Preceded by J. Boyd Thatcher II Preceded by John H. Cahill Parents Edwin Corning Succeeded by Julian B. Erway Spouse Betty Corning | Preceded by William T. Byrne Name Erastus 2nd Succeeded by George W. Foy Party Democratic Party | |
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Role Former New York State Senator Died May 28, 1983, Boston, Massachusetts, United States Education Yale University, Groton School Similar People Edwin Corning, Wallace Harrison, Max Abramovitz | ||
Succeeded by Thomas M. Whalen III | ||
Erastus Corning 2nd (October 7, 1909 – May 28, 1983) was an American politician. A Democrat, Corning served as mayor of Albany, New York, from 1942 to 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last two classic urban political machines in the United States. He died in office in 1983 as Albany's longest-serving mayor to date.
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His great-grandfather, Erastus Corning, was an industrialist who founded the New York Central Railroad and served as Albany's mayor from 1834 to 1837. His father, Edwin Corning, was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1927 to 1928.
Name
Corning referred to himself as "Erastus Corning 2nd", preferring that moniker to "Erastus Corning II."
Life and career
Corning was born in Albany, the son of Louise (née Maxwell) and Edwin Corning. His mother was born in Cawnpore, India, where her father was serving as a missionary, to American parents. He was educated at The Albany Academy and Groton School before attending Yale University. After earning his college degree, Corning started an insurance company and soon entered politics. He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Albany Co., 1st D.) in 1936; and of the New York State Senate (30th D.) from 1937 to 1941, sitting in the 160th, 161st, 162nd and 163rd New York State Legislatures. He resigned his seat on August 1, 1941, to seek the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Albany.
Corning won the first of his 11 terms as mayor in November 1941 – easily defeating the Republican candidate, Benjamin R. Hoff, by nearly 46,000 votes. Corning took office on January 1, 1942, and was re-elected in landslides for most of his career. The most notable exception was 1973 when a prominent businessman and reform candidate, Carl Touhey, ran a well-financed campaign and came within 3,200 votes of defeating the mayor. In 1977 Corning weathered a primary election challenge from State Senator Howard C. Nolan, Jr.
Touhey's campaign was not the first major challenge to Corning's administration. Shortly after his first term began, the newly elected Governor Thomas E. Dewey had the powerful Albany Democratic political machine, run by "Boss" Daniel P. O'Connell, investigated. The investigations proved largely unsuccessful and left Corning and O'Connell unscathed. This political machine proved to be one of the most durable in American history, even outlasting the Daley family machine in Chicago.
During Governor Dewey's investigation, Corning was drafted into the United States Army and served as a private in World War II; he did not seek to use his official status to avoid service or to get any favorable treatment. During his absence, Frank Harris, a councilman, served as acting mayor, appointed to this post by Corning.
At the New York state election, 1946, Corning ran for Lieutenant Governor of New York with James M. Mead for governor, but they were defeated by the incumbent Republicans Dewey and Joe R. Hanley.
Corning served ten full consecutive terms after his return from the war. His insurance firm profited from being the sole bidder on Albany County insurance contracts for many years. Corning defended this apparent conflict of interest by noting that he himself was not a county official.
His last mayoral re-election came in 1981. During his last term he began to show health problems and, on May 28, 1983, he died of heart failure at University Hospital in Boston. He is interred in Albany Rural Cemetery.
Legacy
The Erastus Corning Tower, the tallest building in Albany and the tallest in the state outside New York City, is named for him, as is the "Corning Preserve", a nature trail and fishing site on the western banks of the Hudson River in Albany. The tower is part of the Empire State Plaza, a 98-acre (400,000 m2), 11-building state government office and cultural complex. Some believe that the building was named after Corning because it has 42 floors (which is the same as the number of years he served as mayor), but the building actually has 44 floors with an observation deck on Floor 42. Completed in 1973, the skyscraper was dedicated to Corning upon his death in 1983.
Awards and honors
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands named Corning an officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau, the country's highest citizen honor, in gratitude for his aid to Nijmegen following World War II.