James Edward Dunne (October 3, 1882 – February 28, 1942) was mayor of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

for twelve years (six two-year terms), from January 1927 to January 1939. He was mayor during both the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and the

Hurricane of 1938 The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The stor ...

Early life

Dunne was born in Providence on October 3, 1882, son of James Dunne and Mary Ellen Reed. He attended public schools. He was

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. Dunne started his career as an owner of retail grocery stores, from 1902 to 1916. In 1916 he entered the chemical and oil business with a partner from Philadelphia. He ran the Strand Chemical Company in Providence.

Political career

Dunne started his political career in 1914 when he was elected to the Providence Common Council. He also served as Alderman. He served on the sewer committee and campaigned for sewers to be built in all parts of Providence. He also pushed for an incinerator to be built in the city in 1926. Dunne was State Chairman of the

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in 1923 and City Chairman in 1924. He served as a delegate to both the

1924 Democratic National Convention The 1924 Democratic National Convention, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from June 24 to July 9, 1924, was the longest continuously running convention in United States political history. It took a record 103 ballots to nominate ...

and the

1932 Democratic National Convention The 1932 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois June 27 – July 2, 1932. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York for president and Speaker of the House John N. Garner from Tex ...

Race for Mayor

He was a close ally of Providence Mayor Joseph H. Gainer. When Gainer announced he was running for Senate in 1924, Dunne entered the race. At the last minute, Gainer lost his bid for the Senate and decided to stand for re-election to the Mayor's office. Dunne withdrew from the race and supported Gainer. Dunne finally had his chance when Gainer announced he would not run for re-election in 1926. The 1926 Mayor's race turned out to be the "closest contest in years." Dunne won against Republican William Hughes by only 171 votes. Dunne took the oath in January 1927; his mother died six days after he took office.

Great Depression

During the

, he led a conference of four Rhode Island mayors to come up with plans for unemployment relief. Dunne proposed work-relief programs such as jobs at

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

, city parks, and reservoirs. In 1930, Dunne removed the property requirement for voting. In 1937 Dunne faced a citywide strike of 1200 Public Works employees. Dunne placed "severe penalties" for striking trash collectors. Dunne settled the strike by agreeing to re-hire Public Works employees who had previously been let go for cost-saving reasons.

Hurricane

Dunne was mayor when the

Great Hurricane of 1938 The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The storm ...

caused widespread flooding and damage to the area. He called the City Council into special session and set aside a special one-million-dollar fund for rehabilitation. Dunne declared martial law to prevent looting, and supervised all municipal departments in tree removal, cleaning streets, pumping cellars, and offering assistance. Despite this attention, Dunne lost the November 1938 election to Republican John F. Collins by 6037 votes.

Personal life

Dunne married Genevieve Rita Rawdon on September 18, 1906. They had six children: James Edward, Robert Rawdon, Ellen Reed, Richard Barry, John, and Stephen; the latter two died before their father. Dunne was a member of the Catholic Club, Providence Lodge of Elks, Finnegan Council,

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

, Providence Aerie of Eagles, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Sons of Irish Kings, Order of Moose, Exchange Club, and was a trustee of St. Agnes Church. Dunne died in St. Joseph's Hospital in Providence on February 28, 1942, after a three-week illness. The nature of the illness was not disclosed in obituaries. He was buried at St. Francis Cemetery, Pawtucket.

References

External links

James E. Dunne
at Providence City website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, James E. 1882 births 1942 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Rhode Island Mayors of Providence, Rhode Island Burials in Rhode Island American Roman Catholics Rhode Island Democrats