1933 New York City mayoral election

none January 2025 September 2023 1933 New York City mayoral election New York City Presidential no 1932 New York City special mayoral election 1932 (special) 1937 New_York_City_mayoral_election 1937 November 7, 1933 La Guardia by NYT Studios 1933.jpg Fiorello La Guardia Republican Party (United States) City Fusion Party 868,522 40.38% Mayor_Joseph_V_McKee_(cropped).png Joseph V. McKee 336699 Recovery 609,053 28.32% John Patrick O'Brien (1873-1951) in 1923 Crop.png John P. O'Brien Democratic Party (United States) Jefferson 586,672 27.27% NYC Mayoral Election Results 1933.svg 250px Borough resultsLaGuardia: #e9afaf 30–40% #de8787 40–50% Mayor John P. O'Brien Democratic Party (United States) Fiorello La Guardia Republican Party (United States) The New York City mayoral election of 1933 took place on November 7, 1933, in New York City.Peel Roy V. 1933 The New York Municipal Election https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0003055400029786/type/journal_article American Political Science Review en 27 6 918–923 10.2307/1947286 1947286 0003-0554 subscription Incumbent Democratic Mayor John P. O'Brien, who was elected in a special election after the resignation of Mayor Jimmy Walker, faced Republican Congressman and 1929 mayoral candidate Fiorello La Guardia, and former acting mayor and President of the New York City Board of Aldermen Joseph V. McKee, who became acting mayor after Walker's resignation until the special election, and ran on the Recovery Party line.https://www.nytimes.com/1956/01/29/archives/jv-mkee-is-dead-served-as-mayor-president-of-old-aldermanic-board.html J.V. M'KEE IS DEAD; SERVED AS MAYOR; President of Old Aldermanic Board Replaced Walker in Wave of Reform KNOWN AS 'HOLY JOE' Former Teacher Entered Politics 'by Accident'-- Headed Trust Company April 8, 2021 New York Times January 29, 1956 This was the first time since 1901 that Republicans won a mayoral election in New York City. This is also the worst performance by a Democratic candidate in a New York City mayoral election. Background Incumbent Democratic Mayor Jimmy Walker, who was a member of Tammany Hall, won reelection in the 1929 election against Republican nominee Fiorello La Guardia.Mann 1965 18 Walker resigned on September 1, 1932, following investigations into corruption by the Hofstadter Committee under the leadership of Samuel Seabury.Mann 1965 61-62 Joseph V. McKee succeeded Walker as mayor, but his opponents successfully sued for a 1932 special election, in which Tammany-backed John P. O'Brien was elected.Kessner 1989 238 The City Fusion Party was formed in opposition to Tammany Hall following O'Brien's victory, inspired by the Charter Party of Cincinnati, which defeated Rudolph K. Hynicka's political machine in the 1920s, and grew out of William Jay Schieffelin's Committee of One Thousand. The Fusion Conference Committee, a group of reformers and Republicans, was formed to select a candidate to oppose Tammany Hall in the mayoral election. The main leaders of the committee were former governor Charles Seymour Whitman, J. Barstow Smull, Joseph M. Price, and Maurice P. Davidson.Mann 1965 67-68 There were 2,324,389 registered voters in New York City in 1933, with 435,966 of them being Republicans. Herbert Hoover failed to win New York City in the 1928 and 1932 presidential elections.Mann 1965 125-126 Democratic nomination Candidates Jerome G. Ambro, Assemblyman from BushwickHEAVY VOTE LIKELY IN PRIMARY TODAY; UNREST IS LIKELY https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/09/19/105804256.html?pageNumber=1 1 September 19, 1933 The New York Times subscription Loring M. Black Jr., U.S. Representative from Brooklyn Axel T. Fredlund (also running as American) John P. O'Brien, incumbent mayor since 1932 Campaign Mayor O'Brien ran for re-election with the support of Tammany Hall and the Brooklyn party machine, led by John F. Curry and John H. McCooey respectively. He was opposed by two insurgent candidates, U.S. Representative Loring M. Black Jr. and Assemblyman Jerome G. Ambro. In the waning days of the campaign, there were callsMarch 2025 for O'Brien to withdraw from the race. In an interview at City