HomeThe Bronx County Archives Finding AidsBronx Political Campaigns, 1955–2020

Bronx Political Campaigns, 1955–2020

Information, Description, and Finding Aid

Collection Information

Reference: MS-BXPC

Dates: 1955–2020 (bulk 1963–1974)

Extent: 1.63 linear ft. across 3 archival boxes

Finding Aid Information

Creator(s): Steven Payne, Ph.D., Librarian and Archivist

Date created/updated: December 9, 2020

Administrative History

The Bronx has long been a bastion of the Democratic Party. In the nineteenth century, before the area that today comprises The Bronx was incorporated into New York City, the towns and villages in the area were already staunchly Democratic. Indeed, in the lead-up to the Civil War, the area produced its fair share of Democratic Copperheads, many of whom no doubt participated in the mass lynchings of Black people in the area during the New York City draft riots of 1863.

During the final decades of the nineteenth century, as The Bronx came under the jurisdiction of New York City, the Democratic Party in the borough firmly established its own Tammany-backed machine. Indeed, a series of sweeping electoral victories for the Socialist Party in the borough at the end of the 1910s were almost immediately nullified by illegal legislative acts at the state level and the First Red Scare, which resulted in severe repression against any individual or party deemed too close to the Bolsheviks (despite the fact that the Socialist Party as a whole was lukewarm at best towards the Bolshevik Revolution). These highly undemocratic measures allowed the local Democratic Party to retain firm control over The Bronx. During the 1930s and 1940s, the Liberal Party and the American Labor Party each won various seats at the local, city-wide, state, and federal levels. Some of these candidates ran on fusion tickets and were endorsed by either of the two main parties. The American Labor Party, however, was decimated by the Second Red Scare, which Senator Joe McCarthy waged against an even wider array of progressive individuals, organizations, and parties than was the case with the First Red Scare. The Democratic Party in The Bronx for much of this period was led by party boss Edward J. Flynn, who made sure that the Bronx Democratic Party avoided endorsing any candidate or position deemed too "communistic".

A similar policy was continued by the next longtime party boss, Charles A. Buckley, who ruled the Bronx Democratic Party with an iron fist until 1964, when he was defeated by primary challenger and self-avowed Reform Democrat Jonathan (Jack) Brewster Bingham. Although Buckley remained Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Bronx County Democratic Party until 1967, Bingham's victory allowed a series of other Reform Democrats to oust entrenched machine politicians in the borough. On paper, many of these Reform Democrats advocated more liberal policies than the local machine Democrats. As the mass democratic movements of the 1960s turned into the recession and malaise of the early 1970s, however, it became increasingly difficult to discern concrete differences in policies between the two groups. Indeed, during this period the Democratic Party at every level was lurching steadily towards political reaction. These reactionary tendencies were already widespread among the Bourbon Dixiecrats in the South, of course. But the progressive wing of the Democratic Party that had supported and enacted the policies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt was rapidly retreating. Thus, the Democratic Party's increasing disavowal of the explicitly racist rhetoric of the Dixiecrats at this moment was but a pyrrhic victory. Indeed, the politics that often went hand in hand with Dixiecratic rhetoric—fear-mongering about "crime-ridden" Black and other communities of color, playing up grievances over supposed welfare abuse, resistance to any kind of sweeping program of civil rights enforcement, etc.—gained an even firmer foothold in the Democratic Party during this era, and much of the campaign literature in this collection exhibits such tendencies. These reactionary policies, it is true, were often window-dressed to avoid an outright avowal of fascism—but the fact of the matter was that the door was rapidly closing on truly progressive policies in the Democratic Party for decades to come.

This was also the period in which the progressive wing of the Republican Party, which had been present since the party's start in the nineteenth century, began to disappear. In The Bronx, this process was not at all a foregone conclusion during the 1960s, as the newly formed Conservative Party failed to exercise significant influence over the local Republican Party, which still ran progressive candidates like Joseph F. Periconi, Jr., John Lindsay, and others. Indeed, John Lindsay's mayoral campaigns were illustrative of the fact that certain sectors of the Republican Party could still harbor more progressive policies at this moment in time, as Linday's opponents during both campaigns—the arch-reactionary William F. Buckley (Cons.) and Abe Beame (D.) in 1965, and John J. Marchi (R./Cons.) and Mario Procaccino (D.) in 1969—all ran on more or less reactionary platforms. To be sure, Beame at least made an effort to present himself as a liberal, but no such effort was made by his close associate Procaccino in the next election. Eventually, however, in The Bronx as elsewhere, the major political positions of ascendant U.S. reaction—which had its ideological roots in the virile anti-communism of the late 1940s and 1950s as well as the thinking of overtly fascist groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the John Birch Society—won out in the Republican Party. Some of the campaign material in this collection helps document this struggle both inside and outside the Republican Party in The Bronx.

