The 1967 Philadelphia mayoral election saw the reelection of James Tate, who narrowly defeated Republican challenger

Arlen Specter Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican from ...

in the general election. Specter would later be elected to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, where he served until 2011. In the Democratic primary, Tate successfully fended off a challenge by Alexander Hemphill, who had the backing of Philadelphia Democratic Party Chairman Francis R. Smith.

Primaries

Democratic

Chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic Party Francis R. Smith made an attempt to replace Tate on the ticket with City Controller Alexander Hemphill, but Tate refused to drop out of the election and defeated Hemphill in the Democratic primary.

Republican

Incumbent

District Attorney of Philadelphia The office of the District Attorney of Philadelphia is the largest prosecutor's office in the state of Pennsylvania and oversees a jurisdiction that includes more than 1.5 million citizens of both the city and county of Philadelphia. The current ...

won the Republican primary.

General election

Campaign

At the opening of the general election campaign, Specter was viewed as the frontrunner. Tate faced the obstacle of a divided Democratic Party. Tate supported legislation also endorsed by Cardinal

John Krol John Joseph Krol (October 26, 1910 – March 3, 1996) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1961 to 1988, having previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland (1953� ...

which would allow state funding of parochial and other private schools, while Specter did not take a stance of this issue. During the campaign, Tate received heavy media attention by being in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

during the outbreak of the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

and being in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

when Archbishop Krol was elevated to Cardinal. Tate benefited from positive regards for the city's ability to keep greater peace amid the

long, hot summer of 1967 The long, hot summer of 1967 refers to the more than 150 race riots that erupted across the United States in the summer of 1967. In June there were riots in Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Buffalo, and Tampa. In July there were riots in Birmingh ...

than many other major cities had been able to. Tate thought he needed to send a "law and order" message to secure reelection, and therefore appointed

Frank Rizzo Francis Lazarro Rizzo (October 23, 1920 – July 16, 1991) was an American police officer and politician. He served as Philadelphia police commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980. He was a member of the Democr ...

as Philadelphia Police Commissioner. During the campaign, Tate was asked many times whether he planned to keep Rizzo in this position if reelected. Since Specter was a former

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member of the Democratic party, he was able to receive the backing of much of Philadelphia's political establishment, as well as many liberal Democrats, such as the group

Americans for Democratic Action Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting prog ...

. Specter presented himself as being able to usher in a continuance of the liberal reform policies of Tate's immediate two predecessors,

Richardson Dilworth Richardson K. Dilworth (August 29, 1898 – January 23, 1974) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 91st mayor of Philadelphia from 1956 to 1962. He twice ran as the Democratic nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, in 1 ...

and

Joseph S. Clark Jr. Joseph Sill Clark Jr. (October 21, 1901January 12, 1990) was an American writer, lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 90th Mayor of Philadelphia from 1952 to 1956 and as a United States Senator from Pennsylvan ...

Tate countered this by having Clark make appearances on the campaign trail with him. Polls anticipated a Specter victory.

Results

Tate won reelection by a narrow margin. It is believed that Tate, the city's first

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

mayor, received strong support from the Catholic electorate. He performed well in Catholic wards of the city. It is also believed that Tate benefited from strong turnout among labor voters. While Tate carried the city's

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

wards, he received less support in these wards than was typical at the time for the Democratic Party. Specter, who would have become the city's first

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

mayor had he won, carried the city's wards with a primarily Jewish population. Specter won a majority of the white vote.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philadelphia mayoral election, 1967

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

1967 Pennsylvania elections 1960s in Philadelphia