Hall, O'Brien emphatically denied that he would withdraw and predicted his own re-election. Both insurgent candidates predicted they would win the primary, which party organization men characterized as absurd, predicting a large plurality for O'Brien. Results 1933 Democratic mayoral primaryResults of Tuesday's Primary Vote September 21, 1933 https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/09/21/issue.html 16 subscription The New York Times John P. O'Brien (incumbent) Democratic Party (US) 277,899 68.08% Loring M. Black Jr. Democratic Party (US) 97,499 23.89% Jerome G. Ambro Democratic Party (US) 27,443 6.72% Axel T. Fredlund Democratic Party (US) 5,345 1.31% 408,186 100.00% City Fusion nomination Candidates Fiorello La Guardia, U.S. Representative from East Harlem (Republican) Withdrawn John F. O'Ryan, World War I veteran, founder of the American Legion, and airline executive (Republican) Declined Raymond V. Ingersoll, former Brooklyn Parks Commissioner (Democratic; ran for Brooklyn Borough President) John C. Knox, judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Independent) Joseph V. McKee, former President of the Board of Alderman and acting mayor (Democratic; drafted to run as independent)Kessner 1989 239Mann 1965 74 George Vincent McLaughlin, former New York City Police Commissioner (Democratic) Robert Moses, chairman of the New York State Council of Parks, commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and former Secretary of State of New York (Republican) Richard Cunningham Patterson Jr., NBC executive and former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Corrections (Independent) Samuel Seabury, former New York Court of Appeals judge and lead investigator of the Hofstadter Committee (Democratic) Clarence J. Shearn, former New York Supreme Court justice (Independent) Al Smith, former Governor of New York and 1928 Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States (Democratic) Nathan Straus Jr., former State Senator from Midtown Manhattan (Democratic) Campaign Although many members were Republicans, the committee sought to give its support to an independent Democrat, due to four-to-one advantage in voter registration in favor of the Democratic Party in the city.Mann 1965 71 Samuel Seabury, whose investigations led to the resignation of Mayor Walker, declined to be a candidate for mayor, as he felt that he would be accused of conducting the investigation for political ambition.Mann 1965 71 A draft movement sought to bring Al Smith into the election as the head of a coalition, but he declined to run on May 15.Mann 1965 74 The committee then considered Raymond Ingersoll, John C. Knox, George Vincent McLaughlin, Richard Cunningham Patterson Jr., Clarence J. Shearn, and Straus for the nomination,Mann 1965 81 but Straus declined, stating that he was afraid of increasing antisemitism if both the governor of New York (Herbert H. Lehman) and the mayor of New York City were Jewish.Mann 1965 79 Having failed to recruit a Democratic candidate, the committee narrowed its choices to Fiorello La Guardia, Robert Moses, and John F. O'Ryan. The committee voted to give its nomination to Moses on July 26, without telling Seabury, who was opposed to Moses and supported La Guardia.Mann 1965 81 However, Moses called Price to decline the nomination as Moses failed to gain Smith's endorsement.Mann 1965 83-84 Whitman, who was also the chair of the Republican mayoral nominating committee and opponent of La Guardia, suggested O'Ryan,Kessner 1989 242 and Joseph M. Price stated that "If it's La Guardia or bust, I prefer bust!".Mann 1965 72 The committee voted to give O'Ryan the nomination, and he accepted. However, Seabury opposed Whitman, who had defeated him in the 1916 gubernatorial election, and O'Ryan, stating that he was inexperienced in politics. Seabury formed a competing committee with Charles Culp Burlingham, Roy W. Howard, and George Z. Medalie to replace the Fusion Conference Committee. To avoid a split, W. Kingsland Macy asked for O'Ryan to withdraw, and O'Ryan agreed to do so if he failed to receive a "convincing unanimity" from the Republican mayoralty committee. La Guardia likewise stated that he would