1959 Philadelphia municipal election

none January 2025 September 2023 1959 Philadelphia municipal election Philadelphia presidential no 1957 1961 November 3, 1959 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. Background After taking control of the city government in 1951, Democrats consolidated their majorities with further success in 1955 and 1957. They hoped to continue the victories made possible by the continuing coalition of reform-minded independents and the Democratic organization led by Democratic City Committee chairman William J. Green Jr., but tension between the two groups had begun to increase by 1959 as more of the jobs and elected offices went to organization men, with reformers being increasingly marginalized.Reichly 1959 38–41 The Republican organization had largely collapsed after the 1955 defeat, but looked to rebuild and consolidate under the leadership of former sheriff Austin Meehan.Freedman 1963 II–35 However, as political scientist Robert Freedman wrote several years later, "there was not much left to consolidate."Freedman 1963 II–35 The Philadelphia Inquirer noted the dire condition of the Republicans while predicting a major Democratic victory: "the Republican organization has been on the border of collapse during the last few years and it is probable that it will not man a number of polling places on Election Day."Inquirer 1959b Mayor 1959 Philadelphia mayoral election Philadelphia presidential no 69%Voter Turnout in U.S. Mayoral Elections Is Pathetic, But It Wasn't Always This Way Denvir Daniel https://www.citylab.com/equity/2015/05/mayoral-election-voting-turnout/393737/#disqus_thread City Lab April 28, 2019 May 22, 2015 1955 Philadelphia mayoral election 1955 1963 Philadelphia mayoral election 1963 November 3, 1959 160x160px Richardson Dilworth Democratic Party (United States) 438,237 65.34% 160x160px Harold Stassen Republican Party (United States) 229,818 34.28% 1959PhiladelphiaMayorByWard.png Ward-level results in the mayor's race, with Dilworth in blue and Stassen in red Mayor Richardson Dilworth Democratic Party (United States) Richardson Dilworth Democratic Party (United States) In the mayor's race, incumbent Democrat Richardson Dilworth ran for reelection against Republican Harold Stassen.Miller 1959b After service in World War I and a law degree from Yale, Dilworth practiced law in Philadelphia.Mayer 2010 149 He and Joseph S. Clark Jr., were allies in the anti-corruption reform effort that had swept the city eight years earlier in coalition with the Democratic political organization.Mayer 2010 149 Dilworth had run for mayor unsuccessfully in 1947, with Clark as his campaign manager. In 1949, he was elected City Treasurer. He resigned that post to run for governor in 1950, but was defeated by Republican John S. Fine.Daily Times 1955 Democratic party leaders had intended Dilworth to be their candidate for mayor again in 1951, but when Clark announced his candidacy, Dilworth agreed to run for district attorney instead, and won.Neal 1990 In 1955, Dilworth got his shot at the mayor's office when Clark instead ran for the Senate; he was elected with 59% of the vote.Daily Times 1955 Four years later, he was renominated without opposition.Inquirer 1959a The Republicans nominated Harold Stassen. In 1938, Stassen was elected Governor of Minnesota at the age of thirty-one.Kirby 2003 318 He became known as an efficient, honest, and moderately liberal governor, and was reelected in 1940 and 1942.Kirby 2003 318–319 Stassen resigned as governor shortly after his 1942 reelection to serve in World War II. He made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for president in 1948; later that year, he was appointed president of the University of Pennsylvania.Kirby 2003 320 After four years, he left that position to work in the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration as a special assistant for nuclear disarmament efforts.Kirby 2003 322 In 1958, he sought the nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania, but was unsuccessful.Kirby 2003 324 As the 1959 election approached, Republican City Committee leaders