Erastus Corning 2nd - Life and Career

Life and Career

Corning was born in Albany, New York, the son of Louise (née Maxwell) and Edwin Corning. His mother was born in Cawnpore, India, where her father was serving as a missionary, to American parents. He was educated at The Albany Academy and Groton School before attending Yale University. After earning his college degree, Corning started an insurance company and soon entered politics with his election to the New York State Assembly in 1935. He was elected to the New York State Senate in 1936.

Corning won the first of his 11 terms as mayor in 1941 - easily defeating the Republican candidate, Benjamin R. Hoff, by nearly 46,000 votes. Corning was re-elected in landslides for most of the rest of his career. The most notable exception was 1973 when a prominent businessman and reform candidate, Carl Touhey, ran a well-financed campaign and came within 3,200 votes of defeating the mayor.

Touhey's campaign was not the first major challenge to Corning's administration. Shortly after his first term began, the newly elected Governor Thomas E. Dewey had the powerful Albany Democratic political machine, run by "Boss" Daniel P. O'Connell, investigated. The investigations proved largely unsuccessful and left Corning and O'Connell unscathed. This political machine proved to be one of the most durable in American history, even outlasting the Daley family machine in Chicago.

During Governor Dewey's investigation, Corning was drafted into the United States Army and served as a private in World War II; he did not seek to use his official status to avoid service or to get any favorable treatment. During his absence, Frank Harris, a councilman, served as Acting Mayor, appointed to this post by Corning.

In 1946, Corning ran for Lieutenant Governor of New York with James M. Mead for Governor, but they were defeated by the incumbent Republicans Dewey and Joe R. Hanley.

Corning served ten full consecutive terms after his return from the war. His insurance firm profited from being the sole bidder on Albany County insurance contracts for many years. Corning defended this apparent conflict of interest by noting that he himself was not a county official.

His last mayoral re-election came in 1981. During his last term he began to show health problems and, on May 28, 1983, he died of heart failure at University Hospital in Boston. He is interred in Albany Rural Cemetery.