Foster Furcolo

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Foster Furcolo
60th Governor of Massachusetts
In office
January 3, 1957 – January 5, 1961
LieutenantRobert F. Murphy
Preceded byChristian Herter
Succeeded byJohn A. Volpe
50th Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts
In office
July 5, 1952 – January 1955
GovernorPaul A. Dever
Christian A. Herter
Preceded byJohn E. Hurley
Succeeded byJohn Francis Kennedy
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 2nd district
In office
January 3, 1949 – September 30, 1952
Preceded byCharles R. Clason
Succeeded byEdward Boland
Personal details
Born(1911-07-29)July 29, 1911
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedJuly 5, 1995(1995-07-05) (aged 83)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationYale University
ProfessionLawyer
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Rank Lieutenant (junior grade)
Battles/warsWorld War II

John Foster Furcolo (July 29, 1911 – July 5, 1995) was an American lawyer, writer, and

60th governor, and also represented the state as a member of the United States House of Representatives. He was the first Italian-American governor of the state, and an active promoter of community colleges
.

Born in

Yale, Furcolo practiced law before serving in the United States Navy during World War II. He first won election to Congress in 1948, and served most of two terms, resigning after being appointed Massachusetts Treasurer in 1952 by Governor Paul A. Dever. He won two terms as governor, serving from 1957 to 1961. In addition to supporting community colleges, he also furthered the redevelopment of parts of Boston, supporting development of the Prudential Center and Government Center. His administration was overshadowed by corruption scandals, but no charges against him made it to trial. He was twice an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate. He was the author of several books, including a novel set amid events surrounding the World War II Katyn massacre
.

Early years

John Foster Furcolo was born in

boxer and was encouraged to turn professional, but chose not to. He also engaged in literary pursuits, writing short stories and plays that were produced locally.[4][5] Furcolo dropped use of his first name when he entered politics.[6]

In 1937 Furcolo moved to

Invasion of Okinawa.[6][7]

He was a member of the Indian Orchard Council number 183 of the Knights of Columbus.[9]

House of Representatives

Furcolo as a congressman

In

Polish-American Republican Charles Skibinski, who sought to capitalize on the large number of Polish-Americans in the district in a campaign in which there were no major issues.[12] Furcolo retained his seat, winning by more than 10,000 out of over 130,000 votes cast.[13]

Furcolo served in the House of Representatives from January 3, 1949, until his resignation on September 30, 1952.

House Appropriations Committee. This appointment rankled John F. Kennedy, elected to the body with Furcolo, and Kennedy later blamed Furcolo for hampering his attempts to gain patronage influence from McCormack.[16]

In 1951 Furcolo was appointed to a special committee established to investigate reports of mass killings of Polish military officers and

Polish-Americans) was also the work of McCormack, likely because of the large Polish-American population in Furcolo's district.[18] The committee concluded that the killings had been perpetrated by the Soviet secret service (NKVD), and sought to bring a case before the International Court of Justice.[19] Furcolo used what he learned from the committee's investigations to write a novel, Rendezvous at Katyn, which is set amid those events.[20]

Massachusetts Treasurer

On July 5, 1952, Furcolo was appointed by Governor

Commonwealth of Massachusetts,[21] to replace John E. Hurley, who had resigned to accept a position as clerk of the Boston Municipal Court.[3] Dever made the appointment in part to break up what was seen as Irish-American domination of the government.[22] Congress was in recess at the time of the appointment, so Furcolo did not formally resign his Congressional seat until September.[3] In November 1952, Furcolo was elected in his own right to the Treasurer's office despite Dever's loss of the governor's seat; he held that position until January 1955.[23][24]

In

Kennedy's father Joseph had financially supported Saltonstall's campaign.[26]

Massachusetts Governor

See also: 1957–1958 Massachusetts legislature and 1959–1960 Massachusetts legislature

Furcolo ran for

Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Charles Gibbons, who was chosen by the Republicans as a write-in candidate after their chosen nominee, Attorney General George Fingold, died two months before the election.[32] Furcolo was governor from 1957 to 1961.[20]