Description/Scope and Content

The collection contains material from local, citywide, state, and federal primary and regular election campaigns. Most of the material comes from 1963–1974, a pivotal period in New York City and U.S. politics. Particularly well documented are the various local campaigns of Reform Democrats against the Bronx Democratic Party machine led by boss Charles A. Buckley throughout the 1960s. Also noteworthy are materials from John Lindsay's campaign for New York City mayor in 1964–1965 as the fusion Republican and Liberal candidate; and campaign materials for and against the establishment of the Civilian Review Board, which was established to curtail citizen abuse by the city's police force.

Provenance

This collection was collected by various members of The Bronx County Historical Society during and after elections.

Preferred Citation

[Item name or description,] Bronx Political Campaigns collection, box _, folder _, The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.

Points of Access

  • Fascism, U.S. -- anti-communism -- anti-taxation -- Buckley, William F. -- Conservative Party (New York) -- Democratic Party -- Goldwater, Barry -- Republican Party
  • Individuals -- Abrams, Robert -- Badillo, Herman -- Beame, Abraham -- Biaggi, Mario -- Bingham, Jonathan -- Buckley, Charles A. -- Dollinger, Isidore -- Goldin, Harrison J. -- Goldwater, Barry -- Johnson, Lyndon B. -- Kennedy, Robert F. -- Posner, Seymour -- Scheuer, James H. -- Sullivan, Donald J. -- Warner, Ivan
  • Police abolition and reform -- Civilian Review Board
  • Politics and political parties, The Bronx, New York -- Conservative Party -- Democratic Party -- Liberal Party -- National Tax Savers Party -- Republican Party -- Socialist Labor Party -- Socialist Workers Party
  • Vietnam War -- peace movements

Related Collections

  1. Karen Argenti papers. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  2. Herman Badillo papers. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  3. Mario Biaggi papers. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  4. Bill Bigelow papers. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  5. Jonathan Bingham papers. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  6. Decatur Democratic Club records. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  7. Elias Karmon papers. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  8. Rev. Wendell Foster papers. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  9. G. Oliver Koppell papers. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  10. Murray Lerner papers. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  11. Hansel L. McGee papers. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  12. Joseph F. Periconi, Jr. papers. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  13. Gelvin Stevenson papers on Arson and Housing Abandonment. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  14. Millicent S. Thayer papers. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  15. Urban League, Bronx Branch Records. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  16. West Bronx Young Republican Club records. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.
  17. Women's Republican Club of Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil. The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.

Series

Series Title Box Folders
1 Campaign print material 1 1–127
Campaign print material (cont.) 2 1–42
2 Campaign buttons, posters, etc. 3 1–14

Container List

Series 1: Campaign Print Material

Box

Folder

Contents

Date

1

1

Election campaigns, general information

1963–1973

1

2

Abrams, Robert (Bob) (D.)

1968–1974

1

3

Alvarez, Eugenio A. (D.)

n.d.

1

4

AFL-CIO, Far-right extremism

n.d.

1

5

Ambruster, Chris (R.)

1964

1

6

Anti-communism

n.d.

1

7

Badillo, Herman (D.)

1965–1974

1

8

Barry, Robert (Bob) (R.)

1964

1

9

Bauman, Bert (D.)

n.d.

1

10

Beame, Abraham (Abe) D. (D.)

1965–1973

1

11

Benza, Louis C. (D.)

n.d.

1

12

Bernstein, Abraham (D.)

1964–1966

1

13

Bernstein, Lawrence H. (D.)

1969–1972

1

14

Biaggi, Mario (D.)

1968–1972

1

15

Bingham, Jonathan (Jack) (D.)

1964–1973

1

16

Blumenthal, Albert (D.)

1973

1

17

Board of elections

n.d.

1

18

Braff, Irving (R.)

1963

1

19

Buckley, Charles A. (D.)

1964

1

20

Buckley, James (Jim) L. (R.)

1972–1975

1

21

Buckley, William F. (Cons.)

1964

1

22

Calandra, John D. (R.)

n.d.

1

23

Carey, Hugh L. (D.)

n.d.

1

24

Cartelli, Thomas (D.)

1966

1

25

Cascione, Joseph (D.)

n.d.

1

26

Civilian Review Board

n.d.

