The NYC Special Election of 1950

Last night there was a lively debate for the Public Advocate special election on February 26th. As previously noted, this is the first city-wide special election since 1950, when Acting Mayor Vincent Impelliteri was elected to complete the term of recently-resigned Mayor William O'Dwyer.

This upcoming special election was triggered when former Public Advocate Tish James was elected as New York State Attorney General last November and subsequently vacated the office. She ran for AG after former NY AG Eric Schneiderman resigned in a scandale.

Not surprisingly, scandale is what triggered the last city-wide special election in 1950. O'Dwyer was under heat for his connections to organized crime so he accepted President Truman's offer to become Ambassador to Mexico and promptly resigned in the summer of that year. City Council President Impelliteri became Acting Mayor and then ran in the special election.

This was at a time when Tammany Hall still exerted a lot of power over NYC politics and, for whatever reason, Tammany and Impelliteri had had a falling out -- so Tammany didn't support him for mayor. So Impelliteri, or Impy as he was popularly known, quickly created and ran on his own party line -- the Experience Party -- and won.

His victory would be short-lived. In 1950, the New York State government was completely controlled by Republicans, under the leadership of Governor Tom Dewey, and they did everything they could to thwart Impy's initiatives to govern the city (it's the opposite today, where the Democrats completely control the New York State government). Robert Moses was another powerful presence, heading various state and city agencies that turned Moses' policy preferences (i.e. building highways) into the mayor's. So Impy was boxed in -- and, in 1953, Tammany got its revenge when it supported Robert Wagner in the 1953 primary and Impy lost.

NYC would then not have another city-wide special election until now -- for almost 69 years. And whoever wins this race for Public Advocate will be in a powerful position to run for mayor either in 2021 or later on. 

Mr NYC Ahead of His Time

The 2025 NYC Democratic Mayoral primary will end on June 24th and it will go down in history as one of the most befuddling in our fair city. The leading candidates are a former NY State governor (Andrew Cuomo) who resigned in disgrace four years ago and a Muslim Socialist Assemblyman (Zohran Mamdani). 

Once upon a time -- let's say, ten years ago -- the idea that either person could win a primary and maybe get elected mayor seemed unthinkable. Yet here we are. Of course once upon a time we never imagined that a bankrupt conman convicted felon and adjudicated rapist who was twice impeached and tried to violently destroy democracy could be elected -- and re-elected -- President. Yet here we are. 

Dark times. Weird times. Take your pick.

But staying closer to home, one really has to wonder how Cuomo and Mandami became the mayoral frontrunners. This article posits that it's due to the withering of the political clubs in NYC. Tammany Hall is long gone, and the remaining clubs no longer have the power to "deliver" votes that carry mayors to victory. Instead, individualized campaigns took over from the clubs, public financing meant that clubs couldn't throw around money in quite the same way. Clubs can canvas and help turn out voters but they don't have the patronage power of jobs that they used to, they don't have the neighborhood-to-neighborhood power that they used to. And obviously television and social media and outright fame can deliver vastly more voters than a party boss.  

The article also revives the memory of a mayor that I blogged about in 2007: Vincent Impelliteri (called Impy) who was handpicked by Tammany Hall to run for City Council President in 1945 because he was an Italian from Manhattan ;they needed to balance the citywide slate (Mayor, William O'Dwyer; Comptroller, Lazarus Joseph; City Council, Impelliteri) with an Irishman, a Jew, and an Italian. When O'Dywer resigned in 1950 Impy became mayor. This is held up as an example of how clubs, the political "machines", made mayors back then.

But one thing the article gets somewhat wrong is that while the political clubs and machines can't "make mayors" these days, they can still make members of the city council, State Assembly and State Senate. No, they can't make another Impy -- or Robert Wagner or (going even farther back) Jimmy Walker, but the clubs/machines still wield a lot of power in NYC under the radar. 

So here we are, less than a week before the primary, and the most likely winners are a guy running on huge name-recognition and another on social media savvy. 

Tammany Hall could never have imagined that.

