20th Century New York City Mayors Quiz

Answer: Jimmy Walker

James John Walker, or Jimmy Walker, the son of Irish immigrants, was mayor of New York, first elected to the office in 1925, with the help of the Governor of New York Alfred E. Smith, and Tammany Hall, an organization which was influential in New York City politics at the time.

He had previously tried his hand as a songwriter, with his most well-known song being "Will You Love Me In December (As You Do In May)?" Walker's first four-year term was a good one, and the city prospered. He was re-elected to the office in 1929, but his fortunes turned along with that of the rest of the country after the stock market crash of 1929. Contributing to his downfall were allegations of immorality and corruption, with Walker having numerous affairs and leaving his wife for a showgirl in the late 1920s. Also during his administration, the proliferation of speakeasies was prevalent in the city.

Increasing social unrest from the public as well as criticism from the Catholic Church and the President led to his eventual resignation in September of 1932.

Answer: Fiorello LaGuardia

LaGuardia was elected in 1933 and served three terms, which was allowed by law during that time. He was considered of Italian American descent although his mother was of Jewish origin. Prior to his election he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1916 until his mayoral election. The opposite of prior mayor Jimmy Walker, he was elected as an "anti-corruption" candidate, and after election, he promptly started cleaning up the city by having alleged gangster Lucky Luciano arrested, and sending a task force out to destroy the illegal slot machines that were proliferating the city. He also got the city back on its feet by creating new jobs to help recover from the Depression, and also reformed the New York City Charter.

He was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt to the position of director of The Office Of Civilian Defense during the beginning of World War II, but was replaced after the war started. During 1945, his last year in office, he went on public radio during a newspaper strike, and read the comics on the air. Although short of stature (only 5' 2" tall), he left a huge legacy as one of the finest mayors New York City ever had. LaGuardia Airport, one of New York City's airports, which he was instrumental in getting built, bears his name.

Answer: William O'Dwyer

O'Dwyer was elected to succeed outgoing mayor Fiorello LaGuardia as the 100th mayor of New York City in the election of 1945, with the backing of the Tammany Hall political machine. He did some good things during his first term as mayor, such as lobbying for New York City to become the permanent home of The United Nations, creating a traffic department, and also an Office of City Construction, appointing construction guru Robert Moses as its first commissioner. Shortly after being re-elected in 1949, a police corruption scandal was uncovered with his involvement leading to his resignation in August of 1950.

He was appointed by President Truman to be the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, and returned to New York one year later to answer allegations about his ties to organized crime.

He resigned as Ambassador in 1952.

Answer: Vincent Impellitteri

Vincent Impellitteri was elected to the City Council in the election of 1945, and won re-election along with Mayor William O'Dwyer in 1949. When O'Dwyer was forced to resign in 1950 due to scandal, Impellitteri succeeded him by law. A special election was held, and the Tammany Hall political machine backed another candidate. Impelletteri bucked the odds by winning the special election without the support of a major political party.

Some thought this was a backlash against political corruption in the city.

Not much happened during his tenure as mayor, except that about 500 police officers were either arrested or resigned as an epilogue to former mayor O'Dwyer's scandal. On the negative side, taxes increased, the transit fare was raised to fifteen cents from its prior cost of ten cents, and parking meters were installed for the first time as a revenue source for the city.

After his tenure as mayor, he was appointed as a criminal court judge.

Answer: Robert F. Wagner Jr.

Wagner was elected for the first time in the election of 1953, succeeding Mayor Vincent Impellitteri. He was the son of New York Senator Robert Wagner. He had previously been Manhattan Borough President, and his run for mayor created a rift in the Democratic Party. He won election rather easily and was responsible for some major reforms in New York during his 12 year tenure. Some of his accomplishments while mayor were the establishment of the City University of New York system, and the establishment of the right of collective bargaining for city employees. He also banned housing discrimination based on race, color, or religion, and was the first mayor to hire a significant number of persons of color for positions in his administration.

For sports enthusiasts, after the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants left New York City for California in 1957, he established a commission whose purpose was to bring another National League team to New York, and out of this commission came The New York Mets, in 1962. Wagner also established The Landmarks Preservation Commission. Upon leaving office after an unsuccessful run at a fourth term, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Spain, and later in his life, he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to be his representative to The Vatican.

Answer: John Lindsay

Lindsay was born in New York City in 1921, and was elected to Congress for the first time in 1958. He won election to the mayoral post in 1965 in a three man race. He walked into a buzzsaw so to speak, with the economic and fiscal problems left over by outgoing mayor Robert Wagner Jr. Jobs in the city were disappearing, many middle class families were abandoning the city for the suburbs, and the city unionized employees were playing hardball in contract negotiations. On his first day as mayor, the entire transit system was shutdown by a strike, which lasted twelve days, nearly crippling the city. The strike was ultimately settled, but at a cost to the taxpayers of course. In 1968, the public school teachers went on strike, followed later the same year by a sanitation workers strike.