1

27

Citizens Union Voters Directory

1960–1966

1

28

Conservative Party, general

1963–1964

1

29

Cook, Michael (D.)

n.d.

1

30

Croghan, Robert J. (D.)

n.d.

1

31

Cunningham, Patrick J. (D.)

1968

1

32

Dearie, John C. (D.)

n.d.

1

33

DeBerry, Clifton (S.W.P.)

n.d.

1

34

Delaney, John V. (D.)

1966

1

35

Delle Cese, Alexander (D.)

n.d.

1

36

DeMarco, Michael (D.)

n.d.

1

37

Democratic Party, general

1963–1968

1

38

Democratic Party, Bronx clubs

1955–1968

1

39

Dollinger, Isidore (D.)

1963

1

40

Doyle, Joseph F. (D.)

n.d.

1

41

Echtman, Irwin (D.)

1964

1

42

Eggert, Fred W. (D.)

n.d.

1

43

Eisenberg, Sidney (Cons.)

n.d.

1

44

Fastenberg, Leonard (D.)

n.d.

1

45

Feldman, Leonard (Lib.)

n.d.

1

46

Fino, Paul A. (R.)

1962–1964

1

47

Flores, Monserrate (R.)

1974

1

48

Foster, Rev. Wendell (D.)

n.d.

1

49

Frank, Harry B. (D.)

1965

1

50

Fuchsberg, Jacob

n.d.

1

51

Fuentes, Luis A. (D.)

n.d.

1

52

Fusco, Louis, Jr. (D.)

n.d.

1

53

Galiber, Joseph L. (D.)

n.d.

1

54

Gardner, Dennis (D.)

n.d.

1

55

Gelfand, Bertram (D.)

1968–1972

1

56

Geto, Ethan M. (D.)

n.d.

1

57

Giamboi, Joseph N. (R.)

n.d.

1

58

Gilbert, Jacob (Jack) H. (D.)

1968

1

59

Gildea, Frank (R.)

n.d.

1

60

Glanzrock, Jerome L. (D.)

n.d.

1

61

Goldberg, Arthur J.

n.d.

1

62

Goldberg, Joan (D.)

n.d.

1

63

Goldin, Harrison J. (D.)

1966–1968

1

64

Goldsmith, Gerald P. (D.)

1974

1

65

Goldwater, Barry (R.)

1964

1

66

Goodell, Charles E. (R.)

n.d.

1

67

Gorfinkel, Archie A. (D.)

1966

1

68

Hass, Eric (S.L.P.)

1964

1

69

Healey, James C. (D.)

1963–1964

1

70

Hecht, Burton (D.)

1964–1969

1

71

Herman, Bernard (D.)

n.d.

1

72

Hochberg, Alan (D.)

1972

1

73

Humphrey, Hubert (D.)

1968

1

74

Isacson, Leo (D.)

1968

1

75

Javits, Jacob (R.)

n.d.

1

76

Johnson, Lyndon B. (D.)

1964

1

77

Judgeships, general

n.d.

1

78

Kapelman, William (D.)

1969

1

79

Karp, George (D.)

n.d.

1

80

Kaufman, Stephen B. (D.)

1970–1973

1

81

Keating, Kenneth B. (R.)

1964

1

82

Kennedy, Robert F. (D.)

1964–1968

1

83

Klein, Alvin F. (D.)

n.d.

1

84

Koppell, G. Oliver (D.)

1972

1

85

Kraf, Harry (D.)

1970

1

86

Kretchmer, Jerome (D.)

1965

1

87

Kryston, Daniel J.

1970

1

88

Kupferman, Theodore R.

n.d.

1

89

League of Women Voters

1964–1974

1

90

Leggett, Russell R. (R.)

n.d.

1

91

Levy, Abraham D. (R.)

1963

1

92

Liberal Party, general

1964

1

93

Lindsay, John (R./Lib.)

1964–1965

1

94

Londin, Bernard (D.)

1968

1

95

Low, Robert A. (D.)

n.d.

1

96

Lyman, Kenneth J. (D.)

1966

1

97

Madden, John G. (R.)

1969

1

98

Mahoney, Robert F. (Cons.)

n.d.

1

99

Mastandrea, Frank J. (Cons.)

1963

1

100

McBroom, Marie (D.)

n.d.

1

101

McCarthy, Eugene (D.)

1968

1

102

McGovern, George (D.)

1972

1

103

McGrath, Christopher C. (D.)

1966

1

104

Menendez, Luis A. (R.)

1964

1

105

Merola, Mario (D.)

n.d.

1

106

Molisani, E. Howard (Lib.)

