Fiorello Laguardia

Fiorello LaGuardia was born on December 11th 1882 to immigrants of Italian and Jewish ancestry in New York. He served as the mayor of New York City from 1945-1945. He is considered to be one of the mayors who redefined New York City politics. Fiorello had a very long career in politics before serving as mayor. After graduating New York University law school in 1910, LaGuardia practiced law and was appointed Deputy Attorney General. He also served many terms in Congress as a republican. LaGuardia lost his first try at the Mayor’s race to Jimmy Walker in 1929, but was successful on his second try in 1933.

LaGuardia expressed his interest in the Mayoral running after he lost his final term in Congress, November 1932. On November 22, 1932 LaGuardia invited “Key men and women in politics and all walks of like to attend an anti-Tammany (present mayor) meeting at town hall” (Mann, P.66). At this meeting, LaGuardia knew that it was too early to talk about candidates. But he did offer a very clear and powerful outline of his beliefs to a reporter for the ‘nation’. He states: “While everybody is talking about the necessity of a change in our City government, there is nothing really practical, concrete and definite being done. Public opinion must not only be crystallized, but must be translated into action through the medium of an actual fighting organization of determined men and women. The election machinery cannot be over-looked. The best intentions and good will even of a majority of the people cannot, unless properly prepared, overcome the crookedness, corruption and violence of an entrenched political machine” (Mann, P. 66).

After his meeting at Town Hall, LaGuardia returned to Washington to finish his Congressional term, namely his New Deal legislation, leaving many New Yorkers something to think about. He returned to his East Harlem residence on March 4th, 1933. Although LaGuardia was a Republican, and Tammany was a Democrat; he learned that the Fusion party was setting up potential candidates to run against Tammany. LaGuardia saw this as an opportunity to break in to the candidacy. “The Fusion Conference Committee, as it came to be called, consisted of delegates from groups traditionally hostile to the Wigwam: conservative Republicans, the business community, and the Good Government associations” (Mann, P.67). The fusion party was founded by Maurice P. Davidson and officers of the good government associations in 1932. “The City Fusion Party hoped to win the 1933 election and institute such traditional mugwump planks as charter revision, civil service reform, proportional representation, a small city council, possibly a city manager plan, and the consolidation of overlapping offices on which the spoils men had been feeding” (Mann P.68). Fiorello’s values were much like the Fusion parties. In fact, he was advocating what they have been for nearly a decade or more. In 1933 The Fusion Party wanted to run an independent Democrat for Mayor since at the time in New York City, Registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans by nearly 4 to 1, this made it even harder for LaGuardia. The Fusion party wanted as their primary choice for a candidate to run a man by the name of Seabury. He declined for personal reasons. The parties’ second choice was Joseph V Mckee who was the president of the Board of Alderman. LaGuardia had very little press, public relations and money to run successfully on his own. From March to August LaGuardia “spoke up and down the ity in order to build public support and keep his name alive in the newspapers” (Mann P. 75). He spoke to all races and ethnicities and different neighborhoods with different problems he wished to address. During this time he met one of his greatest allies. His name was A.A. Berle Jr. Mr. Berle constantly had meetings with LaGuardia and spoke of his ambitions. Berle opened many doors for him.

During his speeches LaGuardia oftentimes attached the Fusion Party and tried to solicit endorsement from the Republican Party. They declined many times publicly. However, privately they agreed with LaGuardia and wanted him to be on their ticket. They could not admit this publicly at the time since it would have forced many financial supporters to withdraw from the Republican Party since they were strongly against LaGuardia. LaGuardia constantly went back and forth between the Republican Party and the Fusion Party, trying to solicit support from either side. After realizing that the Republican Party support was nearly completely out of reach, he spent more of his time soliciting from the Fusion Party. They tried to ignore him at all costs. The Fusion Party thought he was too “crude”, “hard spoken”,