If you want to know more about where Zohran came from, read this article by three-time Mr NYC interviewee Ross Barkan about Zohran when Ross ran for State Senate in 2018 and Zohran worked for him. It's interesting to see where this possibly transformative political figure came from and who he is.

And remember, I was blogging about all of these people -- Cuomo, Zohran, Ross, even  Impy! -- several YEARS before this current moment. 

And yet again Mr NYC is ahead of his time while the rest of NYC is catching up!

A Man Called Impy

NYC's Mayors are a ubiquitous bunch: Rudy's running for Prez ... Mike might run for Prez ... Ed Koch
still materializes wherever a live microphone or TV camera is present ... Dinkins gives the occasional interview. Some other Mayors still live in the popular imagination of New Yorkers: the forceful LaGuardia (who recently had a mailbox named after him - I kid), the sturdy Wagner, the dapper but ultimately tragic Lindsay, the good but overwhelmed Abe Beame. Yet one 20th century Mayor seems lost to history, destined to be remembered (if at all) as a fluke and a failure - Vincent Richard Impelliteri (1900-1987; Mayor: 1950-1953).

Call him the forgotten Mayor of memorable times. He came to power after Mayor O'Dwyer resigned in 1950 (under a legal cloud) to become Ambassador to Mexico. The City Council President, Impelliteri, became Acting Mayor and then won a special election to complete O'Dwyer's term. His time in office produced no great achievements and it is widely believed his adminstration was heavily Mobbed up. However, it was during this man's tenure - a man who called himself Impy - that Robert Moses, the great builder, began massive housing and highway projects that transformed this city into what she is today. It was during Impy's time that the United Nations opened for business in 1952; he was the first and only Mayor to address the UN General Assembly until Giuliani in 2001 (after the attacks on America). And it was during Impy's brief tenure that Bobby Thomson hit "the shot heard 'round the world", winning the NY Giants the National League Penant and making baseball history in 1951. (Read the first chapter of Don DeLillo's Underworld for more.) Impy was defeated for re-election in 1953 and disappeared. He died in 1987, and was not greatly mourned. However, he was a man whose moment was memorable indeed and perhaps he did a little good along the way.

Today, Mr NYC, doffs his hat and raises a carbonated beverage to his memory. At Sardi's, above the pictures of the Broadway stars, are pictures of the Mayors. And when I was there, I'm sure I was the only one who recognized Impy's mug, and was heartened to see him having the last smirk.

Offical Bio

Look Down & See History

There's nothing better than being out and about in NYC and spotting a piece of history, a living memorial to the city's past. Recently I took my kids to the park and, as they and a bunch of other children ran around and climbed on structures and hit the swings, I noticed this small plaque in the concrete ground. 

Nearly every NYC public playground has one of these plaques and it's really fascinating to get a snapshot of who was in charge when these playgrounds were built -- and rebuilt. It's one thing to read the history of NYC and learn about the master builder Robert Moses and the hapless Mayor Vincent Impelliteri -- but it's another thing to see a living piece of their legacy at the very place where your children are blithely having fun. It's also bizarre to see Rudy's name there (the former  currently mayor stinking up America) along with the legendary parks commissioner Henry Stern who recently died.

These plaques are a reminder that this city was built and tended to over time -- and that nothing here happens by accident. History, literally, is at our feet.

Mr NYC Ahead of His Time -- Also, Mr NYC Corrects the Record

Currently there is a swirl of buzz in the NYC media world about the corruption investigation into Mayor Eric Adams -- and whether or not it might lead to his resignation (including the idea that former Governor Andrew Cuomo might run to replace him, that'd be wild).

Anyway, this morning I came across this article from City and State NY with this headline: "No NYC mayor has resigned Since 1932. But here's what would happen if they did."

Now let's not get to hung up on the grammer of this headline ("No mayor" is singular, "they" is plural), and the article does a fine job explaining how the line of succession works per the city charter --- but the headline is just flat-out, historically wrong.

