The prospect that New York City may have its first Jewish mayor emerged today from the victory of Abraham Beame as the Democratic nominee for Mayor in the November elections.
Mr. Beame, now New York City’s controller, defeated three other candidates for the Democratic nomination in the city Democratic primary election yesterday. The fact that Democratic registration in the city is three and a half times that of Republican registration gives the Jewish Democratic nominee a strong hope of defeating his Republican-Liberal opponent, John V. Lindsay on November 2. Democrats have controlled New York City government for more than half a century. The only Republican Mayor in recent history was Fiorella LaGuardia.
The 59-year-old Democratic nominee was born in London and brought to the United States as an infant. He has lived in Brooklyn ever since. A graduate of City College of New York, he taught accounting for many years before becoming a partner in a city accounting firm. He resigned to enter city service as assistant budget director and served as director from 1946 to 1952. He was elected controller in 1961. In New York City’s administration, the controller is the third highest municipal officer, after the Mayor and the president of the City Council.
The losers in the Democratic primaries included Orin Lehman, a grand-nephew of the late Sen. Herbert H. Lehman, who was a candidate for nomination as city controller, the post held now by Mr. Beame. Mr. Lehman, making his first bid for public office, was widely believed to have been chosen to provide a Jewish name for an opposing slate. With 294,000 votes, he ran ahead of his own ticket by more than 25,000 votes, in incomplete returns.
Another loser in yesterday’s balloting was Rabbi Shulem Rubin, of the Bronx, who ran for public office against a member of his own congregation. He conceded defeat today.
Rabbi Rubin, whose selection as a contender for the Democratic nomination in the 36th State Senatorial district touched off widespread controversy, ran against the incumbent, State Sen. Abraham Bernstein, a member of the rabbi’s synagogue, Young Israel Congregation of Pelham. Defeated by a vote of 12,213 to 7,137, Rabbi Rubin said today that his brief political career was over, declaring he doubted he would ever be interested in running again for political office.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
