Philadelphia's City Council special election of 1954 was held to fill the seat vacated by Republican

John W. Lord, Jr. John Whitaker Lord Jr. (December 19, 1901 – May 16, 1972) was an American politician and judge from Pennsylvania. He served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 6th district from 1947 to 1951 and the Philadelphia City Cou ...

when he resigned to join the federal bench.

Election

Under Philadelphia's city charter, adopted three years earlier, seven

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

at-large seats were created, of which two were guaranteed to the minority party. After the 1951 elections, those seats were occupied by Republicans

Louis Schwartz Louis Schwartz (April 15, 1888 – July 18, 1966) was a Republican politician from Philadelphia who served in the Pennsylvania state legislature and the Philadelphia City Council. Schwartz was born in 1888 in Galați, Romania. He emigrated w ...

and

In May 1954, Lord was appointed a federal district court judge by President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

. He resigned his council seat, and a special election was called to replace him. The Republican city committee selected John T. Murphy, a former police detective who had headed the city

vice squad A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trai ...

, to run for the position. The Democrats selected Donald C. Rubel. Rubel was a lifelong Republican, but joined in the efforts of Democrats and some reform-minded Republicans in working for an end to machine politics in Philadelphia. Although nominated as a Democrat, he remained a Republican, and promised to vote with the Republican party on party-line issues. Rubel was selected by Democratic mayor Joseph S. Clark, Jr. in order to preserve the spirit of the charter's minority representation while promoting a cross-party ally in the reform effort. Clark offered Rubel the spot on the ballot "with no strings attached," something Rubel said he could not refuse.

Results

Rubel was elected with a 120,000-vote majority. He characterized his victory as a call for reform of the city Republican party, saying " they don't read the handwriting on the wall now, they are hopelessly ignorant." He went on to call for a reorganization of the party to shift control away from what he called a "few little men who call themselves the leaders." Rubel's victory was short-lived. Running as a Republican in the 1955 elections, did well in the independent wards, but placed fourth among that party's nominees, narrowly missing out on one of the two available at-large seats.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{1954 United States elections

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number. Each ...

Philadelphia City Council elections

Election

Results

See also

References

Sources