support O'Ryan if the latter received the nomination.Mann 1965 84-85 When a majority of the Republican mayoralty committee voted to support La Guardia on August 4, he secured the City Fusion nomination as well. Republican nomination Candidates Fiorello La Guardia, U.S. Representative from East Harlem Withdrawn John F. O'Ryan, World War I veteran, founder of the American Legion, and airline executive Declined Samuel Seabury, former Court of Appeals judge and lead investigator of the Hofstadter Committee (Democratic) Campaign The Republican mayoralty committee met on August 3. Whitman introduced a resolution to endorse O'Ryan, but it was filibustered by Ed Corsi, Stanley M. Isaacs, Vito Marcantonio, and Charles H. Tuttle. Seabury was offered the nomination, but he declined it. The majority of the committee initially supported O'Ryan, but a majority later supported La Guardia and O'Ryan released his supporters. La Guardia was given the nominations of the Republican and City Fusion parties after midnight on August 4. William Chadbourne served as La Guardia's campaign manager.Mann 1965 86-87May 3, 1964 William Chadbourne, 85, Dies; Lawyer Aided La Guardia Races The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/03/archives/william-chadbourne-85-dies-lawyer-aided-la-guardia-races.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20220427203606/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/03/archives/william-chadbourne-85-dies-lawyer-aided-la-guardia-races.html April 27, 2022 General election Background Samuel S. Koenig, the leader of the Republican Party in Manhattan and a political machine, was defeated in the September primaries and replaced by Chase Mellen, a reformist who supported La Guardia. Three of the eight Tammany Hall district leaders lost reelection in their primaries.Mann 1965 94 Candidates Henry Klein (Five Cent Fare and Taxpayers')September 22, 1933 F.D. Sees Tammany Foes And Tiger Smells a Mouse 262 New York Daily News https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100941589/daily-news/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20220503140343/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100941589/daily-news/ May 3, 2022 Newspapers.com Fiorello La Guardia, U.S. Representative from East Harlem (Republican and City Fusion) Joseph McKee, former President of the New York Board of Aldermen and acting Mayor (Recovery) Robert Minor (Communist)September 22, 1933 200 Reds Storm German Consulate; Cops Fool 'Em 385 New York Daily News https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100940164/daily-news/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20220503135458/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100941422/daily-news/ May 3, 2022 Newspapers.com John P. O'Brien, incumbent mayor since 1932 (Democratic and Jefferson) Charles Solomon, former Assemblyman (Socialist)July 27, 1933 Solomon, Socialist Choice For Mayor 150 New York Daily News https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100940164/daily-news/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20220503132451/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100940164/daily-news/ May 3, 2022 Newspapers.com Disqualified Axel T. Fredlund (American)American Party Out of Mayoralty Race October 14, 1933 13 The New York Times https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/10/14/105808824.html?pageNumber=13 subscription La Guardia's ticket was selected for ethnic and political considerations. W. Arthur Cunningham, the candidate for New York City Comptroller, was a reformer and a Catholic. Bernard S. Deutsch, the candidate for President of the Board of Aldermen, was the chair of the City Fusion Party in the Bronx and president of the American Jewish Congress. Jacob Gould Schurman Jr., the candidate for New York County District Attorney, was the son of Jacob Gould Schurman, who had served as the president of Cornell University and in United States foreign affairs. It was the first time in the history of New York City that the four highest positions had Italian, Irish, Jewish, and WASP candidates on the same ticket.Mann 1965 92-93 The Law Preservation Party did not nominate a candidate for mayor. Campaign thumb|right|Page from The New Leader advertising Charles Solomon's candidacy, November 4, 1933 Polling conducted by The Literary Digest showed La Guardia defeating O'Brien by a margin of four-to-one. