges, resulting in an unusually intense contest. [17] By 1957, the old order was mostly re-established as all but one of the sitting judges were endorsed for re-election by both parties and returned to office without opposition. [18]

In 1961, four common pleas court judges and two orphans' court judges were on the ballot, and all were cross-endorsed in accordance with the sitting-judge principle. [11] All were reelected to ten-year terms, including Victor H. Blanc, the former district attorney. [19]

There were also seven seats open for magistrate, a local court, the duties of which have since been superseded by the Philadelphia Municipal Court. In the magistrate races, a limited voting law meant that each political party could nominate four candidates, and voters could only vote for four, with the result being that the majority party could only take four of the seven seats, leaving three for the minority party. [11] The Democrats took the maximum number of four magistracies, with all four of their incumbents being reelected, led by Harry C. Schwartz. [20] The remaining three seats went to Republicans, with one spot going to the only GOP incumbent on the ballot, Thomas A. Connor. [20] The other two Republicans elected were 42nd Ward leader John P. Walsh and former police captain Luke A. McBride, who edged out court stenographer George J. Woods. [20]

Ballot questions

At the May primary, two referendums were proposed; the first would permit Sunday alcohol sales in hotels that had liquor licenses, the second would borrow $10 million for school construction. Both passed, gathering 67.6% and 75.9% of the vote, respectively. [21] In November, five more questions were on the ballot, all asking the voters' permission to borrow money for various infrastructure improvements. [11] All five, approving a total of $65 million in loans, passed by a two-to-one margin. [22]

Aftermath

The 1961 election confirmed the Democrats in power, but their reduced margins and increased association with machine politics signaled the beginning of the end for the party's coalition with independent good government reformers. [23] Dilworth, in particular, saw the election as a warning sign, telling the party that they must "watch your Ps and Qs" to avoid further setbacks. [24] Even so, Green's control over federal patronage through the Kennedy administration and Dilworth's resignation in 1962 to run for governor left the Democratic Party fully in the hands of the ward leaders. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richardson Dilworth</span> American politician

Richardson K. Dilworth was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 91st mayor of Philadelphia from 1956 to 1962. He twice ran as the Democratic nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, in 1950 and in 1962. He is to date the last White Anglo-Saxon Protestant mayor of Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Norwitch</span> American politician

Harry Norwitch was an organized labor leader and Democratic politician from Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1951 Philadelphia municipal election</span>

The 1951 Philadelphia municipal election, held on Tuesday, November 6, was the first election under the city's new charter, which had been approved by the voters in April, and the first Democratic victory in the city in more than a half-century. The positions contested were those of mayor and district attorney, and all seventeen city council seats. There was also a referendum on whether to consolidate the city and county governments. Citywide, the Democrats took majorities of over 100,000 votes, breaking a 67-year Republican hold on city government. Joseph S. Clark Jr. and Richardson Dilworth, two of the main movers for the charter reform, were elected mayor and district attorney, respectively. Led by local party chairman James A. Finnegan, the Democrats also took fourteen of seventeen city council seats, and all of the citywide offices on the ballot. A referendum on city-county consolidation passed by a wide margin. The election marked the beginning of Democratic dominance of Philadelphia city politics, which continues today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1955 Philadelphia municipal election</span>

The 1955 Philadelphia municipal election, held on Tuesday, November 8, involved contests for mayor, district attorney, all seventeen city council seats, among other offices. Citywide, the Democrats took majorities of over 130,000 votes, continuing their success from the elections four years earlier. Richardson Dilworth, who had been elected district attorney in 1951, was elected mayor. Victor H. Blanc, a city councilman, was elected district attorney. The Democrats also kept fourteen of seventeen city council seats, losing one district seat while gaining another, and kept control of the other citywide offices. The election represented a further consolidation of control by the Democrats after their citywide victories of four years earlier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1953 Philadelphia municipal election</span>

