When people think of Eliot Ness's time in Cleveland, they generally think of one of two things: his tireless pursuit of the "Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run," America’s deadliest unidentified serial killer, or perhaps his time in Cleveland as the Director of Public Safety, overseeing both the police and fire departments.
One thing we are fairly certain of is that few will say that what they remember most about Ness's time in Cleveland is when he ran an ill-fated and disastrous campaign to become the city's mayor in 1947.
Eliot Ness's Time in Cleveland, Ohio
Because of things like Kevin Costner’s larger-than-life portrayal of Ness in The Untouchables, or Ness’s takedown of the infamous gangster Al Capone, most people don’t realize there was much more to his time in Cleveland, which began in 1934 when he arrived in Cleveland to host a World's Fair.
Cleveland brought Ness on board after the city had become crime-ridden because of the Depression but was set to have a turn of fortunes by hosting the Great Lakes Exposition. It was believed that Ness was needed to help restore law and order and it was hoped his reputation and vision for new-and-improved law enforcement would be just what the city needed.
Why Did Eliot Ness Run for Mayor?
So, despite his tenure in Cleveland beginning with the still-unsolved Torso Murders, Ness's popularity in Cleveland continued to grow until after he finally admitted that politically he was a Republican. The Cleveland Republicans recognized an opportunity to have him become their candidate for mayor in 1947, feeling his image would help restore the party's influence that had become fractured and weak after the glory days of Mayor Harold Burton from 1936-1940.
Ness considered his opponent, current mayor Thomas A. Burke, a friend (and the future namesake of Burke Lakefront Airport), and when asked about ever running for mayor, he said he would do so "when Tom Burke stops being the good mayor he is, and I don’t think he’ll stop."
As with most things, big Republican money began to exert big influence on Ness with a strategy of running as an independent to attract both Democrat and Republican voters. Police officers also had a great influence on both Ness's decision to run and what at least part of his platform would be, which was a continued policy of "preventative policing" measures. Ness never revealed the name or names of those on the police force who influenced his decision to run, but at least one, Ernest Molnar, became a big campaign fundraiser and was also tied to rumors of corruption due to a lifestyle high above that of a typical Cleveland police officer.
July 3rd, 1947 was the date when Ness announced his candidacy, with the mindset that only a "completely non-partisan mayor" would be able to turn around the city's financial and crime woes.
Ness stated that in the five years he had been gone from Cleveland (1942-47) working for the federal government, Cleveland moved dramatically away from being a vibrant, forward-moving and thinking city into a listless, dirty, and, in most ways, a defeated city.
Although his entry into the race was exciting, even those who encouraged him to run never really expected him to win. But they knew he could shake things up, make things fun, and perhaps light a spark under Mayor Burke to make improvements in what was widely expected to be his second term.
Ness always presented himself as youthful and physically fit, but in his time away from Cleveland, that visual changed dramatically to one of a paunchy, very tired-looking shadow of the Eliot Ness people remembered. Despite being just 44 years old, these changes in his appearance were especially shocking when he was alongside his attractive younger wife Betty. This, combined with the fact that his speeches on the stump were less than inspiring, signaled that his campaign was seemingly doomed to failure.
Press columnists began to wonder if the same man who took the city by storm in the 1930s was now painfully out of step, having spent his most recent years embarking on a business career rather than policing and other city issues.
Burke was content to let Ness do the heavy lifting of campaigning, because with the combination of Burke’s solid record and Ness's inability to get across a coherent message, things looked good for the incumbent.
The Results of Cleveland's 1947 Race for Mayor
Three candidates faced off in the September primary: Burke, Ness, and Democrat city council member Thomas Pucel. The top two would face off on November 2nd, which of course ended up being Burke and Ness. Ness’s hope that the Democrat vote would be split between Burke and Pucel played out and allowed him to slide in to one of the two slots easily, but it was the last thing that went his way in the election.
Voters had many issues with Ness and his campaign but one thing that may have hurt him most was, despite the fact that he had many big-money donors, much more than Burke, voters were beginning to resent the fact that candidates were becoming controlled by their deep-pocketed supporters.
Whether that would have been true or not with Ness will never be known for sure, because on November 2nd, 1947, Ness was soundly defeated by Burke in a 2-1 vote (168,412 to 85,990).
Ness went directly to Burke’s home to congratulate the winner and did his concession speech from a radio setup at Burke’s home as well.
Ness stayed for the victory celebration and, although he was bitterly disappointed, he left those in attendance with what came out as a sort of sarcastic joke, saying with a laugh, "Who’d want an honest politician anyway?"
Source: Eliot Ness and the Mad Butcher-Max Allan Collins/A. Brad Schwartz