Ed Koch

Ed Koch
Koch in 1979
105th Mayor of New York City
In office
January 1, 1978 – December 31, 1989
Preceded byAbraham Beame
Succeeded byDavid Dinkins
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
January 3, 1969 – December 31, 1977
Preceded byTheodore Kupferman
Succeeded byBill Green
Constituency
Member of the New York City Council
from the 2nd district
In office
January 1, 1967 – January 3, 1969
Preceded byWoodward Kingman
Succeeded byCarol Greitzer
Personal details
Born
Edward Irving Koch

(1924-12-12)December 12, 1924
New York City, U.S.
DiedFebruary 1, 2013(2013-02-01) (aged 88)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Education
Signature
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1943–1946
RankSergeant
Unit104th Infantry Division
Battles/wars
Awards

Edward Irving Koch (/kɒ/ KOTCH;[1] December 12, 1924 – February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989.

Koch was a lifelong Democrat who described himself as a "liberal with sanity".[2] The author of an ambitious public housing renewal program in his later years as mayor, he began by cutting spending and taxes and cutting 7,000 employees from the city payroll. As a congressman and after his terms as the second Jewish mayor of New York City (after Abraham Beame),[a][citation needed] Koch was a fervent supporter of Israel. He crossed party lines to endorse Rudy Giuliani for mayor of New York City in 1993, Al D'Amato for Senate in 1998, Michael Bloomberg for mayor of New York City in 2001, and George W. Bush for president in 2004.[3]

A popular figure, Koch rode the New York City Subway and stood at street corners greeting passersby with the slogan "How'm I doin'?"[4] He was a lifelong bachelor, had no children and did not come out as gay during his lifetime.[5] A 2022 New York Times article posthumously identified him as gay.[5]

Koch was first elected mayor of New York City in 1977 and was re-elected in 1981 with 75% of the vote. He was the first New York City mayor to win endorsement on both the Democratic and Republican party tickets. In 1985, Koch was elected to a third term with 78% of the vote. His third term was fraught with scandal regarding political associates (although the scandal never touched him personally) and with racial tensions, including the killings of Michael Griffith and Yusuf Hawkins. In a close race, Koch lost the 1989 Democratic primary to his successor, David Dinkins.[3]

  1. ^ "Koch". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "Mayor Koch, Self-Proclaimed 'Liberal With Sanity' Who Led New York From Fiscal Crisis, Is Dead at 88". The New York Sun. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Smith, Benjamin (February 1, 2013). "Mayor Koch, Self-Proclaimed 'Liberal With Sanity' Who Led New York From Fiscal Crisis, Is Dead at 88". New York Sun.
  4. ^ "New York City Mayor Ed Koch: From Time's Archives". Time. February 1, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Flegenheimer, Matt; Goldensohn, Rosa (May 7, 2022). "The Secrets Ed Koch Carried". New York Times. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).


© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search