1971 Philadelphia mayoral election

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1971 Philadelphia mayoral election
Flag of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.svg
←  1967 November 2, 1971 1975  →
Turnout77% [1] Increase2.svg 4 pp
  Frank Rizzo 1972 (1).jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee Frank Rizzo Thacher Longstreth
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote394,067345,912
Percentage52.87%46.41%
1971 Philadelphia mayoral election results by ward.svg
Results by ward
Rizzo:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Longstreth:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Mayor before election

James Tate
Democratic

Elected mayor

Frank Rizzo
Democratic

The 1971 Philadelphia mayoral election took place on November 2, 1971, to fill the 182nd mayoral term in Philadelphia, with Democratic nominee Frank Rizzo defeating Republican Thacher Longstreth. [2] [3] While Longstreth received many split ticket votes from Democrats, Rizzo found support among unions and the white working-class electorate. [3]

Contents

Rizzo was the first Italian-American mayor of Philadelphia, [3] and would be reelected in 1975 before a failed attempt to change the city charter to allow him to run for a third term. [4]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Campaign

Frank Rizzo had a reputation for his harsh policing style and was called "the toughest cop in America". [6] He began as the frontrunner for the nomination, with the endorsement of the city's Democratic organization. [6]

Rizzo refused to debate or attend the same events as his opponents. [6] Green refused to discuss most issues, and avoided interviews or written questions by the media or civic groups. [6] He also refused to join his opponents in testifying on the city's financial problems before the Philadelphia City Council. [6] Rizzo also did not make many campaign appearances, making only a single appearance a day and only appearing in white ethnic neighborhoods considered to be friendly towards him. [6]

Rizzo repeatedly insisted that he was "not a politician". [6] Rizzo took a position against additional taxes. [6]

Rizzo had earned goodwill with many voters, who perceived his command of the police department as having staved off the sort of violent rioting other cities had experienced years earlier. [6]

Green warned voters that it would be a "disaster" if America's then-fourth largest city were to be led by Rizzo. [6]

Liberal politicians primarily supported Green. [6] Shortly before the primary, governor Milton Shapp endorsed Green (after which Rizzo attacked Shapp's record). [6]

Green's camp had attempted to get Williams to withdraw, in order to unite liberal voters around Green and against Rizzo. Williams refused. [6]

Williams was the first well-known African American to run for mayor of Philadelphia. [7]

After Shapp accused Rizzo of police brutality and Pennsylvania Attorney General J . Shane Creamer found Rizzo guilty of having beaten a black demonstrator in 1965, Rizzo dismissed this as a political "cheap shot". [6]

The Philadelphia Bulletin argued that the real race was not between Rizzo and Green, but between incumbent mayor Tate and governor Shapp for control of the Philadelphia Democratic Party. [6] This newspaper declined to endorse a candidate. [6]

Results

Philadelphia mayoral Democratic primary, 1971
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Frank Rizzo 176,621 48.86%
Democratic William J. Green III 127,90235.38%
Democratic Hardy Williams 45,02612.46%
Democratic David A. Cohen 4,1761.16%
Democratic James E. Poole2,7740.77%
Democratic Frank Lomento2,4540.68%
Democratic Albert Sprague1,5340.42%
Democratic Ira Einhorn 1,0220.28%

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Results

Longstreth faced only nominal opposition for the nomination. [6]

Philadelphia mayoral Republican primary, 1971 [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Thacher Longstreth 91,670 87.32%
Republican Irene M. Monahan8,8528.43%
Republican Odessa Bond2,7802.65%
Republican Vaiinupo J. Alailima1,6761.60%
Total votes104,978 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Rizzo, who had resigned as Police Commissioner earlier in the year, ran a "law-and-order" based campaign to appeal to white, blue-collar voters. [9] His campaign slogan "Rizzo means business" embodied this. [10] All major unions in Philadelphia endorsed Rizzo. Rizzo pledged to hire 2,000 more police officers to restore law and order. Longstreth ran to the left of Rizzo, arguing his methods were "overkill" and racially motivated. He won the endorsement of liberal Democrats and blacks throughout the city, which made the race competitive in a city where Democrats outnumbered Republicans 2-to-1. The two largest daily newspapers in Philadelphia, as well as many other news organizations, endorsed Republican Longstreth. Longstreth also criticized Rizzo's policy proposal to ban tax increases in the next four years as an "insult to the intelligence of voters" as the city of Philadelphia faced budgetary issues at the time. [9] While Longstreth campaigned throughout the city, Rizzo focused primarily on white, working class areas of the city. [10]

Results

The general election was close, with Rizzo defeating Longstreth by about 7% of the vote. Nonetheless, Rizzo benefited from white racial backlash en route to his first mayoral victory. [10] Rizzo would be re-elected in 1975 in a landslide, increasing his vote share to nearly 57%. Rizzo would later run for mayor as a Republican in 1987 in what would be the first mayoral loss of his career to Democrat Wilson Goode.

1971 Philadelphia mayoral election (general election) [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Frank Rizzo 394,067 52.87%
Republican Thacher Longstreth 345,91246.41%
Constitution Joseph J. Frieri2,4560.33%
ConservativeClarissa Cain1,0540.14%
Socialist Labor George S. Taylor9480.13%
Socialist Workers Jean Savage9190.12%
Turnout 745,356

References

  1. ↑ Denvir, Daniel (May 22, 2015). "Voter Turnout in U.S. Mayoral Elections Is Pathetic, But It Wasn't Always This Way". City Lab. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Mayors of Philadelphia". www.phila.gov. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Janson, Donald (November 3, 1971). "RIZZO WINS RACE IN PHILADELPHIA". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  4. ↑ Gambacorta, David; Laker, Barbara (June 4, 2020). "Frank Rizzo leaves a legacy of unchecked police brutality and division in Philadelphia". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  5. ↑ "5th Philadelphia Candidate". The New York Times . Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Janson, Donald (May 19, 1971). "Rizzo Wins Race in Philadelphia". The New York Times. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  7. ↑ Warner, Bob (March 20, 2015). "Is Every Philly Mayor's Race About Race?". NBC10 Philadelphia. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Final Tally Released On Primary Results". The Philadelphia Inquirer. June 16, 1971. p. 10. Retrieved February 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 Times, Donald Janson Special to The New York (November 3, 1971). "RIZZO WINS RACE IN PHILADELPHIA". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 Lamis, Renée M. (2009). The Realignment of Pennsylvania Politics Since 1960: Two-Party Competition in a Battleground State. Penn State Press. pp. 100–101. ISBN   978-0-271-08577-7.
  11. ↑ "Mayors of the City of Philadelphia 1691-2000". City of Philadelphia. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
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