Image
Philadelphia Mayor S. Davis Wilson being greeted at the opening of a new Florsheim Show Store at 1508 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, March 20, 1937.
Credit: Courtesy of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
It was only after Democratic city leader Jack Kelly got the party nod ahead of him that S. Davis Wilson jumped to the Republican party and then beat Kelly in a general election tarnished by accusations of voter fraud. As mayor, Wilson worked to bring more federal money to the city, tackled the deep seated corruption in city government, and earned a reputation for his fondness of intoxicating beverages.