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| Affiliation | Democratic |
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1928-01-01 |
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| Name | William N. McNair |
| Address | 1212 N. Sheldon Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
November 07, 1880
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| Died | September 13, 1948
(67 years)
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| Contributor | Thomas Walker |
| Last Modifed | Chronicler
Dec 13, 2020 08:48am |
| Tags |
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| Info | William McNair was a colorful perennial candidate and Mayor of Pittsburgh.
Born in Middletown, Pennsylvania, McNair attended the Harrisburg Academy and Gettysburg College, and finally earned a law degree from the University of Michigan.
McNair settled in Pittsburgh in 1903 to begin his law practice.
He began his career of failed political campaigns in 1909 when he challenged the district attorney.
During his first campaign for Mayor of Pittsburgh in 1921, he accused the police department of corruption and was arrested.
He first won election as Mayor of Pittsburgh in 1933. On his inaugural day, he clashed with the council and refused to make the usual nominations for various city posts. From that point on, he became something of a political sideshow, getting into endless confrontations with the City Council and with Governor Earle, who cut off funding to the city when McNair refused to use the funds for the WPA. He fired many city employees, and he even took on the role of city solicitor himself. McNair was also Mayor during the St. Patrick's Day flood, the worst flood in the history of Pittsburgh. McNair was eventually accused of impropriety and was jailed for three days in April of 1936 for running a numbers racket. He resigned on a whim in October of that year, but promptly rescinded his resignation and attempted to get sworn in again. By that point the city had enough of him and validated his resignation, which allowed Conn Scully to assume the office.
Afterward, McNair continued to give speeches and ran for various offices. He was elected to the city council in 1944 and served until his death.
He died at Union Station in St. Louis, MO while on a speaking tour on the single tax issue and is buried in Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, 9/10/1948; image source: York Dispatch, 10/29/1928 |
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