Furcolo was a vigorous and active chief executive, working long hours in the office. He came to the office with large-scale visions and worked hard, sometimes stubbornly and against other party interests, to realize some of them. He was not always seen as a "team player" by members of his own party in the legislature whose backgrounds he did not generally share. This was particularly manifested in his push for a broad-based sales tax, opposition to which had been enshrined in the Democratic Party platform; the proposal went down to bipartisan defeat in the legislature.[22][33] During his administration, Furcolo established a network of regional community colleges throughout the Commonwealth, and fought for increases in state worker salaries, as well as improvements in workmen's compensation and unemployment benefits.[20] He introduced income-tax withholding from payroll checks, leading to a significant increase in state revenue.[34] According to the state's 1960 report, it ranked first in the nation in education and at or near the top in other social programs.[8] He also appointed the state's youngest state purchasing agent, Bernard "Bunny" Solomon, who saved taxpayers hundreds of thousands annually.[35]

Furcolo was a skeptic on the subject of the

death penalty, ordering a study of the institution shortly after taking office, and commuted the death sentences of four men while governor. Legislative moves by the state legislature to ban capital punishment stalled in the house during his tenure.[32]

Furcolo and Boston Mayor John F. Collins holding plans for Government Center

Furcolo was an influential figure in the development of Boston's Government Center area as a nexus of local, federal and state offices. He was the first to propose that a federal office building planned for the Back Bay area of the city instead become part of a major redevelopment effort in the declining Scollay Square neighborhood. The effort was primarily spearheaded by Boston Mayors John B. Hynes and John F. Collins, but Furcolo was a regular presence moving the Government Center proposals forward and supporting them at the state level.[36] Using the pseudonym John Foster, in 1957 Furcolo published a comic novel, Let George Do It!, about a campaign for a state legislature seat.[37]

In addition to Government Center, Furcolo was also instrumental in the development of Boston's

MBTA), leading to a work stoppage on the project in 1960.[38]

Furcolo's administration was marked by the continuing trend of corruption in state government that had been growing in prior administrations. One notable series of cases involved the construction of the parking garage under the

interstate highway routes, took place in the 1950s. Details of the scams, described by politicians at that time as "the granddaddy" of highway-related malfeasance, were squelched by a Democratic-controlled Congressional investigation until after the 1960 election, apparently to avoid embarrassing Kennedy in his run for president. The scandal resulted in the conviction of several Massachusetts highway officials.[40]

Second run for Senate

In 1960 Furcolo again ran for the U.S. Senate, and was widely expected to gain the Democratic Party nomination easily. However, former Springfield mayor Thomas O'Connor capitalized on the corruption scandals during Furcolo's administration and defeated him in the primary.[41] Furcolo attributed his defeat to his support for the sales tax proposal.[6]

During Furcolo's lame-duck period, John F. Kennedy resigned his Senate seat in December 1960 after winning the

Edward (as it eventually did in the November 1962 special election), but he was ineligible due to age at the time of the appointment.[42]

Later years

Furcolo took the loss badly and decided to leave politics. He returned to private practice, moving to Needham and his law firm to Newton.[6][8] Four years after leaving office, he was indicted on charges of arranging for a bribe to be paid to members of the Governor's Council (while he was still governor) to secure an appointment for a supporter. The indictment against him was eventually dismissed for lack of evidence, but four councilors were convicted on a variety of charges.[43]

Massachusetts Bay Community College, Wellesley, Massachusetts

In 1966, Furcolo sought the Democratic nomination for Massachusetts attorney general but lost the nomination to former Lieutenant Governor

Francis X. Bellotti in September.[44] He worked from 1967 to 1972 as an assistant district attorney for Middlesex County.[8] In 1969, he served on the U.S. Attorney General's Advisory Committee on Narcotics.[20]

Furcolo also began teaching law in 1969. Over the next five years he taught legal ethics at Portia Law School (now the