Philadelphia's municipal election of November 3, 1953, was the second held under the city charter of 1951 and represented the first test of the Democratic city government of Mayor Joseph S. Clark Jr. In the 1951 election, the voters had elected a Democratic mayor for the first time in 67 years, breaking the Republican hold on political power in the city. They had also elected a majority-Democratic City Council along with Democrats for district attorney and other citywide offices. In 1953, the voters had the chance to continue the Democratic trend or to block it in the election for City Controller, Register of Wills, and various judges and magistrates. On election day, the Republican organization recovered from their 1951 losses, electing all their candidates citywide. Republicans celebrated the victory, but subsequent Democratic triumphs in the 1955 and 1959 elections made the 1953 result more of an aberration than a true comeback for the once-powerful Philadelphia Republican machine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1957 Philadelphia municipal election</span>

The 1957 Philadelphia municipal election, held on November 5, involved the election of the district attorney, city controller, and the remainder of a term for one city council seat, as well as several row offices and judgeships. Democrats were successful citywide, continuing a run of victories racked up after the passage of a new city charter in 1951 despite growing divisions between factions of the party. Victor H. Blanc, the incumbent district attorney, led the Democratic ticket to victory. They held the city council seat and took two citywide offices that Republicans had won in 1953. In the judges' elections, most were endorsed by both parties but in the one race that pitted a Democratic candidate against a Republican, the Democrats were successful in seating their candidate, former Congressman Earl Chudoff.

Joseph Lorenz Kun was a Philadelphia lawyer and judge who served for thirty years on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1959 Philadelphia municipal election</span>

1959 Philadelphia's municipal election, held on November 3, involved contests for mayor, all seventeen city council seats, and several other executive and judicial offices. Citywide, the Democrats took majorities of over 200,000 votes, continuing their success from the elections four years earlier. Richardson Dilworth, who had been elected mayor in 1955, was re-elected over Republican nominee Harold Stassen. The Democrats also took fifteen of seventeen city council seats, the most seats allowed to any one party under the 1951 city charter. They further kept control of the other citywide offices. The election represented a continued consolidation of control by the Democrats after their citywide victories of the previous eight years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice S. Osser</span> American politician

Maurice S. Osser was a Democratic politician from Philadelphia who served as City Commissioner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry W. Sawyer</span> American lawyer, civil rights activist and politician

Henry Washington Sawyer III was an American lawyer, civil rights activist and politician. Born in Philadelphia, he served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, afterwards returning to the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Sawyer worked as a corporate lawyer but is best known for his advocacy of civil liberties, especially in First Amendment cases. In Abington School District v. Schempp and Lemon v. Kurtzman, he successfully argued cases on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union before the Supreme Court of the United States that became the basis for all modern Establishment Clause jurisprudence. Sawyer also pursued civil rights causes in Philadelphia and in the South during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Originally a Republican, he was elected as a Democrat to serve a four-year term on the Philadelphia City Council, where he worked for civil service reform and to increase the amount of public art in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaetano Giordano</span> American businessman

Gaetano Paul "Tommy" Giordano Sr. was a Philadelphia businessman who served three terms on the Philadelphia City Council as a Democrat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1960 Philadelphia City Council special election</span>

The 1960 Philadelphia City Council special election was held to fill two vacant city council seats. The first was in the 4th district, when Democrat Samuel Rose died in January 1960. A second vacancy that same year occurred in the 6th district when Democrat Michael J. Towey died suddenly in September 29. Special elections were scheduled for November 8, 1960, to be held at the same time as the national election that year. Both seats were easily held by the Democratic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William A. Dwyer Jr.</span> American judge

William Aloysius Dwyer Jr. was an American lawyer, judge, and Democratic politician from Philadelphia. He served on the Philadelphia City Council from 1960 to 1963 and on the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas from 1967 until his death in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Hemphill</span> American politician (1921–1986)

Alexander Hemphill was a Democratic lawyer and politician from Philadelphia who served as City Controller from 1958 to 1968. After service in World War II and graduation from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Hemphill embarked on a legal career before running for office. In his three terms as city controller, he exposed corruption and malfeasance, often to the discomfort of his fellow Democrats. He ran for mayor of Philadelphia in 1967 against the incumbent Democrat, James Tate, but was unsuccessful, and retired to a private law practice until his death in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foster A. Dunlap</span> American lawyer and politician

Foster Alexander Dunlap was a Republican lawyer and politician from Philadelphia who served as City Controller from 1954 to 1958.

