Enoch L. Johnson - Rise To Power

Rise To Power

In 1905, Nucky Johnson became his father's undersheriff, and in 1906 he married his teenage sweetheart, Mabel Jeffries, of Mays Landing. In 1908, he was elected Sheriff of Atlantic County when his father’s term expired, a position he held until ousted by a court order in 1911. In 1909, he became secretary of the Atlantic County Republican Executive committee, an important position. In 1911, local political boss Louis Kuehnle was convicted of corruption-related charges and imprisoned, and Nucky Johnson succeeded him as leader of the Republican political organization that controlled the Atlantic City and Atlantic County governments.

Atlantic City was a tourist destination, and city leaders knew that its success as a resort depended on providing visitors with what they wanted. What many tourists wanted was the opportunity to drink, gamble and have sex. City leaders realized that permitting a vice industry would give the city an edge over its competitors. Therefore, the organization inherited by Nucky Johnson permitted the service of alcohol on Sundays (which at the time was prohibited by New Jersey law), gambling and prostitution, in exchange for the payment of protection money by vice industry operators to the organization. Support of the vice industry was to continue and expand under Nucky Johnson’s rule. He also continued other organization corruption, including kickbacks on government contracts.

In 1912, Johnson's wife Mabel died. According to tradition, Johnson had previously been a teetotaler, but began to drink after his first wife's death.

He held many jobs during his thirty year rule, including county treasurer, which allowed him to control the county's purse strings, county collector, publisher of a weekly newspaper, bank director, president of a building and loan company, and director of a Philadelphia brewery. He declined requests that he run for the state senate, believing that it was beneath the dignity of a "real boss" to stand for election. As the most powerful New Jersey Republican, Johnson was responsible for electing several Governors and United States Senators.

In 1916 Johnson served as campaign manager for Republican candidate Walter E. Edge's successful run for governor. In addition to raising money for Edge, who was then the state senator from Atlantic County, Johnson engineered Edge's election by reaching out to Democratic Hudson County boss Frank Hague, who disliked Democratic candidate Otto Wittpenn. Edge provided Hague with a pledge of cooperation and Hague instructed people in his Democratic organization to cross over and vote for Edge in the Republican primary. Hague did not support Wittpenn in the general election, and Edge was elected. Edge rewarded Johnson by appointing him clerk of the State Supreme Court.