O'Connor takes office today with the luck of the Irish on his side
For Bob O'Connor, the third time was a charm. He takes the oath of office as Pittsburgh's 54th mayor today, after two previous unsuccessful bids for the city's top job.
Whether or not the luck of the Irish had anything to do with it, O'Connor is the latest of the Fair Isle's sons to serve as the Steel City's mayor.
"It was all my parents' doing," O'Connor joked. "There's not much I can do about being Irish, but I think I can fit right in with any group in the city."
O'Connor is in formidable company as an Irish politician in Pittsburgh. Aside from his immediate predecessor, he joins the likes of John Darraugh, Bernard McKenna and Pete Flaherty.
"I think it has a lot to do with Irish people being very politically centered and very active voters," said Jeff McCafferty, vice president of the Irish Centre of Pittsburgh. "When the Irish began coming here, they stayed well-organized, not just in Pittsburgh but in other big cities in the Northeast."
New York City elected its first Irish-American mayor, William Grace, in 1880, and the Irish pretty much dominated that city's politics until the election of Fiorello LaGuardia in 1934.
And, Boston's recently reelected mayor, Thomas Menino, is the first non-Irish mayor in nearly a century.
While Pittsburgh may not rival those bastions of corned beef and cabbage, it has a respectable Irish population. There are about 450,000 people among the six-county region's 2.3 million residents who claim at least some Irish heritage, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. And almost a sixth of city residents claim Irish as their primary or secondary ancestry, the Census showed.
O'Connor said his grandfather came to Pittsburgh from Ireland in 1920. The Squirrel Hill resident regularly attends the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade and says he did so long before entering city politics.
But McCafferty said as far as he was aware, neither O'Connor nor outgoing mayor Tom Murphy are particularly active in Irish social and community groups around the city. "To be honest, when they ran against each other last time, I couldn't bring myself to vote for either one of them," McCafferty said.
O'Connor, for his part, said he feels at home in any of Pittsburgh's ethnic communities. "The friends I grew up with were from all different backgrounds," the mayor said. "I can relate to all Pittsburghers, so I can represent all of them, equally."
Notable accomplishments of Pittsburgh's Irish lads
John Darraugh, 1817-1825
Pittsburgh's second mayor was born in Ireland in 1772. He was president of the Bank of Pittsburgh before being elected mayor. He played host to many distinguished visitors during his term, including President James Monroe in 1817 and the Marquis de Lafayette in 1825.
The highlights of Darraugh's term included construction of sidewalks and street drains, and progress toward a citywide water distribution system.
Darraugh died in 1828. Darraugh Street in Oakland was named in his honor.
William C. McCarthy, 1866-1868 and 1875-1878
"Roaring Bill" McCarthy was born in 1820, and was, among other things, a volunteer firefighter and a pressman with the Pittsburgh Dispatch newspaper.
During McCarthy's term, striking railroad workers clashed in a deadly battle with Philadelphia Militiamen at the 28th Street Roundhouse in July 1877. Rail traffic was brought to a halt and the terminal was burned to the ground.
McCarthy was elected City Controller in 1878. He died in 1900.
Bernard J. McKenna 1893-1896
McKenna was born in 1842. He fought on a gunboat in the Civil War, worked as an iron molder in a stove factory and was a captain with the Allegheny Volunteer Fire Company
McKenna was mayor when construction of the Pittsburgh Zoo was completed (it opened in 1898) and when the Carnegie Library opened in 1895. McKenna died in 1903.
Thomas Gallagher, 1959
Gallagher, born in 1883, worked as a glassblower and later served as a state representative and city councilor. After 20 years on council, he was elected mayor, the city's oldest, taking office at age 75.
The Fort Pitt Bridge opened during Gallagher's brief term. United Steelworkers went on a lengthy strike that year, as well. Gallagher returned to city council in 1965, and died in 1967.
An overlook on Mount Washington is named for Gallagher.
Pete Flaherty, 1970-1977
Born on the North Side in 1924, Pete Flaherty was mayor for the opening of Three Rivers Stadium, the Pirates 1971 World Series victory, and two Steelers Super Bowl wins, in 1974 and 1975.
Flaherty was a World War II veteran, and served as assistant district attorney and city councilor before being elected mayor. He worked as a U.S. Deputy Attorney General in 1977 under President Carter. He returned to Pittsburgh and was elected county commissioner in 1983, serving until 1995.
Flaherty died in April at age 80.
Tom Murphy, 1994-2005
Murphy served in the Peace Corps in Paraguay and later worked as a sales representative for Alcoa. He was a state representative from 1979 until his election to mayor in 1993.
During the Murphy administration, Heinz Field and PNC Park were built, and the convention center was expanded. The city fell on hard economic times with Murphy announcing the layoffs of 731 city workers in 2003. Later that year, the city was deemed distressed under Act 47 and put under the watch of an oversight board. .
Murphy announced last week he would be taking a job consulting for the Urban Land Institute, a Washington D.C. think tank which is helping to rebuild hurricane-ravaged New Orleans.
Source: www.spdconline.org, staff reports
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