Edward A. Hanna
Edward A. Hanna | |
---|---|
Mayor of Utica, New York | |
In office 1974–1978 | |
In office 1996–2000 | |
Member of the New York State Assembly from the 130th district | |
In office January 1, 1966 – December 31, 1966 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Utica, New York, U.S. | April 7, 1922
Died | March 13, 2009 Fayetteville, New York, U.S. | (aged 86)
Political party | Democratic (1955–1973, 1991–2007) |
Other political affiliations | Independent (1973–1991, 2007–2009) |
Spouse |
Ellen Eichler (m. 1947) |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Richard Hanna (nephew) |
Occupation |
|
Military service | |
Branch/service | United States Marine Corps |
Rank | Sergeant |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Purple Heart |
Edward Arnold Hanna (April 7, 1922 – March 13, 2009)
Early life
Edward Arnold Hanna was born in
Through the 1950s, the local Democratic party was led by
Local Democratic leadership attempted to convince Hanna to run for Congress in 1956, setting him up to lose against the Republican incumbent
Mayorship from 1974 to 1978
In 1973, Hanna ran as an independent in the race for Mayor of Utica and won a narrow victory against Republican incumbent Michael Caruso and a Democratic challenger.
In his first year, Hanna cut 225 positions and fired 15 city executives: he took on the management of five city departments himself. He also reformed city
Hanna removed the door from the mayor's office as a show of openness (although it was replaced a few months later) and invited Uticans to visit City Hall and inspect city files and correspondence at will. He had a sign hung in City Hall that said "This City Government Belongs to the People" and told staff to answer the phone, "People's Government".
Hanna controlled City Hall tightly. Early in 1974 he ordered the city stamp machine be placed in his office and that all outgoing mail be brought to his office unsealed before mailing; this resulted in a blizzard of unsent mail in his office.
Hanna publicly railed against the Utica political and business establishment, sometimes during meetings on completely different topics.[2] In a press conference he called Utica "a lousy place to live" and advised young Uticans to seek their fortunes elsewhere, blaming the local newspapers and chamber of commerce.[5] At one time he telephoned the president of a company who stood in Hanna's way to call him "a pimple on my fanny".[2] He was especially vitriolic whenever they interfered with his plans. When city bankers signed a joint letter opposing Hanna's plans for a hotel, Hanna withdrew the city's deposits and transferred them to a recently-opened branch of Chase Manhattan.[17] Relations between Hanna and the business community eased somewhat during his second term.[18] Hanna also spoke out against labor unions, calling them "our nation's number one [...] villains" and blaming them for ruining New York City.[20] Hanna fought with most other groups he saw as uncooperative as well, including the League of Women Voters and a community action group from the impoverished Corn Hill neighborhood.[2][17]
Hanna's opponents accused him of egomania, instability, making misleading statements about budget matters, a lack of foresight and long-term plans, and an unwillingness to either listen or delegate: the business community in particular feared that his volatility would drive away investors.
Hanna's eccentric, impulsive actions produced further anecdotes. Within a single day, he hired one man to manage the
Hanna announced his candidacy for the 1976 United States Senate election in New York, stating that he could "do nothing more" for Utica, but he withdrew several weeks later.[30][17] Hanna lost reelection in 1977.[7]
Conflicts with police department
Hanna frequently clashed with the city police department. Shortly after the election and before his inauguration, Hanna convinced the Utica Common Council to reject a police contract that Caruso had negotiated the previous month that would have raised police salaries, and, due to a parity clause, those of firefighters as well. He alleged that Caruso was using the contract to garner votes from the police and fire departments. Hanna and the councilmen who voted against the contract received anonymous death threats and were placed under police surveillance.[31]
One of Hanna's first acts was to order city policemen to salute citizens on the street, which they refused.[2][17] In August of his first year, four youths in the Corn Hill neighborhood were arrested following a disturbance, and Hanna ordered them released. Three were released, but the arresting officer refused to release the fourth. When Chief Benny Rotundo backed the officer and complained that Hanna was interfering with police procedures, Hanna had Rotundo suspended.[32]
In 1976, Hanna brought a
Public projects
Hanna Park, outside Utica City Hall, was built during his first term and named for him later.[22][18] The park features a bandstand, where bands, paid by Hanna, played every night of the summer of '75 and '76. It also includes a small copy of the waterfall in New York City's Paley Park, as well as the "Tower of Hope", honoring the comedian Bob Hope. Hope had no connection to Utica before the tower was built, but did come to Utica and perform to inaugurate the tower. When Hanna held office, a carillon in the tower played his favorite song, "My Way", on the half-hour.[7] As the bells could be heard at the Fort Schuyler Club, a club popular with Utica businessmen, Hanna may have done this to further annoy the Utica business community.[17]
Hanna filled the lobby of City Hall with tables, chairs, and potted trees. He also included some furniture from his own collection including record players and music boxes. He stated that he wanted the lobby to be welcoming to the elderly, who he felt had been neglected by previous governments. During the