Wilbur H. Hamilton and Austin Meehan backed Stassen for their party's nomination.Miller 1959a Triumphing over token opposition in the May primary, Stassen pledged to cut taxes and promised to run a "fusion campaign," inviting the support of Democrats dissatisfied with Dilworth's administration.Inquirer 1959a Dilworth called for more spending, especially on streets, highways, and public housing, and admitted that increased taxation was likely the price of those improvements.Freedman 1963 II–31 As in 1955, the result was a landslide for Dilworth.Miller 1959b Dilworth called the victory "greater than we had anticipated" and said the scale of the landslide "puts us on a spot. We really have to deliver during the next four years."Inquirer 1959c Stassen said he would return to his law practice and promised to continue to build the Republican Party in Philadelphia.Inquirer 1959c Dilworth secured nearly two-thirds of the vote and fifty-eight out of fifty-nine wards, continuing a trend of Democratic dominance in the city's politics.Freedman 1963 II–31 1959 Philadelphia mayoral electionBulletin Almanac 1960 27 Democratic Party (United States) Richardson Dilworth (incumbent) 438,237 65.34 +6.04 Republican Party (United States) Harold Stassen 229,818 34.28 -6.42 Socialist Labor Party of America George S. Taylor 2,536 0.38 +0.38 City Council Philadelphians elected a seventeen-member city council in 1959, with ten members representing districts of the city, and the remaining seven being elected at-large. For the at-large seats, each political party could nominate five candidates, and voters could only vote for five, with the result being that the majority party could only take five of the seven seats, leaving two for the minority party. The Democrats' citywide dominance continued into the city council races, as took control of all ten of the district seats, up from nine in the previous election. They also retained five of seven at-large seats.Inquirer 1959d In the at-large races, four incumbent Democratic candidates, Victor E. Moore, Paul D'Ortona, Marshall L. Shepard, and Leon Kolankiewicz, were re-elected. A fifth Democrat, state legislator Mary Varallo, was elected to the seat vacated by Henry W. Sawyer when he declined to run for re-election.Inquirer 1959d On the Republican side, at-large councilman Louis Schwartz retired and was replaced by Virginia Knauer. Incumbent Thomas M. Foglietta, a lawyer and son of former councilman Michael Foglietta, was re-elected.Inquirer 1959d Losing bids for the Republican at-large seats were attorneys Emil F. Goldhaber and William S. Rawls, and Baptist minister Clarence M. Smith.Inquirer 1959d At the district level, Democratic incumbents Emanuel Weinberg (district 1), Gaetano Giordano (district 2), Harry Norwitch (district 3), Samuel Rose (district 4), Michael J. Towey (district 6), James Tate (district 7), Henry P. Carr (district 9), and John M. McDevitt (district 10) were all reelected. In the 5th district, Raymond Pace Alexander chose not to run for re-election and fellow Democrat Thomas McIntosh took his place. In the 8th, the Republicans lost their only district-level seat when Wilbur H. Hamilton narrowly lost out to Democrat Alfred Leopold Luongo.Inquirer 1959d right At-large vote share by party Democratic 64.40 #0000FF Republican 35.51 #FF0000 Socialist Labor 0.09 #FF00FF 1959 Philadelphia city council election, at largeBulletin Almanac 1960 28Inquirer 1959d Democratic Party (United States) Paul D'Ortona (incumbent) 426,548 12.97 +0.96 Democratic Party (United States) Victor E. Moore (incumbent) 425,753 12.96 +0.95 Democratic Party (United States) Leon Kolankiewicz (incumbent) 422,314 12.86 – Democratic Party (United States) Mary Varallo 420,668 12.81 – Democratic Party (United States) Marshall L. Shepard (incumbent) 420,077 12.79 +0.90 Republican Party (United States) Thomas M. Foglietta (incumbent) 240,271 7.32 -0.83 Republican Party (United States) Virginia Knauer 234,392 7.14 – Republican Party (United States) Emil F. Goldhaber 233,871 7.12 – Republican Party (United States) William S. Rawls 229,719 6.99 – Republican Party (United