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Rudolph Halley | |
|---|---|
 Halleyc. 1953 | |
| 3rd President of theNew York City Council | |
| In office November 14, 1951 – December 31, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Vincent Impellitteri |
| Succeeded by | Abe Stark |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 19, 1913 Harrison, New York |
| Died | November 19, 1956(1956-11-19) (aged 43) Manhattan,New York, New York |
| Political party | Democratic (before 1951) Liberal (1951–54) |
| Other political affiliations | Fusion (1951) Independent Citizens (1951–53) |
| Education | Townsend Harris High School |
| Alma mater | Columbia University (J.D.) |
Rudolph Halley (June 19, 1913 – November 19, 1956) was an Americanattorney andpolitician fromNew York City who served as President of theNew York City Council from 1951 to 1953.
Born inHarrison, New York and raised in theSouth Bronx, Halley graduated fromTownsend Harris High School at age 14, and was forced to wait until age 16 to enroll atColumbia University, from which he graduated with aJuris Doctor at age 20. After waiting until his twenty-first birthday to become eligible to pass thebar examination, he went into private practice. Fulton, Rowe & Hart LLP was formed in 1946 by Hugh Fulton, Rudolph Halley, andHenry G. Walter, Jr. Mr. Fulton was executive assistant to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1938 to 1941. Mr. Fulton and Mr. Halley were members of the 1941 U.S. Senate Special Truman Committee, created to investigate the national defense program (Mr. Fulton was its chief counsel), and the 1950 U.S. Senate Special Kefauver Committee, created to investigate crime in interstate commerce (Mr. Halley was its chief counsel). Mr. Halley was President of the New York City Council from 1951 until 1953, and in 1953 he ran for mayor of New York City, finishing in third place (Robert Wagner won the election). . During this time, he married anddivorced twice. In 1941, he went to work for the U.S. Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, better known as the "Truman Committee" for its chairman, then-SenatorHarry S. Truman, which investigated fraud and waste indefense contracting duringWorld War II.
In 1950, Halley was named Chief Counsel to the Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce, better known as theKefauver Committee, which was charged with investigating the influence oforganized crime, particularly its involvement ingambling andpolitical corruption. In his role as Chief Counsel, Halley personally questioned every witness called to testify before the Committee. The Committee's hearings, which were televised nationally, made Halley a celebrity. On May 1, 1951, shortly after the Committee concluded its hearings in New York City, Halley announced his resignation. Over the course of the next several months, he translated his celebrity into work intelevision, narrating theCBS crime dramaGang Busters and hosting the documentary programCrime Syndicated. He also wrote a short-livedcolumn forHearst Newspapers.
In the summer of 1951, Halley announced his candidacy for President of theNew York City Council, a position that would later be replaced by that ofNew York City Public Advocate, in aspecial election held to replaceVincent R. Impellitteri, who had ascended to themayor's office after the resignation ofWilliam O'Dwyer. He ran on an anti-corruption, anti-crime, anti-Tammany Hall platform and promised to "teach thepolitical bosses a lesson." Although a lifelongDemocrat, he did not seek the party's nomination, instead running as the nominee of theLiberal Party. He also appeared on the ballot as the nominee of theFusion Party and theIndependent Citizens Party. OnElection Day, Halley unexpectedly triumphed, tallying 657,871 votes (39%).
As President of the City Council, Halley was best known for feuding with both Mayor Impellitteri and GovernorThomas E. Dewey over state funding for the City, which was necessary to balance the municipal budget. While Dewey demanded increases inproperty taxes and thesubwayfare in return for state aid, Halley favored leaving both taxes and fares alone and instead cutting government waste. Impellitterri opposed both plans. Things turned ugly when Halley accused Dewey of "ruthlessly playing politics" with the budget, and Dewey publicly called Halley "as stupid and ignorant as he is shallow and venomous."
In 1953, Halley declined to run for re-election and instead declared his candidacy for Mayor of New York. Running once again on the Liberal and Independent Citizens lines,he ran third with 467,104 votes (21%), behind DemocraticManhattanBorough PresidentRobert F. Wagner, Jr. andRepublican attorneyHarold Riegelman. (Halley beat Riegelman for second place inthe Bronx and nearly did so inBrooklyn.)
After the election, Halley retired from politics, becoming a name partner in thelaw firm of Fulton, Walter & Halley, headquartered atRockefeller Center. Although there was speculation that he might run forAttorney General of New York in 1954, he never sought office again.
On November 19, 1956, Halley died in Manhattan at age 43, attributed to bothpneumonia andpancreatitis. He was survived by his wife and four children (Marian, Henry, Peter, and Michael).
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