In February 1969, the city was hit with a 15 inch snowstorm, and the mayor was blamed and accused of favoring Manhattan at the expense of the outer boroughs in the priority of snow clearance. In May of 1970, the city was on the edge as there was a riot between construction workers and students protesting the Kent State College shootings. The police were accused by the mayor of standing by and doing nothing to protect the students. This created tension between the mayor and the police. Somehow, with all this going on, he won re-election to the post in the fall of 1969. He declined to seek a third term when his mayoralty expired in 1973. The best that can be said about Lindsay according to historians is that he guided the city through the rough racial times of the late 1960s with a minimum of damage.

Answer: Abe Beame

Abe Beame was the City Comptroller between 1961 and 1973, so he was familiar with the budgetary requirements of New York City, and its financial condition as well. He was elected with the help of the Brooklyn Democratic regime which was akin to the "Tammany Hall type" politics of the past. Beame spent his entire four year term trying to ward off bankruptcy for the city by cutting jobs, freezing wages and restructuring the budget, all to no avail.

When he turned to Washington D.C. for federal help he was told by the President Ford that no federal help would be forthcoming.

In a very famous newspaper headline in the New York Daily News the front page read "FORD TO NY DROP DEAD". Eventually he did manage to secure some federal funds and turned a $1.5 billion deficit into a $200 million surplus by the time he left office in 1977.

Answer: Ed Koch

Ed Koch was a member of the US House of Representatives between 1969 and 1977, and successfully ran a campaign for mayor in 1977 in a three way battle defeating Mario Cuomo, who would later become Governor of New York State, and State Senator Roy Goodman. Koch almost singlehandedly changed the face of the city during his three terms as mayor. During his first term he balanced the city budget, established a merit system for state judges, and broke a strike by the New York City transit workers, invoking the "Taylor Law" which prohibits strikes by public employees, and imposes heavy fines, and possible jail terms for strikers.

When up for re-election in 1981, he ran virtual unopposed, showing up on both the Democratic and Republican tickets, receiving over 75% of the popular vote. He also was very outspoken on quality of life issues which brought him into direct conflict with many American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) leaders, as well as leaders from the African-American community. He was re-elected again in 1985, this time with about 78% of the votes. He suffered a mild stroke in 1987, but was able to continue in office. He finally lost, seeking his fourth term, largely due to his refusal to support Jesse Jackson in the 1988 New York Presidential primary. Koch, who was Jewish, reminded voters of Jackson's anti-Semitic views, and this angered many blacks in the city, contributing to Koch's demise in the mayoral primary election the following year.

Answer: David Dinkins

Dinkins rose through the Democratic Party and became Borough President of Manhattan in 1985. He was elected as mayor in 1989 after defeating Ed Koch in the primary election. He entered office with a promise to promote racial healing in the city, but riots in the Crown Heights section of the city, and the boycott of a Korean grocery store owner by blacks did little to accomplish this.

He was accused of ordering the police to hold back during the riots. The perception was the crime was out of control during his administration but the numbers say otherwise. Crime actually went down during his tenure as mayor.

He actually did wonders for the city budget as well, entering with a $1.8 million deficit, and after making some tough budgetary cuts, was able to show a $200 million surplus just one year later.

He did run for re-election in 1993 but was unsuccessful.

Answer: Rudy Giuliani

Giuliani served two terms, first being elected in 1993, after serving in a law enforcement capacity for President Ronald Reagan's Attorney General's Office. He was a major crimefighter during the 1980s prosecuting some high profile cases with some prominent Wall Street and organized crime figures feeling his wrath. He resigned from his government position after Ronald Reagan left office. He was elected in 1993 partly due to the public misconception that crime in the city was on the uptick, and he was strong on crime as evidenced by his work with the Federal Government and the Justice Department. In the end he beat David Dinkins by a 49% to 46% margin. He did clean up the streets and the petty crimes and nuisances disappeared during his first term. He was re-elected overwhelmingly in 1997 although the voter turnout for the election was said to be the lowest in 12 years.

His mayoralty was cruising along into his second term when the sky fell all at once. He took a run at the U.S. Senate in 2000, but his campaign against his opponent, Hillary Clinton, was cut short due to his withdrawal from the race after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. He also separated from his wife Donna Hanover, after a extra-marital affair with Judith Nathan was made public. He was on the downside of his mayoralty on September 11, 2001, but responded well to the attacks and was hailed as a hero in many circles for his leadership, direction, and demeanor during this unprecedented chapter in U.S. history.