Hanna's most ambitious project was "La Promenade", an urban renewal plan that would have converted downtown Utica into a European-style grand boulevard. Components of the plan included a replica of Rome's Spanish Steps and converting Union Station into an "Olympic Hall of Fame". Although Hanna obtained $2.6 million in federal funding and the plan was eventually approved by the city Common Council, the project was abandoned once Hanna left office.[17]
Other works in Utica built during Hanna's first administration include:[22]
- Ellen E. Hanna Mini-Park
- Nurses Park
- World's largest watering can (now at the Utica Zoo)[37]
- A giant NY 5S)
- A replica NY 5S)
- A large metal sculpture of a NY 5S)
Hanna reopened a number of closed parks.[18] He also had 100 abandoned buildings demolished, far more than his predecessors. He was responsible, at the urging of a local anti-poverty agency, for producing the first functioning housing plan in the city's history, which provided $2,000 grants to homeowners for renovations.[17]
Mayorship from 1996 to 2000
After leaving office Hanna returned to his business and lived in Paris and Florida before selling his company and returning to Utica around 1990.[7] Hanna ran for mayor again in 1991 as an independent but lost. He was elected comptroller in 1993.[1] Hanna stated that he spent a quarter of a million dollars rehabilitating his political career.[7]
In 1995, Utica was in financial crisis: that summer the city had received a bond rating of CCC from
In late 1999, Hanna reintroduced the silent treatment for the Observer-Dispatch, requiring reporters to file written questions to department heads. These written requests often went unanswered. Interviews were banned, and for a time the police blotter was unavailable, resulting in incomplete coverage of basic traffic incidents. Gannett sued the city, and the city countersued. After court action ensuring the newspaper would not be restricted from accessing City Hall, the ban was lifted in May 2000.[42][22]
The city was audited by the
Hanna handily won reelection in 1999[6] but resigned suddenly in July 2000. Although he claimed to be resigning due to health problems, at the time he was facing allegations of sexual harassment from four male city employees.[43][44] Hanna never admitted wrongdoing, but the city approved a $250,000 settlement, and Hanna contributed $75,000 to legal expenses.[4][1]
Hanna sold his home in Utica in 2003 and moved to Fayetteville, New York, but moved back to Utica in 2007.[1] Hanna ran for mayor once more in 2007 as an independent[38][6] but lost in a three-way race.[45] He died on March 3, 2009, in Fayetteville and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Utica.[4][45][46]
Legacy
Hanna's election in 1974 was part of a national decline in
Hanna's impact on Utica's government was mixed. He achieved an 8 percent property tax cut in his first budget, another tax cut the second year, and avoided any tax increases while he was in office.[48] However, the city employees he fired contributed to an increase in unemployment over his first term. City residents complained that snow removal by the underfunded Department of Public Works was ineffectual, and after a major storm in January 1976, auto accidents rose four times the average. Mayors of Utica who served after Hanna said his cuts were largely unsustainable, and they were forced to deal with the fallout of his actions by bearing the blame for increased taxes or city payroll or repaying funds and making settlements for actions Hanna had taken.[48][22] While some of Hanna's projects remain in good shape, some fell into disrepair, such as the marina on the Erie Canal which the city sought to sell to the New York State Canal Corporation in 2016. Maintaining all the city parks created by Hanna became financially stressful once the grant money was no longer available.[22] Hanna failed to attract any new large employers, although since Utica had not attracted any substantial job investment since the 1950s, that failure cannot be wholly ascribed to him.[17] Hanna remains well-regarded among some Uticans.[48]
Hanna's nephew, Richard Hanna, served in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from 2011 to 2017.[49]
See also
References
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- ^ a b c "Former Utica mayor Edward Hanna dies in Fayetteville". syracuse. March 13, 2009. Archived from the original on December 31, 2022. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
- ^ from the original on January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Tomaino, Frank. "Utica Mayors: Hanna a successful businessman, unique mayor". Utica Observer Dispatch. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
- ^ from the original on January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
- ^ a b c Tomaino, Frank. "Edward Hanna: The first 35 years". Utica Observer Dispatch. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
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- ^ a b c d e f g Gerould, S. Alexander. "The Ed Hanna Effect: Former mayor's actions still impacting city". Utica Observer Dispatch. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
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- ^ https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-watering-can
- ^ a b Gamela, Renee (October 26, 2007). "Hanna battles for people's vote". Utica Observer Dispatch. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
- ^ "Putting the Fire Out in Utica". National Institute of Justice. 1998. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
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- ^ a b "Funeral held for colorful former Utica mayor Hanna". WSTM. March 16, 2009. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
- ^ "Former Utica Mayor Hanna dead at 86". The State Journal-Register. March 14, 2009. Archived from the original on January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
- OCLC 25937718.
- ^ a b c d Gerould, S. Alexander (March 13, 2016). "'He was his own man'". Utica Observer Dispatch. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
- ^ Ackerman, Bryon. "Richard Hanna and the Debt Limit Part 4". Utica Observer Dispatch. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
External links
- Media related to Edward A. Hanna at Wikimedia Commons