States) Clarence M. Smith 227,972 6.94 – Socialist Labor Party of America Harry Wade 3,012 0.09 – thumb|Philadelphia city council districts after the 1959 election (Democrats in blue—all ten seats) 1959 Philadelphia city council election, district 1Bulletin Almanac 1960 28 Democratic Party (United States) Emanuel Weinberg (incumbent) 42,907 66.35 +3.98 Republican Party (United States) Nunzio Carto Jr. 21,756 33.65 -1.26 1959 Philadelphia city council election, district 2Bulletin Almanac 1960 28 Democratic Party (United States) Gaetano Giordano (incumbent) 38,601 64.93 +6.18 Republican Party (United States) Arthur W. Binns 20,849 35.07 -6.18 1959 Philadelphia city council election, district 3Bulletin Almanac 1960 28Inquirer 1959d Democratic Party (United States) Harry Norwitch (incumbent) 39,686 64.38 +4.79 Republican Party (United States) Abraham Levin 21,830 35.35 -4.52 Civic T. J. O'Donnell 166 0.27 +0.27 1959 Philadelphia city council election, district 4Bulletin Almanac 1960 28 Democratic Party (United States) Samuel Rose (incumbent) 42,711 73.59 +5.01 Republican Party (United States) James Morse 15,325 26.41 -5.01 1959 Philadelphia city council election, district 5Bulletin Almanac 1960 28Inquirer 1959d Democratic Party (United States) Thomas McIntosh 35,666 77.76 +7.49 Republican Party (United States) Elsie James 10,013 21.81 -7.92 Civic Henry C. James 188 0.42 +0.42 1959 Philadelphia city council election, district 6Bulletin Almanac 1960 28 Democratic Party (United States) Michael J. Towey (incumbent) 41,328 60.32 +3.53 Republican Party (United States) Stanley M. Bednarik 27,179 39.68 -3.53 1959 Philadelphia city council election, district 7Bulletin Almanac 1960 28 Democratic Party (United States) James Tate (incumbent) 43,965 66.88 +4.37 Republican Party (United States) George W. Hufnagel 21,769 33.12 -4.37 1959 Philadelphia city council election, district 8Bulletin Almanac 1960 28 Democratic Party (United States) Alfred Leopold Luongo 29,107 53.25 +4.06 Republican Party (United States) Wilbur H. Hamilton 25,551 46.75 -3.20 1959 Philadelphia city council election, district 9Bulletin Almanac 1960 28 Democratic Party (United States) Henry P. Carr (incumbent) 50,865 66.82 +5.79 Republican Party (United States) Eugene K. Mansdoerfer 25,254 33.18 -5.79 1959 Philadelphia city council election, district 10Bulletin Almanac 1960 28 Democratic Party (United States) John M. McDevitt (incumbent) 63,424 58.52 +3.98 Republican Party (United States) Francis P. McCusker 44,951 41.48 -3.98 City commissioners In the race for city commissioners, each party nominated two candidates and the top three were elected. The office was a county office, a holdover from the time before consolidation of the townships in Philadelphia County into one city. The most important of the remaining duties of the commissioners in Philadelphia was the conduct of the city's elections; they also had responsibility for regulating weights and measures.Office of the City Representative 1962 63 The Democrats' success continued in those races, with incumbent commissioners Maurice S. Osser and Thomas P. McHenry being easily reelected. For the third seat, reserved for the minority party, Republican former city councilman Louis Menna edged out the incumbent Republican commissioner, Walter I. Davidson.Bulletin Almanac 1960 27 Philadelphia city commissioners, 1959Bulletin Almanac 1960 27 Democratic Party (United States) Thomas P. McHenry (incumbent) 422,998 32.20 +2.34 Democratic Party (United States) Maurice S. Osser (incumbent) 421,476 32.08 +2.22 Republican Party (United States) Louis Menna 236,049 17.97 -2.04 Republican Party (United States) Walter I. Davidson (incumbent) 231,622 17.63 -2.55 Socialist Labor Party of America Mary Gesensway 1,684 0.13 +0.13 Other offices and ballot measures Democrat William M. Lennox was reelected county sheriff, his third consecutive term. Louis Amarando, also a Democrat, was reelected clerk of the court of quarter sessions (a court whose jurisdiction was later transferred to the court of common pleas).Inquirer 1959d In the special election for Register of Wills that followed the previous