Lewis Nixon (naval Architect) - Public Service and Political Activism

Public Service and Political Activism

In 1895, the New York Legislature authorized the East River Bridge Commission to undertake a second span across the river, ultimately known as the Williamsburg Bridge. In January 1898 New York City Mayor Robert Anderson Van Wyck sacked the entire membership of the Commission, complaining of its slow and expensive pace. He appointed Nixon as the Commission's new president. Nixon continued to serve as the Commission's president during the bridge's construction until the Commission's powers were transferred to the Commissioner of Bridges on January 1, 1902.

Nixon was also active in Democratic Party politics. In December 1901, longtime Tammany Hall boss Richard Croker chose Nixon as his successor. Croker's choice of Nixon surprised observers, because Nixon had spoken out against vice and corruption in City government, and seemingly had nothing in common with Croker. Nixon resigned several months later, explaining that "I find that I cannot retain my self-respect and remain the leader of the Tammany organization."

He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention seven times. A friend and supporter of three-time Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan, Nixon played a key role in the 1908 Democratic National Convention, where he chaired the subcommittee on the platform, overcame Tammany's initial hostility to Bryan to deliver New York's delegation for him, and was urged as Bryan's running-mate.

A resident of Staten Island, Nixon served from 1914 to 1915 as the borough's Acting Commissioner of Public Works and its consulting engineer.

In 1919, New York Governor Al Smith appointed Nixon as the State's Superintendent of Public Works, and then as New York City's Regulatory Public Service Commissioner.