Thomas A. Burke
Thomas Aloysius Burke was an American politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 48th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, from 1946 to 1953 and in the United States Senate from November 10, 1953 until December 2, 1954. Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport is named after him.
Early life and education
Burke was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 30, 1898. During World War I, Burke served in the United States Army. In 1920, he graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and in 1923 he graduated from Western Reserve University School of Law.Early political career
In 1930, Burke became as assistant county prosecutor. In 1937, the Ohio Attorney General, Herbert S. Duffy commissioned an investigation of an election fraud case in Lawrence County, Ohio. Burke was appointed as the special counsel to prosecute the case of six people accused of breaking into the election board and tampering with votes for the county commissioner's race.In 1941, Burke became vice mayor of Cleveland. He was also simultaneously the Director of Law for Cleveland, the city's chief legal advisor.
Mayoralty
With the election of Mayor Frank Lausche as governor of Ohio in 1944, Burke was first in the line of succession to replace him, and therefore became mayor on January 4, 1945. Burke has to stand for re-election in his own right later in 1945, defeating Ray C. Miller with nearly 68% of the vote.In 1947, Burke faced off against Eliot Ness, the former Treasury agent who pursued Al Capone and later became the Cleveland Director of Public Safety. Despite Ness’ fame, Burke won re-election in a second landslide with more than 66% of the vote and a majority of more than 80,000 votes. Burke went on to win two more times, in 1949 and 1951.
In 1947, the United States Army Corps of Engineers completed a retaining wall and landfill, the city completed work on a 3,600-foot dirt runway and opened its new downtown airport to air traffic. Burke was credited with improvements at the site over the years and, in 1960, Municipal Airport was renamed Burke Lakefront for the former mayor.
In 1953, Burke served as the president of the United States Conference of Mayors.