Irish Pols Still Have Clout

by Tom deignan

THE passing of legendary Queens boss Tom Manton at the age of 73 might seem like a time reflect on the bygone days of Irish political power.

After all, this is the 21st century, Tammany Hall is long gone and the Irish American presence in New York City is not what it was 50 years ago.

Reports of Manton’s death explored this angle.

Manton “was among the generations of Irish American politicians who dominated neighborhood and borough politics in New York City for decades,” The New York Times obituary read.

Crediting Manton for his ability to adapt to changing times, the obit added that Manton was “credited with helping recruit candidates from the Hispanic, Asian and other immigrant and ethnic groups that have made Queens one of the most demographically diverse counties in the country.”

But for all those changes, Irish Americans still hold an impressive number of powerful positions in New York City. And as responsible as anyone else for this powerful representation is the son of immigrants from Roscommon and Mayo, and ex-cop named Thomas J. Manton.

First of all, people are already whispering about who will replace Manton as boss of the still-powerful Queens Democratic organization. Most agree the man leading the field is Congressman Joe Crowley, a strong presence in New York’s Irish community for years.

But that’s just the beginning of Manton’s ongoing legacy, and New York’s broader Irish American political leadership.

As the New York Post noted in a Tuesday editorial, Manton engineered the selection of the last two New York City Council speakers, Gifford Miller and Christine Quinn.

Quinn, of course, is not exactly your typical Irish clubhouse politician. She is openly gay and has battled with St. Patrick’s Day parade officials in the past.

At the same time, she proudly wears her heritage on her sleeve (her grandparents came from Clare and Cork) and now that she is the city’s second most powerful leader, attempted this past March to broker a deal between parade officials and gay Irish Americans.

The point? There’s lots of Tom Manton, even Tip O’Neill, in the way Quinn operates.

As political consultant Hank Sheinkopf told New York magazine last month, Christine Quinn is “an Irish pol, who happens to be lesbian.” The article was called “Boss Quinn.”

Incidentally, in the same article, Quinn’s father Lawrence had this to say, when he heard his daughter had instituted a stricter dress code for City Council workers, “There are a lot of different kinds of Irish - maybe she’s trying to be lace curtain.”

Either way, one of Quinn the Irish pol’s first moves was to hire Irish American Maura Keaney as a deputy chief of staff.

Indeed, the Irish in New York are playing equally important roles behind the scenes.

City Hall under Mike Bloomberg offers a clear example of that. For the first term of the Bloomberg administration, as well as the mayor’s successful run for reelection, there were not many aides as important as William Cunningham.

The son of Irish immigrants (and also a former chief of staff for Senator Daniel Moynihan), Cunningham was recognized as one of the city’s most important players before he left for the private sector earlier this year.

But the Bloomberg administration recently tapped another first generation Irish American for another key post.

Patrick Brennan won a power struggle and was named the new leader of the obscure but influential Community Assistance Unit. Brenn-an’s mother was born in Mohill, Co. Leitrim and his father was born in Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo.

A native of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Brennan worked in the New York City public schools system before getting involved in union work, then politics.

Yes, New York City is changing, and the days of the cigar-chomping Irish pol are gone. But a close look at New York’s halls of power suggests that the Irish still have lots of clout.

Somewhere, Thomas J. Manton is surely smiling.

(Contact Sidewalks at tomdeignan@earthlink.net)