officeholder's appointment as a judge, Democrat John F. Walsh Jr. easily defeated Republican Jay H. Rosenfeld (Walsh had been appointed in 1959 to fill the vacancy).Inquirer 1959d The Democrats also took six of the ten magisterial district judge positions up for election that year (a local court, the duties of which have since been superseded by the Philadelphia Municipal Court) with former state representative Ralph M. Dennis leading the list.Inquirer 1959d The ballot contained two referendums authorizing the city to take loans for construction of building repairs, streets, sewers, and other civic improvements. They passed with overwhelming support, tallying 70% and 72% affirmative votes.Inquirer 1959d 1959 Philadelphia sheriff electionBulletin Almanac 1960 27 Democratic Party (United States) William M. Lennox (incumbent) 426,620 64.72 +4.91 Republican Party (United States) Jerome A. O'Neill 232,558 35.28 -4.91 1959 Philadelphia clerk of courts electionBulletin Almanac 1960 28 Democratic Party (United States) Louis Amarando (incumbent) 430,056 64.80 +6.81 Republican Party (United States) Barbara Ann Duffy 233,649 35.20 -6.81 1959 Philadelphia register of wills electionBulletin Almanac 1960 27 Democratic Party (United States) John E. Walsh Jr. 429,466 65.05 +7.26 Republican Party (United States) Jay H. Rosenfeld 230,783 34.95 -7.26 See also List of members of Philadelphia City Council since 1952 References 26em Sources Books Bulletin Almanac 1960 1960 The Philadelphia Bulletin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 8641470 Bulletin Almanac 1960 Freedman Robert L. A Report on Politics in Philadelphia 1963 Joint Center for Urban Studies of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001150726 1690059 Mayer Michael F. The Eisenhower Years 2010 Facts on File, Inc. New York, New York 978-0-8160-5387-2 https://books.google.com/books?id=dIhZxpoZVIQC& Office of the City Representative Decade of Progress: The story of Philadelphia, 1952–1961 Division of Public Information, Office of the City Representative 1962 11471789 Reichly James The Art of Government: Reform and Organization Politics in Philadelphia 1959 Fund for The Republic New York, New York https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001150728 994205 Journal Kirby Alec Harold Stassen, 13 April 1907 – 4 March 2001 Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society September 2003 147 3 317–324 1558222 Newspapers 3 GOP Politicians Pick Stassen For Mayor Race Miller Joseph H. The Philadelphia Inquirer February 28, 1959a https://www.newspapers.com/image/178141424/ Newspapers.com Both Party Slates Sweep in Phila. As M'Bride is Snowed Under The Philadelphia Inquirer May 20, 1959 4 https://www.newspapers.com/image/178318958 Newspapers.com Inquirer 1959a Smashing Dilworth Victory Expected Here The Philadelphia Inquirer November 1, 1959 https://www.newspapers.com/image/178130980/ Newspapers.com B-37 Inquirer 1959b Dilworth Re-Elected; Eagen Wins Miller Joseph H. The Philadelphia Inquirer November 4, 1959b https://www.newspapers.com/image/178141424/ Newspapers.com 1 Mayor Hails Victory; Stassen Tries To Cheer Backers The Philadelphia Inquirer November 4, 1959 https://www.newspapers.com/image/178141502/ Newspapers.com Inquirer 1959c City Vote Cast For Candidates The Philadelphia Inquirer November 5, 1959 https://www.newspapers.com/image/178143962/ Newspapers.com Inquirer 1959d Dilworth Landslide Sinks GOP in Phila. Delaware County Daily Times November 9, 1955 https://www.newspapers.com/image/65028166 Newspapers.com Daily Times 1955 Neal Steve Political Giant Joseph Clark Dead At 88 http://articles.philly.com/1990-01-15/news/25905842_1_mayoral-election-public-servant-first-democratic-mayor The Philadelphia Inquirer January 15, 1990 https://web.archive.org/web/20160602023136/http://articles.philly.com/1990-01-15/news/25905842_1_mayoral-election-public-servant-first-democratic-mayor June 2, 2016 collapsed Philadelphia City Council 1959 Philadelphia City Council Category:Mayoral elections in Philadelphia Philadelphia Category:1950s in Philadelphia Category:Municipal elections in Philadelphia