1963

1

107

Mullane, Kenneth J. (Cons.)

n.d.

1

108

Mullins, John M. (D.)

1976

1

109

Murphy, Francis T., Jr. (D.)

n.d.

1

110

Murphy, Hugh D. (Cons.)

1964

1

111

Myer, Philip

n.d.

1

112

Nixon, Richard M. (R.)

1972

1

113

O’Dwyer, Paul (D.)

1968

1

114

Ohrenstein, Manfred (D./Lib.)

1965

1

115

Ortiz, Rosa Lydia (D.)

n.d.

1

116

Ostrau, Stanley S. (D.)

1974

1

117

Ottinger, Richard L. (D.)

1964

1

118

Paolucci, Henry (Cons.)

1964

1

119

Parker, John J. (R.)

1962

1

120

Passannante, William F. (D./Lib.)

n.d.

1

121

Periconi, Joseph F., Jr. (R./Lib.)

1966

1

122

Peyser, Peter A. (D.)

1972

1

123

Pinto, Joseph A.

n.d.

1

124

Posner, Seymour (D.)

1966

1

125

Procaccino, Mario A. (D.)

1965

1

126

Ramos, Manuel (D.)

1968

1

127

Real estate taxes

n.d.

2

1

Republican Party, general

1964–1968

2

2

Resnick, Joseph Y. (D.)

1968

2

3

Ribustello, A. Joseph (R.)

1963

2

4

Riccobono, Xavier C.

1967

2

5

Rockefeller, Nelson A. (R.)

n.d.

2

6

Rosen, Sidney H. (D.)

n.d.

2

7

Rosenberg, Jack (R.)

n.d.

2

8

Rooney, William James (D.)

1966

2

9

Roosevelt, Franklin D., Jr. (Lib.)

1966

2

10

Ruiz, Israel, Jr. (D.)

1974

2

11

Ryan, Aileen B. (D.)

n.d.

2

12

Salman, Barry (D.)

1969

2

13

Samuels, Howard J. (D.)

1970

2

14

Santaella, Irma V.

n.d.

2

15

Satriale, John T. (D.)

n.d.

2

16

Scanlon, Daniel P. (D.)

1963

2

17

Scheuer, James (Jim) H. (D.)

1966–1972

2

18

Schutzger, Jerome (D.)

n.d.

2

19

Schwartz, D. X. B. (Tax Savers)

1963

2

20

Schwartzberg, Raymond (D.)

1973

2

21

Serrano, José E. (D.)

1974

2

22

Shaw, Maye (D.)

n.d.

2

23

Silcott, George

n.d.

2

24

Simon, Stanley (D.)

n.d.

2

25

Sontz, Carl (D.)

1970

2

26

Starke, George (Lib.)

1964

2

27

Stella, Anthony J. (D.)

1973

2

28

Stone, Richard (D.)

1973

2

29

Strauss, Nathan (D.)

1968

2

30

Sullivan, Donald J. (D.)

1964–1965

2

31

Thompson, Frank, Jr.

1968

2

32

Torres, Frank (D.)

1965

2

33

Vallone, Peter F. (D.)

n.d.

2

34

Victor, Paul A. (D.)

1968

2

35

Vietnam Peace Parade Committee

n.d.

2

36

Voting information

n.d.

2

37

Wachtel, Arthur (D.)

n.d.

2

38

Wagner, Robert F. (D.)

1969

2

39

Warner, Ivan (D.)

1964–1968

2

40

White, Judy (S.W.P.)

n.d.

2

41

Wiggins, Raymond J. (R.)

1964

2

42

Withey, Anna T. (D.)

1962

Series 2: Campaign Buttons, Posters, etc.

Box

Folder

Contents

Date

3

1

Campaign buttons

1963–1968

3

2

Abinader, Luis (P.R.M., Dominican Republic)

2020

3

3

Beame, Abraham (Abe) D. (D.)

1965

3

4

Chananau, Alexander (D.)

n.d.

3

5

Goldin, Harrison J. (D.)

n.d.

3

6

Klein, Alvin F. (D.)

n.d.

3

7

Klein, Martin (D.)

n.d.

3

8

Marine, Joseph E. (D.)

n.d.

3

9

Mastandrea, Frank J. (Cons.)

1963

3

10

McGivern, Owen (D.)

n.d.

3

11

Merola, Mario (D.)

n.d.

3

12

Ribustello, Joseph A. (R.)

1963

3

13

Rosen, Sidney H. (D.)

n.d.

3

14

Salman, Barry (D.)

n.d.