Franklin Roosevelt had given it his all, but the unpopularity of Al Smith on the presidential ticket was too much to overcome. Dejected by his failed political comeback, he would return to Warm Springs, Georgia, where he would resume a career of activism on behalf of victims of polio. Albert Ottinger, the popular Attorney General from Manhattan, would be the next governor, and the first Jewish governor in the country.
Smith, like Roosevelt, initially expressed relief at his defeat in 1928. After 25 years in public office, he was interested in spending more time with his family and earning a far higher salary in private practice than he had ever enjoyed from the government. DNC chairman John Raskob was in the process of lining up a job for Smith with the newly-formed Empire State Corporation to build the tallest skyscraper in the city.
The illusion that Smith would retire lasted for all of four months.
In March 1929, George Olvany, the head of Tammany Hall, resigned. Although he officially stated he was quitting for health reasons, it was revealed years later that he had received millions of dollars in the previous four years representing clients before the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals, a board staffed by his fellow Tammany men, and he perhaps wished to get out while the going was good. The resignation set up a showdown between John F. Curry, representing the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and Eddy Ahearn, representing the Lower East Side.
Curry had the backing of New York City mayor Jimmy Walker. Although he had at one time assisted Walked into elected office, Smith had always doubted Walker's ability to lead, and Walker's tenure as mayor confirmed his doubts. He frequently neglected his duties and could not be bothered to read memos longer than a page. His personal lifestyle, including an extramarital relationship with actress Betty Compton, disgusted Smith. Worst of all, he was one of the most blatantly corrupt men in city politics, with established ties to organized crime by 1929. Charles Murphy's vision of a scandal-free "New Tammany" was fading quickly. If ever there was a time to show Smith still had weight to throw in politics, it was now.
In April, Ahearn emerged triumphant, delivering Walker his first defeat. Ottinger's election had provided a strong incentive for the machine to clean up its act, and his tenure as governor showed it was the right call. The governor began an investigation of the New York City government following allegations of bribery in the city courts. In the fall, Ahearn and Smith informed Walker they would not support him as a candidate for another term. In his place, Joseph McKee, President of the Board of Aldermen, would be the Tammany candidate. Walker was through, and the machine was possibly saved from a ruinous scandal.
As luck would have it, 1930 would be an opportune year for the Democrats. As industrial layoffs mounted and the farm crisis deepened, dissatisfaction with president Hoover made victory all but certain for the New York Democrats. Many of Roosvelt's advisors, including Sam Rosenman, James Farley, and Frances Perkins, returned to find a place in Smith's campaign. In November, Smith was returned to office with his largest landslide yet.