New England School of Law), criminal law at Massachusetts Bay Community College, and government at a number of the state's community colleges.[8] He was selected as an administrative law judge with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission in 1975, a post he held through 1989.[20]

Furcolo maintained an interest in higher education after his departure from elective politics. While a United States Representative he secured the passage of legislation offering loans to needy students, and while governor he enacted significant reforms in the state's university system, granting the individual schools in the system fiscal autonomy. In 1973 he was hired as a full-time professor of public service, working across the entire state college system.[45] He served for many years on the state's board of regents, which was responsible for overseeing the state-run institutions of higher learning. In this capacity, he was often a minority voice in seeking to improve the state's colleges and universities. Because he was dissatisfied with that body's work, in 1981 he supported the formation of an advocacy group to lobby for improvements.[46]

Furcolo died of heart failure at the age of 83 on July 5, 1995, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is buried in Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts.[1][20]

Family, awards, and legacy

Furcolo was married three times. His first wife Kay, with whom he had five children, died in 1964. In 1967 he married Lucy Carra, who also served as a federal administrative law judge; they had no children.[47][48] Estranged from Lucy in 1972, he became embroiled in legal disputes with her relatives after her death in 1979.[49] In 1980, Furcolo married Constance M. Gleason, who survived him.[6][50]

In 2009 Furcolo's support of community colleges was commemorated when the state formally named its network the Governor Foster Furcolo Community College System.[51] He was awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta by the government of Poland for his role in the investigation of Katyn, and he also received the Italian Star of Solidarity.[8] He was awarded honorary degrees from Boston University, Portia Law School, Suffolk University, the University of Massachusetts, and a number of other schools.[8]

Publications

In addition to books, Furcolo wrote articles, stories and essays for a wide variety of publications.[8] His books include:

  • Foster, John (1957). Let George Do It!. New York: Harcourt.
    OCLC 1654901
    .
  • Furcolo, Foster (1973). Pills, People, Problems. Berlin, MA: Research Publishing.
    OCLC 6822461
    .
  • Furcolo, Foster (1973). Rendezvous at Katyn. Boston: Marlborough House.
    OCLC 2115628
    .
  • Furcolo, Foster (1975). Law for You. Washington, DC: Acropolis Press.
    OCLC 1498474
    .
  • Furcolo, Foster (1982). Ballots Anyone?. Cambridge, MA: Schenkman Publishing.
    OCLC 8494815
    .

