Daniel D. Whitney
| Daniel D. Whitney | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 24th Mayor of Brooklyn | |
|
In office 1886–1887 |
|
| Preceded by | Seth Low |
| Succeeded by | Alfred C. Chapin |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 31, 1819 Oyster Bay, New York |
| Died | November 10, 1914 (aged 95) Brooklyn, New York |
| Resting place | Green-Wood Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Henrietta Titus |
| Occupation | Grocer |
| Religion | Methodist |
Daniel D. Whitney (January 31, 1819 – November 10, 1914) was a Brooklyn grocer and Mayor of Brooklyn from 1886 to 1887.
Whitney was born January 31, 1819 in Oyster Bay, New York. He moved to Brooklyn at age 18, and worked in a grocery store at 20 Fulton Street. He eventually became head of the grocery, and remained at the store until the day before he died.
Reformer and incumbent Republican mayor Seth Low had fallen out of favor with national Republicans for crossing party lines to support Grover Cleveland over Republican James G. Blaine in the 1884 Presidential election. The national party blamed Low for losing New York State and thus the election. After losing party support, Low declined to run for a third term as Brooklyn Mayor in 1885. Not only was Low not on the ticket in the 1885 mayoral election, he refused to support the machine Republican candidate, General Isaac S. Catlin. Instead, he supported a reform candidate, General John R. Woodward. This Republican infighting presented an opportunity for Brooklyn Democrats to take back the mayoralty.
Daniel Whitney was an affable local grocer whose store was on Fulton Street, near Brooklyn City Hall. Whitney built up a reliable reputation during his four terms on the Board of Aldermen. This gained him the attention of the local Democratic political machine, run by party boss Hugh McLaughlin. The Democrats chose the relatively inexperienced Whitney to run for Brooklyn mayor in 1885. With the Republicans split between Catlin and Woodward, Whitney was able to win the mayoralty of Brooklyn by 12,000 votes.
Whitney's election marked the end of Low's reformist policies. Whitney's single mayoral term was described as "dull, plodding, but honest" by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Whitney was never particularly popular, but Democrats held power in Brooklyn for the next seven years. During this time Brooklyn city government returned to corrupt machine politics, as it had been before Low's time.
After his time as mayor, Whitney left political life and returned to run the small "old-fashioned" grocery where he had worked all his life, and continued there until the day before his death. In later years, Whitney was a central member of the Society of Old Brooklynites, a civic organization which remembered and celebrated the old days when Brooklyn was an independent city.
...
Wikipedia