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent James Farley and Edward J. Flynn to convince McKee to run in the election as O'Brien was predicted to easily lose to La Guardia. Roosevelt's attempts were leaked on September 23, and La Guardia unsuccessfully appealed to McKee not to run. McKee announced that he would run for mayor on the ballot line of the Recovery Party on September 30, with Harry M. Durning as his campaign manager.Mann 1965 94-95 McKee's late entry into the race placed him at a serious disadvantage, and the Recovery Party was unable to nominate a full slate of candidates or lead a voter registration campaign.Mann 1965 97Mann 1965 102 Although he had a large fundraising advantage of two-to-one over La Guardia and the support of a broader circulation of newspapers, La Guardia had made up ground from his 1929 campaign, due to financial support from figures such as John D. Rockefeller Jr. Unlike 1929, La Guardia ended the campaign with more money than he had spent.Mann 1965 102 Ed Corsi, Leonard Covello, and Vito Marcantonio were tasked by the La Guardia campaign with outreach to the Italian community. The F.H. La Guardia Club was formed and grew to almost one thousand members and the Honest Ballot Association, while officially non-partisan, was led by supporters of the Fusion campaign, had 20,000 of its members march on election day to prevent voter intimidation.Mann 1965 99 By election day, La Guardia's campaign had increased the total number of registered voters from around 1,500,000 to 2,324,389.Mann 1965 102 During the campaign, McKee faced renewed scrutiny for his essay "A Serious Question", which questioned the moral and political reliability of young Jewish people in New York City. The essay, which had been published in Catholic World in 1915 when he was a high school teacher, had been used against him during the 1925 election, but it was not effective.Mann 1965 113-117 To appeal to Jewish voters, who composed around twenty-five percent of the New York City electorate, McKee tied himself to Governor Herbert H. Lehman and sought to tie La Guardia to Seabury, who had criticized Lehman in multiple speeches, which McKee supporters attributed to prejudice. Though La Guardia sought to appeal to Jewish voters and asked Seabury to avoid targeting Lehman, Paul Windels convinced Seabury not to. McKee sent a telegram to La Guardia demanding that he disavow Seabury, but La Guardia refused to after Windels shared "A Serious Question".Mann 1965 113-117 The telegram conversation between La Guardia and McKee and McKee's essay were published in newspapers, bringing fresh criticism. Samuel Untermyer, who had supported McKee, withdrew his endorsement and called the essay a "reverberation of Hitlerism". President Roosevelt also withdrew an invitation for McKee to visit the White House, intended as an unofficial show of support, and Al Smith declined to endorse any candidate. McKee defended himself on the radio, stating that his words were taken out of context. Jewish supporters Jonah Wise, Henry Morgenthau Sr., Nathan Straus Jr., and Irving Lehman defended McKee and referenced his friendship and sympathy with Jewish people.Mann 1965 113-117 La Guardia was attacked from both the left and right. McKee accused La Guardia of being "a Communist at heart" and O'Brien's campaign released anti-La Guardia pamphlets entitled "No Red, No Clown Shall Rule This Town". However, left-wing parties were critical of La Guardia. The Socialist Party of America accused him of being an opportunist. The Socialist Labor Party of America referred to him as an instrument of the ruling class, and the Communist Party USA stated that he was a "capable and valuable servant of finance capital" and "a dangerous foe of the American working class".Mann 1965 116-117 Endorsements Roy W. Howard's New York World-Telegram offered its support to McKee in early 1933, but now opposed "the present effort to boost him over the back fence".Kessner 1989 247 