Martin Michael Lomasney (December 3, 1859 – August 12, 1933) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts.
Lomasney served as State Senator, State Representative, and alderman but is best known as the political boss of Boston's West End. Lomasney wielded considerable influence in city and state politics for over 40 years and was nicknamed "the Mahatma" for his uncanny ability to deliver votes for his preferred candidates.
In the course of his colorful career, Lomasney was shot once, feuded with James Michael Curley and John F. Fitzgerald, told the Archbishop of Boston to "mind his own business," advised Al Smith, played a major role in the drafting of the current Massachusetts Constitution, and helped thousands of constituents obtain jobs, housing, and other necessities.
Initially, Lomasney's ward was predominantly Irish. Over the years, as the Irish began migrating out of the West End to Roxbury and Dorchester, and the city zoning board expanded his ward to include the North and South Ends, Lomasney expanded his influence to bring together a large, ethnically diverse coalition of mostly poor and working-class voters.
Early life
Lomasney was born in the West End of Boston on December 3, 1859 to Maurice and Mary (née Murray) Lomasney. His parents were immigrants from Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland, who fled the Great Famine. His father was a tailor.
After his parents and one of his siblings died, Lomasney and his two brothers Joseph and Edward moved in with their aunt and maternal grandmother. "Joe" would later become Lomasney's political lieutenant. The boys were expected to earn their keep, and Martin dropped out of school at age 10 to shine shoes, deliver papers and, later, work in a machine shop. In his spare time, he read anything that he could get his hands on, except fiction.
For a time, he was the leader of a local Irish street gang.
Political career
In 1884, Lomasney went to work as a ward heeler for Mike Wells, a local politician, and was rewarded with a city job as a lamplighter on Boston's Nashua Street. The job paid well and gave him ample time for political activities. He became the leader of a group of young Democrats, known as the "Independents," who were determined to unseat the incumbent Democrats on the Ward Committee.
The Hendricks Club
In 1885, Lomasney founded a headquarters for the Independents at 11A Green Street. It was named The Hendricks Club after Vice President Thomas A. Hendricks, a supporter of Irish independence. The clubhouse featured a pot-bellied stove, a pool table, and a poker table. Liquor and dice-playing were strictly forbidden. Lomasney kept an office on the second floor, where he spent his days dispensing and calling in favors for supporters: jobs, housing, immigration assistance, coal in the winter, influence in court cases, funeral expenses, and seed money for business ventures. He kept a file of embarrassing information on his colleagues which often proved useful in negotiations. The Hendricks was one of the earliest political clubs of its kind. Lomasney called the club "a machine for getting votes."
Lomasney frequently sent aides to the docks in East Boston to meet new immigrants and to carry signs that read, "Welcome to America. The Democratic Party Welcomes You to America. Martin Lomasney Welcomes You to Boston." Often, the newcomers were desperately poor and unskilled, and the Hendricks Club would help them find manual labor and decent housing. He earned the loyalty of countless residents, who showed their gratitude by voting as he suggested. His ability to deliver as many votes as needed for a candidate or piece of legislation earned him the nickname "the Mahatma." Other bosses soon followed his example: Thomas W. Flood's Somerset Associates in the North End (1888), John F. Fitzgerald's Jefferson Club in North End (early 1890s), James Michael Curley's Tammany Club in Roxbury (1901).
On the Sunday before every election, ward residents would pack the large hall to hear Lomasney speak on the issues and candidates of the day. Despite his lack of formal education, he was an eloquent speaker with a fondness for poetic quotations. He was also a powerful orator who, like a revivalist preacher, could stir the crowd into a near-frenzy. Former residents of the ward often traveled long distances to attend his "sermons," and local newspapers sent their best reporters to cover the event.