John E. Kerrigan

{{Infobox officeholder

| name =John E. Kerrigan

| image =JohnKerrigan ca1930s Boston CityCouncil (1).png

| smallimage =

| caption = Kerrigan circa the 1930s

| order1 =Acting

| office1 =Mayor of Boston

| term_start1 =January 4, 1945{{cite news |title=Kerrigan Faces Busy Day as Boston's Acting Mayor |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79395035/kerrigan-faces-busy-day-as-bostons-acti/ |date=January 5, 1945 |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=1 |accessdate=June 11, 2021 |url-access=limited |via=newspapers.com}}

| term_end1 =January 7, 1946{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18327811/congressman_takes_job_as_boston_mayor/ |title=Congressman Takes Job as Boston Mayor |newspaper=The Tampa Tribune |date=January 8, 1946 |accessdate=March 15, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}}

| predecessor1 =Maurice J. Tobin

| successor1 =James Michael Curley

| office2 = Member of the Massachusetts Senate
for the Fourth Suffolk District

| term_start2 = January 1939

| term_end2 = January 1941

| predecessor2 =Edward C. Carroll

| successor2 =Leo J. Sullivan

| birth_date =October 1, 1908

| birth_place =Boston, Massachusetts

| death_date ={{death date and age|1987|5|2|1908|10|1}}

| death_place =Boston, Massachusetts

| nationality = American

| party =Democratic

| spouse =

| relations =

| children =

| residence =

| alma_mater =

| occupation =

| profession =

| religion =

| signature =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

John E. Kerrigan (October 1, 1908 – May 2, 1987) was an American politician, the acting mayor of Boston in 1945 after then-Mayor Maurice J. Tobin became governor of Massachusetts.

Biography

Kerrigan was born on October 1, 1908, and was a graduate of South Boston High School.

Early career

He began serving on the Boston City Council in 1933. He was council president in 1938, 1944, and 1945. As council president, Kerrigan was acting mayor during the Hurricane of 1938 due to Mayor Maurice J. Tobin being on a speaking tour in the West Coast.{{Cite web |title=Kerrigan, John E., 1908-1987 {{!}} ArchivesSpace Public Interface |url=https://archives.boston.gov/agents/people/319 |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=archives.boston.gov}} He also served one term in the Massachusetts Senate, 1939–1941.

Mayoralty

As president of the Council in 1945, Kerrigan became acting Mayor of Boston upon the inauguration of Maurice J. Tobin, who had been mayor since 1938, as governor. Initially with limited authority, Kerrigan was given full mayoral powers by the Massachusetts legislature on January 25, 1945.{{cite news |title=Kerrigan First World War II Vet to Head City Government |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79395724/kerrigan-first-world-war-ii-vet-to-head/ |date=January 26, 1945 |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=1 |last=Doherty |first=Joseph |accessdate=June 11, 2021 |via=newspapers.com}}{{cite web |url=https://www.boston.gov/departments/archives-and-records-management/quick-look-bostons-history |title=PAST MAYORS OF BOSTON |website=boston.gov |date=8 July 2016 |accessdate=March 12, 2018 |quote=served as Mayor from January 25, 1945, through the end of the year}} His mayoralty was defined by shortages and debt due to the postwar climate. He passed a bill that saved Boston taxpayers approximately $12 million over the next 20 years by refinancing the bonded debt from the Sumner Tunnel. He also was able to increase the city's income by leasing the Houghton & Dutton department store on Tremont Street to the federal government. He promoted many long-term construction programs to spur growth within the city. He was defeated in the November 1945 mayoral election by James Michael Curley.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17963039/curley_elected_mayor_of_boston_4th_time/ |title=Curley Elected Mayor Of Boston 4th Time |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=November 7, 1945 |via=newspapers.com}} Kerrigan served as acting mayor in January 1946,{{cite news |title=Sergeant, 7 Patrolmen to Retire Tomorrow |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/819603235 |date=January 6, 1946 |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=D29 |access-date=March 16, 2018 |url-access=limited |via=pqarchiver.com}} until Curley was inaugurated.

Retirement and death

Kerrigan retired from the City Council in 1973, having served a total of 15 terms, non-consecutively. He died on May 2, 1987, of cardiac arrest at Boston City Hospital.{{cite news |title=JOHN KERRIGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL; AT 80 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/294407517 |date=May 3, 1987 |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=99 |access-date=March 16, 2018 |url-access=limited |via=pqarchiver.com}} He had never married.{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=John E. Kerrigan Dies. Former Boston Official |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFD6113FF937A35756C0A961948260 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 4, 1987 }}

References

External links

[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=215435 Kerrigan election records] at ourcampaigns.com
[https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:181545 Photo of Kerrigan] via Northeastern University
{{find a Grave|7562877}}

{{succession box

| before = Maurice Tobin

| title = Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts (acting)

| years= 1945–1946

| after = James Michael Curley

}}

{{succession box

| before = John I. Fitzgerald
Thomas J. Hannon

| title = President of the Boston City Council

| years= 1938
1944–1945

| after = George A. Murray
John B. Kelly}}

{{succession box