Stanley Bartlett Smullen Jr. was a Philadelphia businessman who served briefly on the Philadelphia City Council as a Republican.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1962 Philadelphia City Council special election</span>

Philadelphia's City Council special election of 1962 was held to fill three vacant city council seats. The first was in the 8th district, when Democrat Alfred Leopold Luongo was appointed to the federal bench in September 1961. A second vacancy that same year occurred in the 10th district when Democrat John M. McDevitt resigned in June 1962 to become a Catholic priest. An at-large seat also became vacant when Victor E. Moore resigned in September 1962 to become the head of the Philadelphia Gas Works. Special elections were scheduled for November 6, 1962, to be held at the same time as the federal and gubernatorial elections that year. Democrats held two of the seats but lost the 8th district to a Republican.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1963 Philadelphia municipal election</span>

The 1963 Philadelphia's municipal election, held on November 5, involved contests for mayor, all seventeen city council seats, and several other executive and judicial offices. The Democrats lost vote share citywide and the Republicans gained one seat in City Council, but the Democratic acting mayor, James Tate, was elected to a full term and his party maintained their hold on the city government. The election was the first decline in the Democrats' share of the vote since they took control of the city government in the 1951 elections, and showed the growing tension between the reformers and ward bosses within their party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin Meehan</span> Politician in Philadelphia

Austin Andrew Meehan, Sr., was a Republican politician in Philadelphia who served as county sheriff. Before entering politics, Meehan ran his family's paving business and was known as a local basketball star. Beginning as an insurgent within the city's Republican Party, he soon won the favor of party bosses and climbed the ranks of Philadelphia's Republican organization. Meehan served two terms as county sheriff from 1944 to 1952 and was recognized as the unofficial head of the Republican Party in Philadelphia in the 1950s. He remained an influential party member until his death in 1961. He was the father of Billy Meehan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph J. Hersch</span> American politician (1903–1968)

Joseph John Hersch was a Democratic politician from Philadelphia who served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and as a city magistrate before being elected to the Philadelphia City Council.

References

  1. 1 2 Freedman 1963, pp. II–31–II–33.
  2. 1 2 3 Inquirer 1961f.
  3. 1 2 3 Freedman 1963, p. II–32.
  4. ↑ Goulden, Thomas & Collins 1961.
  5. ↑ Green 1961; Hamilton 1961.
  6. ↑ Freedman 1963, p. II–6.
  7. ↑ Reichly 1959, p. 39.
  8. ↑ Freedman 1963, p. II–33.
  9. 1 2 Freedman 1963, p. II–34.
  10. 1 2 Miller 1961, p. 3.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Inquirer 1961a.
  12. 1 2 Goulden 1961, p. 1.
  13. ↑ Goulden 1961, p. 4.
  14. 1 2 Bulletin Almanac 1962, p. 32.
  15. 1 2 3 Committee of Seventy 1980, pp. 71–72.
  16. ↑ Inquirer 1986.
  17. ↑ Inquirer 1953.
  18. ↑ Miller 1957.
  19. ↑ Inquirer 1961c.
  20. 1 2 3 Inquirer 1961d.
  21. ↑ Miller 1961, p. 1.
  22. ↑ Inquirer 1961e.
  23. 1 2 Freedman 1963, pp. II–51–II–52.
  24. ↑ Inquirer 1961b.

Sources

Books

Newspapers

Report

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.