While a mayor, Jimmy Walker, did resign in 1932 another mayor also resigned in 1950 -- William O'Dwyer. I even did a blog post in 2019 about the special election of 1950. I even wrote a blog post about the mayor who was elected in that special election -- Vincent Impelliteri -- all the way back in 2007!  

So the record now stands corrected!

Classic Mr NYC

Well, well, well, Mr NYC really is ... well, maybe not exactly prophetic than certainly perspicacious. 

In the early days of this blog I wrote about the early 1950's NYC Mayor Vincent Impelliteri -- perhaps the city's most forgotten 20th century chief executive. Well, a man named George Arzt, a lifelong city government journalist and staffer, actually knew "Impy" back in the day. Arzt is retirning after 60 years working in and around city government and he's given a great exit interivew that you can read here. 

And then here's another interview you can listen two between podcaster/comedian Billy Procida and adult film star Sonia Harcourt -- where they talk about polyamory and  swinging and all sorta of sexy stuff. I interviewed both Billy and Sonia several years ago so it's great to here two previous Mr NYC interviewees talk to each other ... and apparently that's not all they did! 

Enjoy!

Adams Out

For the first time since -- when? -- a NYC mayor has quit his reelection campaign. 

Mayor Eric Adams has said that he won't continue his quixotic bid for a second term. Drenched in scandal, incompetence and unpopularity, he's bowing to the obvious and envitable.

Seriously, it makes no difference. Not only was he not going to win but his remaining support is so infinitesimal that it's not going to improve any other candidates support at all. Also, his name will still be on the ballot -- so people can still vote for him if they want. Oy vey.

Like his entire mayoralty, Adams dropping out is a sad joke. He's destined to be a forgotten failed mayor like Abe Beame or Vincent Impelliteri -- someone who was given the chance to make the city better and failed completely. 

Impy and Bill in Italy

Mayor De Blasio is currently in Italy, vacationing with his family and revisiting his family origins in the "old country." Since NYC is an international city, when this or any mayor goes abroad, it's almost like a visit from a head of state: there's lots of press coverage, the local politicians and heavyweights meet the mayor, and there's lots of talk of the "connection" between New York and [insert country here].

It used to be, back when NYC politics was dominated by Italians, Irish, and Jews, that mayors would try to visit the three Is: Italy, Ireland, and Israel. As the Hispanic population has grown, particularly with immigrants from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, visiting those countries has become important for NYC politicians as well. Pretty soon, I'm sure, trips to China and Indian and other Asian counties will be required.

However, De Blasio's trip is nothing compared to Mayor Vincent Impelliteri's trip in 1951.

During his first full year in office, Impy (as he was popularly known) made a 32 day trip to Italy and Israel. In both countries, his arriving was red carpet, headline grabbing news. He was greeted by every dignitary, there were parades and parties, it was a big honking deal. Impy was actually born in Sicily so, after visiting Rome and getting an audience with the Pope, he visited the town where he was born and was greeted like a conquering hero.

I blogged about Impy in 2007, just a few months into this blog's existence. History has mostly forgotten him but, in this brief shining moment more than 60 years ago, Impy was not only king of New York but one of the most famous men in the world.

Postscript: it was during this trip, in 1951, that Bobby Thomsen hit "the shot heard 'round the world" out at the old Ebbets Field in Brooklyn -- so Impy missed an important piece of NYC and world history back home. 

Public Advocate: Special Election on February 26, 2019

Get more information about this special election, and who's running, here and here.

As far as I can tell, this is the first city-wide special election since, I jest not, 1950 -- when Acting Mayor Vincent Impelliteri was elected to complete recently resigned Mayor O'Dwyer's term. 

It's rather amazing to realize that, for almost 70 years, NYC has not had a vacant city-wide office (Mayor, Comptroller, City Council President/Public Advocate) requiring such an election. In those decades, New York State had had (at least) two governors, two Attorney Generals, and two Comptrollers resign. We've also had one U.S. President die and one resign (and, hopefully soon, a second). And in NYC ... stability. 

So this election is a historic moment, and I can't wait to be a part of it.