The newspapers that endorsed McKee had a combined readership of 4,137,792 while the ones that endorsed La Guardia had a combined readership of 1,370,953.Mann 1965 106 Despite his private efforts to recruit McKee, President Roosevelt maintained neutrality, causing Adolf A. Berle, a supporter of La Guardia, to accuse McKee of not supporting the New Deal.Mann 1965 72-73; 105January 2025 La Guardia endorsements Organizations City Fusion PartyMann 1965 87 Newspapers Il Progresso Italo-Americano, Italian-language newspaper based in New York CityMann 1965 111 Jewish Morning Journal, Yiddish-language newspaper based in New York CityMann 1965 111 New York Amsterdam News, black newspaper based in New York CityMann 1965 111 New York Evening Post, newspaper based in New York CityMann 1965 106 New York Herald Tribune, newspaper based in New York CityMann 1965 106 New York World-Telegram, newspaper based in New York CityMann 1965 106 The Nation, weekly magazineMann 1965 109 The New York Times, newspaper based in New York CityMann 1965 106 Notable individuals Ernest Angell, lawyer and member of the American Civil Liberties UnionMann 1965 108 Joseph Warren Barker, dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Columbia UniversityMann 1965 109 Nicholas Murray Butler, President of Columbia University and 1912 presidential election vice-presidential candidateMann 1965 109 Adolf A. Berle, lawyer and educatorMann 1965 108 Paul Blanshard, assistant editor of The NationMann 1965 108 Heywood Broun, journalistMann 1965 108 John T. Flynn, journalistMann 1965 108 Virginia Gildersleeve, dean of Barnard CollegeMann 1965 109 Ernest Gruening, journalistMann 1965 108 Arthur Garfield Hays, lawyer and co-founder of the American Civil Liberties UnionMann 1965 108 Norman Hapgood, journalistMann 1965 108 B. W. Huebsch, publisherMann 1965 108 Will Irwin, authorMann 1965 109 Horace Kallen, university professorMann 1965 109 Paul Underwood Kellogg, journalistMann 1965 109 Joseph Wood Krutch, author and criticMann 1965 109 Walter Lippmann, journalistMann 1965 106 Francis John McConnell, former president of the Federal Council of ChurchesMann 1965 109 Joseph McGoldrick, university professorMann 1965 109 Robert Moses, public officialMann 1965 117 Parker Thomas Moon, delegate to the Paris Peace ConferenceMann 1965 109 Amos Pinchot, lawyerMann 1965 109 Walter Pollak, lawyerMann 1965 109 Samuel Seabury, judge and head of the Hofstadter CommitteeMann 1965 81 Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch, founder of the Greenwich HouseMann 1965 109 Carl Van Doren, authorMann 1965 109 Oswald Garrison Villard, journalist and publisher of The NationMann 1965 109 Lillian Wald, founder of the Henry Street SettlementMann 1965 109 McKee endorsements Newspapers New York Daily Mirror, newspaper based in New York CityMann 1965 106 New York Daily News, newspaper based in New York CityMann 1965 106 New York Journal-American, newspaper based in New York CityMann 1965 106 The Sun, newspaper based in New York CityMann 1965 106 Notable individuals Samuel Untermyer, lawyer and civic leader (withdrew endorsement)Mann 1965 114 Results La Guardia was the first Italian-American to be elected as mayor of New York City.Mann 1965 38 Charles Solomon, the Socialist nominee, received 59,846 votes which was less than the 122,565 votes received by Norman Thomas in the presidential election and the 249,887 votes that Morris Hillquit received in the previous mayoral election.Mann 1965 142 La Guardia, who had lost in all of the assembly districts in the 1929 election,Mann 1965 18 placed first in all five boroughs and forty-six of the sixty-two assembly districts, while O'Brien won thirteen districts and McKee won three. However, the Democratic Party retained control of the Board of Aldermen, and the combined vote for McKee and O'Brien was 327,203 votes more than for La Guardia.Mann 1965 123 La Guardia's 40.37% of the popular vote was an improvement on former President Herbert Hoover's results from the 1928 and 1932 presidential election when Hoover 36.71% and 26.62% of the popular vote in New York City respectively,Mann 1965 127 while the combined vote for McKee and O'Brien's was 260,451 fewer than for Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 election. Roosevelt had received 66.32% of the popular vote, while O'Brien received 27.27% and McKee received 28.31%.Mann 1965 129-131 La Guardia had the same level of support among Italian-Americans, around 80 to 90 percent, that Roosevelt received for president.Mann 1965 132-134 La Guardia, who was Jewish, won a plurality of the Jewish vote while O'Brien and McKee's combined Jewish vote was below the 387,000 Roosevelt had received.Mann 1965 138-141 1933 New York City mayoral electionNovember 28, 1933 Official Canvas Shows La Guardia Winner By 259,569 20 Times Union https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100835239/times-union/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20220503130218/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100835239/times-union/ May 3, 2022 Newspapers.comMann 1965 160-170 Republican Party (United States) Fiorello La Guardia 446,833 20.77% 1.21 City Fusion Fiorello La Guardia 421,689 19.60% N/A Total Fiorello La Guardia 868,522 40.38% N/A Recovery Joseph V. McKee 609,053 28.32% 16.72 Democratic Party (United States) John P. O'Brien 570,937 26.54% 25.75 Jefferson John P. O'Brien 15,735 0.73% N/A Total John P. O'Brien 586,672 27.27% N/A Socialist Party of America Charles Solomon 59,846 2.78% 9.59 Communist Party USA Robert Minor 26,044 1.21% 0.02 Five Cent Fare Henry Klein 1,636 0.08% N/A Taxpayers' Henry Klein 160 <0.01% N/A Total Henry Klein 1,796 0.08% N/A 2,151,468 100.00% Results by borough Borough Fiorello La Guardia VotesRepublican VotesCity Fusion Votes Joseph V. McKee Votes John P. O'Brien Votes Charles Solomon Votes Other Votes TotalRepublican/City Fusion Recovery Democratic Socialist Other The Bronx 37.89%15.20% Republican 22.69% City Fusion151,66960,854 votes on the Republican ballot line 90,815 votes on the City Fusion ballot line60,85490,815 32.81%131,28023.34%93,4033.68%14,7582.28%9,122400,100 Brooklyn 43.72%22.60% Republican 21.12% City Fusion331,920171,567 votes on the Republican ballot line 160,353 votes on the City Fusion ballot line171,567160,35325.63%194,55825.60%194,3353.54%26,9411.51%11,460758,984 Manhattan 37.99%20.95% Republican 17.04% City Fusion203,479112,202 votes on the Republican ballot line 91,277 votes on the City Fusion ballot line112,20291,27723.10%123,70735.97%192,6491.96%10,5250.98%5,248535,520 Queens 39.16%21.87% Republican 17.29% City Fusion154,36986,213 votes on the Republican ballot line 68,156 votes on the City Fusion ballot line86,21368,15635.85%141,29622.96%90,5011.69%6,6690.34%1,340394,131 Staten Island 43.52%25.70% Republican 17.81% City Fusion27,08515,997 votes on the Republican ballot line 11,088 votes on the City Fusion ballot line15,99711,088 29.26%18,21225.36%15,7841.53%9530.33%20562,235 Total 40.38%868,522446,833421,68928.32%609,05327.27%586,6722.78%59,8461.25%27,3752,151,468Mann 1965 160-170 Analysis McKee's anti-Semitism controversy was blamed for his defeat. Flynn stated that "The damage has been done by the assertion that McKee was anti-Semitic" and Henry Moskowitz stated that the "Jewish controversy had a great deal to do with McKee's defeat. The Jews at that time were under the influence of the Hitler business and a great deal of harm was done to McKee because of the anti-Semitic articles". McKee previously did well in Jewish areas in his elections and received an average of 11.35% of the vote in the eighteen most Jewish assembly districts during the 1932 write-in campaign. McKee and O'Brien split the Democratic vote and both had support from different Democratic political machines.Mann 1965 149-151; 153 See also Mayoralty of Fiorello La Guardia References Notes Works cited Kessner Thomas Thomas Kessner Fiorello H. LaGuardia and the Making of Modern New York McGraw Hill Education 1989 https://archive.org/details/fiorellohlaguard00kess 0-07-034244-X Mann Arthur La Guardia Comes To Power 1933 J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1965 https://archive.org/details/laguardiacomesto0000unse collapsed Mayoral election Category:Mayoral elections in New York City New York City mayoral New York City mayoral New York City mayoral election Category:Fiorello La Guardia