Edward Arnold Hanna (April 7, 1922 – March 13, 2009) was an American businessman and politician. He was mayor of Utica, New York, from 1974 to 1978 and from 1996 to 2000, running as an independent. Often described as a populist, Hanna was widely regarded as eccentric and abrasive and constantly clashed with the Utica business and political establishment, the rest of city government, and other local groups. A "non-stop talker" who The New York Times called "flamboyant, combative, and controversial", he once described Utica as "a stinking, rotten town" and "a lousy place to live" and told Uticans to move away for better opportunities. He built and renovated a number of parks and public artworks during his terms. However, Hanna failed to stem Utica's long-term economic and population decline.
Early life
Edward Arnold Hanna was born in Utica, New York, to Lebanese immigrants Anthony and Sophie Hanna on April 7, 1922. He left Utica Free Academy during his sophomore year to enlist with the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He reached the rank of sergeant and received the Purple Heart for a gunshot wound received fighting on Guam. After returning home Hanna married and had two sons. He started a series of manufacturing and distribution businesses. He developed an improved photographic developer that was popular worldwide, which led to him becoming wealthy and a role as a consultant for Eastman Kodak.
Through the 1950s, the local Democratic party was led by political boss Rufus Elefante, who was largely at the center of Utica's widespread corruption. In 1955, in recognition of Hanna's support, Elefante and other Democratic leaders recommended that governor Averell Harriman appoint Hanna to the Central New York State Parks Commission. The post was non-paying and largely ceremonial, but Hanna took it upon himself to inspect state parks. He found that the children of politicians and party leaders were often employed in paying summer jobs that they never actually reported to. Hanna called for an inquiry into the state parks system; instead, a State Council of Parks subcommittee said Hanna was unfit to serve and asked the governor to remove him. Hanna continued to escalate, eventually calling for Robert Moses to be dismissed as chairman of the State Council of Parks and for the Central New York State Parks Commission to be replaced. Hanna's fight was covered by The New York Times. The state and local Democratic party saw Hanna's actions as a black eye, putting him out of their good graces: he was not reappointed as a parks commissioner in 1956.
Local Democratic leadership attempted to convince Hanna to run for Congress in 1956, setting him up to lose against the Republican incumbent William R. Williams: he instead ran for the New York State Assembly, where he lost in the Democratic primary. Hanna was city parks commissioner from 1958 to 1960, where he was one of the few city officials not implicated in organized crime and prostitution scandals. Later, he successfully ran for the assembly in 1965, joining the 176th New York State Legislature. He advocated for the elimination of the assembly, making New York a unicameral legislature. He also called for Elefante to resign from politics and asked Senator Robert F. Kennedy to help reorganize the Democratic party in Oneida County. The Democratic Party did not support his reelection campaign, and he only served one year. In 1972 he ran in the Democratic primary for the Assembly seat and lost.
Mayorship from 1974 to 1978
In 1973, Hanna ran as an independent in the race for Mayor of Utica and won a narrow victory against Republican incumbent Michael Caruso and a Democratic challenger. Hanna had pledged to eliminate 200 city jobs and cut city spending: at the time, Utica had the fourth-highest taxes in New York and second-highest unemployment. As both his opponents were Italian Americans, vote-splitting in Utica's large Italian population played a role in his win. He was reelected in 1975 with a majority of the vote.
In his first year, Hanna cut 225 positions and fired 15 city executives: he took on the management of five city departments himself. He also reformed city purchasing procedures, which had been subject to corruption and bribery. In late 1975, Hanna imposed a wage freeze for all city employees. In 1976, he reduced the Department of Public Works from 240 to 70 employees and introduced legislation to privatize the remaining employees. This was met with complaints from the public about insufficient snow removal and street repair, as well as legal action from the Teamsters.
