Edward Irving Koch was born in the Bronx on December 12, The family moved to New Jersey when he was 8. After he left the service as a sergeant in , he studied law at New York University. He began his public service life as a district leader in Greenwich Village in ; he also served on the New York City Council before running for Congress. Opinion: Koch a friend and force to the end. The New York Times said in a retrospective that Koch seemed an unlikely candidate for mayor in His campaign manager, David Garth, came up with a slogan that helped Koch beat fellow Democrat Mario Cuomo, who many commentators viewed as the more dynamic character, and Republican Roy Goodman.
Before he was defeated by Dinkins, he criticized the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a candidate for president in , and some felt he angered many black voters. Race relations in New York were also fractured at the time, especially after a incident in Howard Beach when white teenagers attacked three black men, killing one. Koch's third term was beset by corruption scandals involving his political allies. Koch himself was never directly tied to wrongdoing, but the scandals hurt Koch's image with voters.
Only three New York mayors were ever re-elected twice -- Fiorello LaGuardia and Robert Wagner were the others -- and all three left office, as The New York Times put it in , "drained, diminished and disdained. Some new Yorkers thought Koch, who published an autobiography in , had lost control of his ego. The vast majority don't care, and others don't think I am.
And I don't give a expletive either way! Koch's first interview with Columbia's Oral History Research Office, from , focuses on these early years of his political life.
He inherited a city in dire financial straits, but soon restored fiscal stability. Although he lost a gubernatorial bid to Mario Cuomo, Koch succeeded in winning reelection as mayor in and As mayor he established a merit system for judges and initiated extensive housing programs.
He was known as an unconventional Democrat—a strong supporter of the death penalty and an early gay-rights advocate. His straight-talking style elicited both positive and negative answers to his catchphrase question, "How'm I doin'? Because I say exactly what I think. When Koch took over the mayor's office from accountant Abe Beame in , one thing quickly became apparent — with this mayor, nothing was certain. Reporters covered him around the clock because of "the Koch factor," his ability to say something outrageous anyplace, anytime.
Koch's middle initial. Actually, it stood for Irving. After leaving office, Koch continued to offer his opinions as a political pundit, food critic and judge on The People's Court. Koch remained a political force in Albany well into old age.
He secured a promise in from then-aspiring governor Andrew Cuomo and a number of state legislators to protect the electoral redistricting process from partisanship. Koch then vocally protested when Cuomo and others reneged on that pledge two years later.
At an 80th birthday bash for the former mayor, Bloomberg said Koch was "not only a great mayor and a great source of advice and support to other mayors, he happens to be one of the greatest leaders and politicians in the history of our city. He had been in the hospital twice in , for anemia in September and then for a respiratory infection in December. He returned twice in January with fluid buildup in his lungs. He had undergone surgery in June to replace his aortic valve and gallbladder surgery a month later.
He had a pacemaker inserted in and was hospitalized eight years later with a heart attack. In early , he was hospitalized with pneumonia.
Koch was born in the Bronx on Dec. During the Depression, the family lived in Newark, N. The future mayor worked his way through school, checking hats, working behind a delicatessen counter and selling shoes. He received a law degree from New York University in and began practicing law in Manhattan's Greenwich Village neighborhood, where his political career began as a member of the Village Independent Democrats, a group of liberal reformers.
He defeated powerful Democratic leader Carmine DeSapio, whose roots reached back to the corrupt Tammany Hall political machine, in a race for district leader.
Koch was elected to the City Council and then to Congress, serving from as representative for the "Silk Stocking" district that was then known for its millionaire Park Avenue constituency.
The liberal Koch was the first Democrat to represent the district in 31 years. But his politics edged to the center of the political spectrum during his years in Congress and pulled to the right on a number of issues after becoming mayor. His answer to the war on drugs? Send convicted drug dealers to concentration camps in the desert.
Decaying buildings? Paint phony windows, complete with cheery flower pots, on brick facades — though he later spearheaded a much-applauded city housing program. Like his hero Fiorello LaGuardia, the fiery fusion party mayor who ran the city from to , Koch ran on the Republican and Conservative party lines in the mayoral election. He breezed to re-election in both and , winning an unprecedented three-quarters of the votes cast. At the time, he was only the third mayor in city history to be elected to three terms.
He wrote seven other non-fiction books, four mystery novels and three children's books after leaving office. Early in his second term, Koch flip-flopped on his pledge to remain at City Hall and decided to challenge Mario Cuomo for governor.
But he lost after mouthing off about life outside his hometown. It's nothing.
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