Philadelphia municipal election, 1951
Philadelphia municipal election, 1951.
The municipal election of November 6, 1951, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, produced the first Democratic victory in the city in more than a half-century. In the 1940s, Philadelphia had been the last major American city with nearly all of its political offices occupied by Republicans. The election was the first held under a reform charter that had been overwhelmingly approved by voters the previous April. Joseph S. Clark Jr. (pictured) and his running mate, Richardson Dilworth, were elected mayor and district attorney; they had been two of the main movers for the reform. Led by local party chairman James A. Finnegan, the Democrats also took fourteen of seventeen city council seats and all of the citywide offices on the ballot. A referendum on consolidating the city and county governments passed by a wide margin. The election marked the beginning of Democratic dominance of Philadelphia city politics, which continues today.
The municipal election of November 6, 1951, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, produced the first Democratic victory in the city in more than a half-century. In the 1940s, Philadelphia had been the last major American city with nearly all of its political offices occupied by Republicans. The election was the first held under a reform charter that had been overwhelmingly approved by voters the previous April. Joseph S. Clark Jr. (pictured) and his running mate, Richardson Dilworth, were elected mayor and district attorney; they had been two of the main movers for the reform. Led by local party chairman James A. Finnegan, the Democrats also took fourteen of seventeen city council seats and all of the citywide offices on the ballot. A referendum on consolidating the city and county governments passed by a wide margin. The election marked the beginning of Democratic dominance of Philadelphia city politics, which continues today.
