Austin Meehan

Austin Meehan in 1961

Austin Andrew Meehan, Sr., (August 29, 1897 – October 5, 1961) was a Republican politician in Philadelphia who served as county sheriff and was known as a power broker in the Republican party organization in the city. Beginning as an insurgent, he soon won the favor of party bosses and climbed the ranks of Philadelphia's Republican organization. Meehan served two terms as county sheriff from 1944 to 1952 and was recognized as the unofficial head of the Republican Party in Philadelphia in the 1950s.

Early life

Meehan was born in 1897 in Philadelphia, the son of John Meehan and Anna Waldron Meehan.^[1] Meehan's parents were Irish immigrants, and he grew up in North Philadelphia's 37th ward.^[2] In 1917, he married Jane McNulty, with whom he would later have four sons and four daughters.^[3][4] From the age of 14, Meehan worked for his father, a paving contractor with his own increasingly successful business.^[5]

He played on some of the early professional basketball teams around the city, including the Philadelphia 50 Club, St. Henry, and Shanahan.^[6][7] Local sports writers awarded Meehan the credit for Shanahan's defeat of the city's dominant team, the SPHAs, in 1925.^[8] After his own career ended, he became involved with charity work in Northeast Philadelphia, including sponsoring youth sports.^[9] Financial success gave him independence; he entered politics at an early age, and often sparred with the Republican Party establishment in the city.^[5]

Insurgent politico

In 1935, Democratic governor George H. Earle appointed Meehan to one of the Republican slots on the city's voter registration committee.^[4] Meehan immediately found himself at odds with the party organization, saying later that year that the "dead heads" in the party must be removed from power if they hoped to win the next election.^[10] He soon broke with councilman Clarence K. Crossan, who had supported him for the job, and considered a run for sheriff or for Crossan's seat on city council.^[11] Meehan and Crossan reconciled, but Meehan bucked the party by throwing his support to John B. Kelly Sr., the Democratic candidate for mayor.^[4]

The 35th ward was the base of Meehan's political power.

Kelly lost the 1935 election, and Meehan resigned his seat on the registration committee.^[4] Meehan never again backed a Democrat for office, but he remained a thorn in the side of the Republican party regulars. In 1937, he ran for city treasurer against the organization-backed candidate, David E. Watson (though with the backing of Republican Mayor Samuel Davis Wilson). Meehan lost by a two-to-one margin in the primary.^[12] After publicly toying with bolting the party, Meehan backed Watson and the rest of the Republican slate in the general election that November.^[13]

Meehan, by this time the leader of the 35th ward, continued his independent streak into the early 1940s.^[14] In 1941, he tried for the Republican nomination for city controller.^[15] Meehan represented the so-called "insurgent Republicans" against the party hierarchy, but he also had the support of United States Senator James J. Davis.^[15] He was unsuccessful again, losing to Alvin A. Swenson, but he tallied more votes than any of the other insurgents, with 73,135 to Swenson's 124,327.^[16] His growing popularity meant the organization could no longer treat Meehan as a mere nuisance.^[14]

Sheriff

In 1943, David W. Harris, the head of the Republican City Committee, approached Meehan about running for sheriff with the organization's backing.^[14] John M. Cummings of The Philadelphia Inquirer called the development "encouraging," noting that Meehan's business acumen, community work, and civic-mindedness would make him a "tower of strength" on the November ballot.^[17] Meehan was unopposed in the primary and won easily in the general election that fall, defeating Democrat Elmer Kilroy by more than 40,000 votes.^[18]

Although he had come to office as an outsider, allegations of insider corruption began to attach to Meehan's name.^[19] Similar accusations about the entire Republican organization led many independent voters to shift toward the opposition. The Democratic candidate for mayor, Richardson Dilworth, accused Meehan of controlling illegal gambling in Northeast Philadelphia, among other crimes.^[20] In response to his repeated accusations, Meehan challenged Dilworth to a televised debate.^[21] Meehan was later persuaded that it would be a mistake to debate the skilled trial lawyer and backed out, but Dilworth went on without him, haranguing an empty chair instead.^[22] Meehan was, nonetheless, reelected in 1947 with a 100,000-vote majority, but it would be the last election the Republicans would dominate in the city.^[14][23]

Party boss

Decline of the Philadelphia Republicans

With the death of Thomas Sovereign Gates in 1948, the last of the "old Philadelphia" upper-class leadership over the Republican Party was gone.^[24] That left Meehan, William F. Meade and Morton Witkin, as the remaining powers in the party organization.^[25][26] Meehan's wealth gave him some advantage over the other two, but none of the three was strong enough to control the entire organization, and intra-party feuding was often the result—as was an increase in "indiscriminate graft," according to author James Reichley.^[24]

The Academy of Music was the site of Meehan and Dilworth's 1949 debate.

In 1949, the Democrats, led by Dilworth and city controller candidate Joseph S. Clark Jr., mounted another anti-corruption campaign.^[21] Meehan dismissed the two as "Dilly and Silly".^[27] He and Meade drew attention to the Americans for Democratic Action, a left-wing group that backed the Democratic ticket, which Meade said was "infiltrated with communists."^[27] This time, Meehan and Dilworth did debate before a packed house at the Academy of Music, as well as over the air on radio and television.^[28] The debate quickly degenerated into a name-calling contest, with the personal morals of both politicians being criticized.^[28] Unlike in 1947, the Democrats swept to office by 100,000 vote majorities.^[21]

After the defeat, relations worsened between Meehan and Meade, leading to an open split by 1950.^[14] Dilworth and Clark ran again in 1951—this time for district attorney and mayor, respectively—and blasted Meehan and his associates as irredeemably corrupt.^[29] The campaign was successful and led reform-minded voters to abandon the Republican Party, resulting in sweeping losses in the 1951 mayoral and council races. The Democrats won nearly every election on the ballot in 1951, including sheriff (Meehan did not run for a third term).^[30]

Death and legacy

While speaking to the Northeast Lions Club in October 1961, Meehan suffered a heart attack. He was taken to Holy Redeemer Hospital, but died without regaining consciousness.^[4] 50,000 people turned out for his viewing before a funeral Mass at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic church in Lawndale.^[14][36] He was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham.^[1]

Meehan's memory would be revered among Philadelphia Republicans for years to come, and many would recall his mix of friendliness and political acumen.^[4][36] Austin Meehan Middle School in Northeast Philadelphia was named for him at the behest of his one-time rival, Richardson Dilworth.^[37] Meehan's son Billy followed in his father's footsteps to become the informal head of the party in Philadelphia.^[36]

References

Sources