John Henry McCooey (June 18, 1864 – January 21, 1934) was an American politician who was a

political boss In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous off ...

in the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

political machine In the politics of Representative democracy, representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a hig ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. McCooey served as chair of the Kings County Democratic Party from 1910 until his death in 1934. McCooey was born in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant to the s ...

, in 1864. He was the oldest of six children. He developed the Madison Club, which became the strongest political organization in Kings County. At an early age, McCooey became friends with

John Francis Hylan John Francis Hylan (April 20, 1868January 12, 1936) was the 96th Mayor of New York City (the seventh since the consolidation of the five boroughs), from 1918 to 1925. From rural beginnings in the Catskills, Hylan eventually obtained work in Brook ...

, a future

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

. McCooey married Catherine I. Sesnon on January 17, 1899. McCooey served as secretary and president of the

New York City Civil Service Commission The New York City Civil Service Commission (CSC) is the local civil service commission of the NY State Civil Service Commission within the New York City government that hears appeals by city employees and applicants that have been disciplined or d ...

from 1899 through 1903. He succeeded Hugh McLaughlin as Brooklyn boss in 1904. He was named to the Executive Committee of the county in 1909. McCooey joined with

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

in 1925. In 1932, McCooey was chosen by the New York delegation to succeed Norman E. Mack as a member of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

. McCooey and Tammany Hall leader John F. Curry joined to support

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...

's candidacy for President of the United States over

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

; after Roosevelt's triumph over Smith in 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 ...

, the two backed Roosevelt. McCooey continued to serve on the Executive Committee until his death in 1934.LaCerra, p. 36 McCooey was brother-in-law of James J. Byrne, a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

and Brooklyn Borough President. His son, John H. McCooey, Jr., served as Justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

.Index to Politicians: Mcconnico to Mccormally
The Political Graveyard. Retrieved on 19 October 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCooey, John H. 1864 births 1934 deaths People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn New York (state) Democrats Politicians from New York City American political bosses from New York (state)

See also

References