He campaigned, served in office, while in jail

James Michael Curley

James Michael Curley was a key figure in Massachusetts politics during the first half of the 20th century.

He served four terms as mayor of Boston, two terms in the U.S. Congress and one term as governor of Massachusetts, as well as a number of other offices.

He was known as “the mayor of the poor.”  He was a champion of poor Irish Catholic working people in Boston and an enemy of the Yankee “Boston Brahmin” elite.

He was convicted of crimes twice during his political career.  He served two jail terms, one while running for office and the other while serving as mayor.  None of this mattered to his hard-core followers.

He was born in 1874 to a poor Irish immigrant family.  His father, a day laborer, died when he was 10.  His mother supported the family as a scrubwoman.  

Curley worked full-time from the age of 12 and dropped out of school at 15 to work as a grocery deliveryman.  He was politically ambitious and found time to be active in civil affairs and politics and gain a reputation.

Active in the Democratic Party, he was elected to the Boston Common Council in 1901 and the Massachusetts state legislature in 1903.

He took a civil service examination for a constituent who wanted to qualify to be a mail carrier, and was arrested and charged with fraud in 1903.  He was sentenced to serve 60 days in jail and began his sentence Nov. 7, 1904.

While in jail, he won the Democratic primary for alderman by 1,200 votes out of 3,200 cast, and served until 1909.  His campaign rallying cry was, “He did it for a friend.”  Hundreds demonstrated in the streets to show their support for him.

Later he served in Congress (1911-1914), as Mayor of Boston (1914–1918, 1922–1926 and 1930–1934) and as Governor of Massachusetts (1935-1937).  After some defeats, he made a comeback, serving in Congress again (1943-47) and as mayor again (1947–1950).

When he was first elected major,  he began a vast construction program.  Streets were ripped up, transit lines extended, beaches and playgrounds laid out, hospitals built, and services expanded, without regard for cost.  There was a job for virtually every jobless man in the city.

Tax assessments were kept low for homeowners and raised for downtown businesses.  When the city treasury ran low, he borrowed money.  If a banker was reluctant to lend, Curley would threaten to start a rumor the bank was insolvent and create a run on the bank “a mile long.”

Unlike his predecessor and rival, John F. Fitzgerald (“Honey Fitz”), the maternal grandfather of John F. Kennedy, and unlike other machine politicians, Curley never took kickbacks from city employees, but only from contractors and others who did business with the city.

One of his first actions reportedly was to order long-handled mops so that scrubwomen who worked for the city would not have to get down on their hands and knees to wash floors.

He received anyone who wanted to see him about jobs, favors, or assistance, without appointment.  Decisions were made on the spot.  If a request could not be granted, Curley said so and why.  He talked to an average of 200 persons a day, 50,000 in a year.

While helping the poor, Curley also helped himself.  He had a huge mansion built, with custom-made shamrock-shaped shutters.  Critics asked how he could afford to build a $60,000 house on a $15,000 lot on a salary of $10,000 a year.  None of this affected his popularity.