The 1950 New York City special mayoral election was held on November 7, 1950. Incumbent Democratic Mayor William O'Dwyer had resigned as mayor of New York City in August 1950 to become the United States Ambassador to Mexico. As a result, fellow Democrat Vincent R. Impellitteri became acting mayor in August, having to run in the special election in November to serve out the remaining three years of O'Dwyer's term. Ultimately, Impellitteri was not nominated by New York CityDemocrats in this election. However, Impellitteri won the election as a third-party candidate.
Mayor William O'Dwyer was first elected in 1945 and re-elected in 1949, both times with the support of the Tammany Hall political machine.[2] Following his 1949 campaign, O'Dwyer was seen as the likely Democratic nominee for the upcoming gubernatorial election in New York in 1950. However, a fast-moving scandal had surfaced connecting the New York Police Department to a gambling ring that included many of the city's top political figures.[3] Within weeks, the scandal began to attract national attention, notably from the anti-crime committee of Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver.[4] President Harry Truman then offered O'Dwyer the ambassadorship to Mexico before the scandal escalated further and possibly implicated O'Dwyer.[5]
Due to O'Dwyer's unexpected resignation, New York City Council President Vincent R. Impellitteri was appointed as mayor of New York City following after O'Dwyer left office in August 1950. Impellitteri had been an ally of O'Dwyer and the Tammany Hall Democratic political machine through that time, with O'Dwyer personally selecting him as New York City Council President. Historian Robert Caro alleges that the unassuming Impellitteri was a virtually unknown civil servant who started his career in politics because he had "a name that even the dumbest voter [would] be able to tell was Italian," as Italians were a critical voting bloc in New York City at the time.[6] However, within a month of his appointment as mayor, Impellitteri had replaced the incumbent New York City Police Commissioner with Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Francis Murphy, who garnered significant support for his anti-corruption efforts against the New York City Police Department.[7]
The Liberals considered giving their nomination to a Republican, especially if it was Jacob Javits. However, Thomas J. Curran opposed forming a coalition with the liberals.[9]
American Labor
The American Labor Party nominated Paul Ross, the first chairman of the New York City Rent Commission.[11] Corsi and Ross both received far less support than either Pecora or Impellitteri.
Experience
Impellitteri refused to concede the election following his loss of the Democratic nomination and instead ran as a member of the Experience Party, which Impellitteri created to run in this election. Impellitteri was a political unknown in the city at the time, but his aides quickly sought to introduce him to voters as a dedicated opponent of New York City's political corruption and as an ally of the popular Robert Moses. After promising Moses a free hand in setting New York City construction policy, Moses agreed to support the incumbent mayor's third-party campaign.[12] Ultimately, the Experience Party was a "shoestring operation" with the task of taking on the dominant political machine of New York City.[13] However, Impellitteri's anti-corruption message resonated with voters; he mustered volunteers, and won election to the remaining three years of O'Dwyer's term.[14]
1950 1950 in film September 1950 1950 Illinois elections List of elections in 1950 1950 Úrvalsdeild January 1950 October 1950 April 1950 March 1950 December 1950 July 1950 August 1950 June 1950 February 1950 November 1950 1950 Atlantic hurricane season 1950 Philadelphia Eagles season 1950 United States census 1950 NFL season 1950 British Empire Games 1950 Massachusetts elections 1950 U.S. Open (golf) 1950 Tennessee Volunteers football team 1950 Pittsburgh Steelers season 1950 NASCAR Grand National Series 1950 State of the Union Address 1950 Detroit Lions season 1950 United States elections 19…
50 United States Senate elections 1950 FIFA World Cup 1950 United States gubernatorial elections 1950 NFL draft 1950 in sports 1950–51 Segunda División 1950 in television 1950 Milan–San Remo 1950 in Afghanistan 1950 VPI Gobblers football team 1950 Chicago Bears season 1950–51 Primeira Divisão 1950 Yugoslavian parliamentary election 1950 All-Pro Team 1950 Pacific typhoon season 1950 Utah Redskins football team 1950–51 Allsvenskan 1950 NCAA basketball tournament 1950 Indianapolis 500 1950–51 Nationalliga A 1950 Peruvian Segunda División 1950 Los Angeles Rams season 1950 NSWRFL season 1950 Australian Championships 1950 U.S. Women's Open 1950 Academy Awards 1950 Assam–Tibet earthquake 1950 Hamilton, Ontario, municipal election 1950 VFL season 1950 Peruvian Primera División EuroBasket Women 1950 1950 Oregon Ducks football team 1950–51 Football League 1950 Tampa Spartans football team 1950 West Dunbartonshire by-election 1950 Formula One season 1950 Miami Redskins football team 1950–51 Swedish football Division 3 1950 Liverpool City Council election 1950 Pacific Tigers football team 1950 LSU Tigers football team List of Hindi films of 1950 1950 NBA Finals 1950 Arkansa