Now that ex-Kings county Democratic "Boss" Clarence Norman, the evidently not very fearsome, perhaps even toothless, "King of Kings," has been convicted again of something or other which is part of the job description (SOP), I thought it time to re-post some of my more and less current musings on the subject. All or parts of this appeared in the City Sun, Gotham on line and the earliest version in the Brooklyn Free Press, as "it" has been going on for quite some time. A second Blog Post will contain the most recent comment placed on Room Eight New York Politics: “Standing up for Clarence Norman(who would have thunk it)”
Clarence Norman Jr. as Déjà vu all Over Again, Again: Reforming the Brooklyn Machine by Jerry Krase
I have been reading a great deal recently of the impending fall of the Brooklyn Machine. Actually if one were to read the history of urban political machines they would discover that the phenomenon has had more lives than the proverbial cat. The problem has tended to be that people take the change of personnel for a change of the system. Not only do the individual leaders change without changing the system, the important constituent groups also change without much effect. As my colleague Charles LaCerra and I wrote in Ethnicity and Machine Politics (University Press of America, 1992):
"Ethnicity, race and religion, in conjunction along with organizational factors such as group dynamics and social stratification, are the major social forces in the creation and operation of urban political machines. Acting upon and through each other they account for the rise and fall of these pervasive, and sometimes peculiar, local, institutions which influence all levels of social and political life. Their impact can be seen in the back rooms of smoke-filled local clubs as well as in the media nuances of presidential campaigns."
One of the most powerful myths is that ethnic succession "improves" the integrity of urban politics. Throughout US history, impoverished minority groups have seen their salvation in the election of one of "their own" to high positions of the city in which they lived. Regardless of the political advancement of any particular group, however the hoped for improvement in the character of the political machine does not occur. Although some members of the ethnic group may become more successful, the general tone of the urban politics remains as it was despite a period of high expectation. In America the building blocks of national political life are local political associations which vary greatly in degree of their formality, longevity and influence. Although local associations have lost power because of the increased use of mass media and other direct appeals to voters by candidates, machines have survived. Coalitions between ethnic and interest groups once seen as diametrically opposed appear with regularity as power bases wax and wane. Once politically Neanderthal, bosses have adopted modern techniques for exercising control and continue to mediate between the broader and narrower political levels. The image of the new style ethnic political boss is likely to be that of a nonsmoker with an advanced degree.
Our study focused on the James Madison Club, at one time, one of the most powerful organizations in the country. Since 1920 Brooklyn, or Kings County, has been one of the largest Democratic enrolled counties in the US. Its Machine has had an enviable record of achievement at every political level. A brief look at the career of its founder and the premier leader of Kings County John H. McCooey might help bring the lack of success by reformers into focus. McCooey was born in Williamsburgh's Irish ghetto in 1864 and worked his way up through political jobs such as the NYC Civil Service Commission. When Brooklyn's first county "Boss" Hugh McLaughlin retired from politics in 1904, McCooey cleverly established his control of Kings County. It was said that McCooey prevented the Tiger from crossing the bridge, but he did import George Washington Plunkitt's philosophy. Plunkitt's ideal politician didn't practice dishonest graft because there was so much "honest graft lyin' around."
Judgeships have always been an "issue" in Brooklyn. McCooey acted on a strictly quid pro quo basis and in 1932 when he sought a judgeship for his son, he made a deal with Republicans to create 12 new judgeships. Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt signed despite his anti-Tammany reputation. In other ways, for someone with no formal education McCooey prospered by doing favors for family and friends. His sister was Associate Superintendent of Schools in Brooklyn. His brother-in-law James J. Byrne was Borough President who controlled millions of dollars for public works. McCooey's brother Herbert was a lawyer in the construction bonding business. Fiorello LaGuardia noted that between 1926-29 868 bonding contracts were placed with Herbert in Brooklyn compared to 100 for all other bonding companies. LaGuardia also said that John McCooey JR's law practice, shared with his brother-in-law Gardner Conray, received 20-30 times the normal number of referrals from the Surrogates Court for an individual law firm. Their firm also worked for the Bureau of Standards and Appeals. It was said that if legal propriety was overstepped that Tammany appointed judges would come to their defense. As to applications for reductions in tax, it was reported that from a fifth to half of the reduction went to a lawyer or other "fixer." At his death in 1934 McCooey's estate was rumored to be about 2 million dollars. He saw his chances and took 'em.
Some years ago, I attended a dinner at which legendary Brooklyn Boss Meade Esposito was given a Man of the Year Award. It was a year or two before Meade's "troubles" with the law would be a prelude to another announcement of the death of the Brooklyn machine. He was sitting in the lobby smoking his omnipresent cigar and issuing expletives. Someone made the mistake of asking him about how he felt about the stiff opposition he was getting from the "reform" Democratic political clubs in the borough. He laughed and sandwiched between expletives he explained that he also had been a reformer --- a Roosevelt Reform Democrat.