Jacob Panken, Socialist, for Mayor

One hundred years ago today … Judge Jacob Panken was the Socialist Party candidate for mayor, having been chosen along with the comptroller nominee, Harriet Blatch. (See our post about July 10th). 

Planken, a Russian-Jewish immigrant, had been elected judge for New York City Municipal Court in 1917, the first Socialist Party judge in the US. He would serve there for ten years, and then, from 1935 to 1955, on the Domestic Relations Court (Tevis 32). According to Britt P. Tevis, he spent his career following the judicial philosophy of “legal realism” in a way that allowed him “to weave Yiddish socialism, a political philosophy espoused by turn-of-the-century Eastern European Jews in New York City, into his judicial decisions” (31). Panken would unsuccessfully run for congress and governor during these years. 

But in the July 1921, he was kicking off an underdog campaign, not only against incumbent John Hylan (Democrat), but also against whomever the Republican, or “Fusion” candidate would turn out to be. (More on that next week.)

On this day in 1921, he was taken seriously enough for the Daily News to caption its photo of him “Hylan’s Successor?”

But then, one might notice, above, that the News erroneously names him “Joseph” Panken. It was not the first time. Indeed, its July 11th early edition not only misrepresents Panken’s surname name but also features a photo of … someone else.

(And, no, there does not seem to be another Judge Panken, named Joseph,

For the record, the Times also miswrote the name around this time (“Bronx Insurgents Likely to Decline,” 18 August 1921, p. 3). 

Panken would get 7.1% of the vote in the general election. His most popular borough was the Bronx, whose voters gave him 12.2%.

– Jonathan Goldman, July 17, 2021

TAGS: socialism, political parties, mayoralty, judicial, judgeship, Jewish, law, legal