See also

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d United States Congress. "Foster Furcolo (id: F000431)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  2. ^ "Dr. Furcolo Urged for Hampden Post". The Boston Globe. March 15, 1934.
  3. ^ a b c d Collins, Russ (July 6, 1952). "Furcolo Switch Seen as Stride to Governor's Chair or Senate". The Boston Globe.
  4. ^ "Congressman Furcolo's Brother Says He Is No Gravy Seeker". The Boston Globe. November 7, 1946.
  5. ^ a b Collins, Russ (November 7, 1948). "New Congressman Can Box, Play Ball and Write Novels". The Boston Globe.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Driscoll, Edgar (July 6, 1995). "Foster Furcolo, Two-Term Mass. Governor, Dies at 83". The Boston Globe.
  7. ^ a b c Mackinnon, George (January 4, 1957). "Our New Governor Wins His Law Spurs". The Boston Globe.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h "Foster Furcolo, Former Governor". The Needham Times. July 6, 1995.
  9. ^ Lapomarda 1992, p. 83.
  10. ^ Harris, John (November 8, 1946). "Ballots Guarded for Recount". The Boston Globe.
  11. ^ Harris, John (September 15, 1946). "1st, 2d Districts Focus of Congressional Battles". The Boston Globe.
  12. ^ "Legislative Sway Issue in Bay State". The New York Times. October 12, 1950.
  13. ^ "Bay State's 14 Congressmen Keep Seats". The Boston Globe. November 9, 1950.
  14. ^ "Furcolo's Innovation Interests Congress". The Boston Globe. January 16, 1949.
  15. ^ "How Uncle Sam Would Send 5000 to College". The New York Times. January 12, 1950.
  16. ^ Nelson, pp. 423–424
  17. ^ "Polish Exiles Honor Katyn Investigators". The Boston Globe. March 29, 1953.
  18. ^ Nelson, p. 455
  19. ^ "The Katyn Controversy". United States Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  20. ^ a b c d e f van Gelder, Laurence (July 6, 1995). "Foster Furcolo, 83, Governor, Legislator and Sometime Writer". The New York Times.
  21. ^ "Dever Picks Furcolo As Treasurer". Boston Globe. July 5, 1952. p. 14.
  22. ^ a b Hogarty, p. 37
  23. ^ Hogarty, p. 36
  24. ^ Mackinnon, George (January 6, 1957). "Our New Governor: From An Obscure Lawyer To Governor In Only 10 Years". The Boston Globe.
  25. ^ Savage, pp. 23–24
  26. ^ Nelson, p. 497
  27. ^ Lewis, William (June 9, 1965). "Democrats Indorse Furcolo on First Worcester Ballot". The Boston Globe.
  28. ^ Harris, John (September 19, 1956). "Furcolo-Murphy Ticket Wins". The Boston Globe.
  29. ^ Lewis, William (October 24, 1956). "Furcolo Sees Housing Gap; Whittier Hits Drastic Draft". The Boston Globe.
  30. ^ Snow, C. R. (October 21, 1956). "Politics & Politicians: Furcolo-Whittier Spat May Be Tipoff to One Of Liveliest Windups". The Boston Globe.
  31. ^ Savage, p. 28
  32. ^ a b Rogers, Alan (2002). ""Success—At long last": The Abolition of the Death Penalty in Massachusetts, 1928–1984". Boston College Third World Law Journal. 22 (2). Boston College. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  33. ^ O'Connor, p. 146
  34. ^ Michelson, A. A. (January 19, 1980). "State of State: A case of mistaken envy and a big chance". The Boston Globe.
  35. ^ Gallagher, T. November 20, 1960. Suggest Solomon for Senate. Lowell Son.
  36. JSTOR 25080730
    .
  37. ^ Furcolo, Foster (October 21, 1957). "Fiction by a Governor on a Rowdy Campaign". Life. p. 118. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  38. ^ O'Connor, pp. 120–123
  39. ^ Cutler, pp. 95–107
  40. ^ Lewis, pp. 165–166
  41. ^ Farrell, David (September 20, 1978). "1960, 1962 contests were bitter battles: Primary fights often toughest". The Boston Globe.
  42. ^ Hogarty, p. 38
  43. ^ Cutler, pp. 104–105
  44. ^ Hanron, Robert (September 14, 1966). "Bellotti Bounces Back With Ease". The Boston Globe.
  45. ^ Cohen, Muriel. "Foster Furcolo given $29,500 teaching job". The Boston Globe.
  46. ^ Kindleberger, R. S (December 13, 1981). "Citizen lobby being formed for higher education". The Boston Globe.
  47. ^ "Lucy C. Furcolo, was federal law judge, Mass. state official". The Boston Globe. July 5, 1979.
  48. ^ Cullen, John (February 20, 1975). "Furcolo named a HEW judge". The Boston Globe.
  49. ^ "Furcolo sues in-laws to recover property". The Boston Globe. August 23, 1979.
  50. ^ Mayo Clinic Staff. "Constance Furcolo: 'You don't forget people like that'". Philanthropy in Action: Giving to Mayo Clinic. Rochester, MN: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  51. ^ Viser, Matt (September 17, 2009). "After 50 years, state gives back to a former governor". The Boston Globe.

General sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Foster Furcolo.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Class 2)
1954
 Succeeded by
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Massachusetts
1956, 1958 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 2nd congressional district
January 3, 1949 – September 30, 1952 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Treasurer and Receiver General of Massachusetts

July 5, 1952 – January 1955 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Massachusetts
January 3, 1957 – January 5, 1961 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Foster_Furcolo&oldid=1189324390"