Английская Википедия:1955 Philadelphia municipal election

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use mdy dates Шаблон:Good article Шаблон:Elections in Pennsylvania 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.

Mayor

Шаблон:Infobox election In the mayor's race, incumbent Democrat Joseph S. Clark Jr., who had earlier declared he would serve only one term, did not run for reelection.Шаблон:Sfn He instead ran for election to the United States Senate in 1956 and was successful, serving in the Senate for twelve years.Шаблон:Sfn For the open seat, Democrat Richardson Dilworth ran against Republican Thacher Longstreth.Шаблон:Sfn

After service in World War I and a law degree from Yale, Dilworth practiced law in Philadelphia.Шаблон:Sfn He and Clark were allies in the anti-corruption reform effort that had swept the city four years earlier.Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Sfn He won, taking just shy of 58% of the vote.Шаблон:Sfn In the primary election in May, Dilworth easily defeated his underfunded opponent, William A. Paschall, a local meat dealer.Шаблон:Sfn

The Republicans nominated Thacher Longstreth, a 35-year-old advertising executive who had never run for office before.Шаблон:Sfn He emerged the victor of a four-way primary contest over George P. Williams (the Republican leadership's preferred candidate), city magistrate James J. Clothier, and Oscar H. Newman, a deputy constable.Шаблон:Sfn Longstreth's campaign got off to a rocky start when he broke with the city Republican organization over their failure to elect his preferred candidate, John M. Pomeroy, as chairman of the Republican City Committee.Шаблон:Sfn Although he did receive a campaign visit and endorsement from President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Longstreth had little other assistance from the Republican party machine and ran as an "Independent Republican".Шаблон:Sfn Republicans still held an edge in voter registration in 1955, but their share of the electorate continued to decline over previous years.Шаблон:Sfn

The result was a landslide for Dilworth.Шаблон:Sfn In an election with higher than expected turnout, the Democrat took 59% of the vote, a slight increase over the party's tally from the mayoral contest of four years earlier.Шаблон:Sfn The Democrats carried 44 of the city's 52 wards.Шаблон:Sfn Longstreth conceded defeat early in the evening, and said that he hoped for "an administration that will be good for all people and the progress of our great city".Шаблон:Sfn The Philadelphia Inquirer described the result as "a ringing indorsement [sic] of the policies of Mayor Joseph S. Clark Jr., whose Democratic administration was the key issue in the fall ballot drive."Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Election box begin Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box end

District Attorney

For the open office of district attorney, vacated by Dilworth when he ran for mayor, the Democrats nominated city councilman Victor H. Blanc against the Republicans' Wilhelm F. Knauer. Blanc, a veteran of both World Wars and former assistant district attorney, had been elected to city council in an at-large seat in 1951.Шаблон:Sfn During his time on the council, he was in charge of an investigation into corruption in construction at Philadelphia International Airport.Шаблон:Sfn Knauer, a state deputy attorney general, was a long-time Republican party leader. His wife, Virginia Knauer, would later be elected to city council. As in the mayor's race, the Democrats were victorious, and Blanc was elected. His vote totals led the Democratic ticket, exceeding even Dilworth's numbers.Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Election box begin Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box end

City Council

Philadelphians elected a seventeen-member city council in 1955, 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 they retained control of nine of ten districts and five of seven at-large seats.Шаблон:Sfn

In the at-large races, the two incumbent Democratic candidates, Victor E. Moore and Paul D'Ortona, led the ticket. Three other Democrats were also elected: John F. Byrne Sr., who had previously been councilman for the 10th district; Henry W. Sawyer, a civil rights lawyer; and Marshall L. Shepard, a clergyman who had served as Commissioner of Records.Шаблон:Sfn On the Republican side, incumbent at-large councilman Louis Schwartz was re-elected. The other Republican incumbent, Donald C. Rubel, who had won a special election as an independent Republican backed by Democrats, lost his spot to Thomas M. Foglietta, a young lawyer and son of former councilman Michael Foglietta.Шаблон:Sfn Also losing bids for the Republican at-large seats were real estate assessor F. Raymond Heuges and former magistrate Hobson R. Reynolds.Шаблон:Sfn

At the district level, Democratic incumbents Thomas I. Guerin (district 1), Harry Norwitch (district 3), Samuel Rose (district 4), Raymond Pace Alexander (district 5), Michael J. Towey (district 6), James Tate (district 7), and Charles M. Finley (district 9) were all reelected. In the 2nd district, Democrat Gaetano Giordano took the seat from Republican David Zwanetz, who was nominated when incumbent Republican William M. Phillips did not run for reelection. In the 8th, the Republicans evened the score as state representative Wilbur H. Hamilton narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Constance Dallas. Hamilton's brother, Robert S. Hamilton, had lost to Dallas four years earlier. In the final district council seat, the 10th, Democrat John M. McDevitt was elected to the seat previously held by Byrne.Шаблон:Sfn The Inquirer called the Democratic downballot victories "a rebuke to Republican leaders who sought to tie in the campaign with the 1956 Presidential election," and credited the Democrats with campaigning "on the theory that the issues were purely local."Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Pie chart Шаблон:Election box begin Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box end

Файл:Philadelphia city council districts 1955.png

Philadelphia city council districts after the 1955 election (Democrats in blue, Republicans in red)

Other offices and ballot measures

The Democrats' success continued in the down-ballot races. Democratic city commissioners Maurice S. Osser and Thomas P. McHenry were reelected as was Republican Walter I. Davidson. William M. Lennox was reelected county sheriff and Joseph A. Scanlon was reelected clerk of the court of quarter sessions (a court whose jurisdiction is now exercised by the court of common pleas).Шаблон:Sfn The Democrats also took four of the seven magisterial district judge positions up for election that year (a local court, the duties of which are now performed by the Philadelphia Municipal Court).Шаблон:Sfn The ballot contained two referendums authorizing the city to take loans for construction of medical facilities, streets, sewers, playgrounds, and other civic improvements. They passed with overwhelming support, each tallying 84% affirmative votes.Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Election box begin Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box end Шаблон:Election box begin Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box end Шаблон:Election box begin Шаблон:Election box winning candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box candidate with party link Шаблон:Election box end

See also

• List of members of Philadelphia City Council since 1952

Sources

Шаблон:Refbegin Book

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Newspapers

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