Voting Station

James A. Farley

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Politician

The Resume

    (May 30, 1888-June 9, 1976)
    Born in Stony Point, New York
    Campaign manager for Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s gubernatorial (1928,1930) and presidential (1932,1936) campaigns
    Chair of the Democratic National Committee (1932-40)
    US Postmaster General (1933-40)
    Chairman of the Board of the Coca-Cola Export Corporation (1940-73)

Why he might be annoying:

    He used his control of federal patronage jobs as leverage to get FDR’s New Deal legislation passed.
    As Postmaster General, he created limited numbers of ungummed and imperforate versions of several commemorative stamps that he gave to FDR and other influential politicians. After protests from stamp collectors, the ‘Farley Follies’ were made available to the general public.
    He challenged FDR for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1940, getting votes from 72 delegates (compared to 946 for Roosevelt).
    He was able to use his government connections to ensure that Coke shared the same ‘war priority item’ designation as ammo and K rations during WWII and to get federal subsidies to build Coca-Cola plants overseas after the war.

Why he might not be annoying:

    As FDR’s campaign manager, he assembled the New Deal coalition of labor unions, farmers, African Americans, and Catholics.
    He reorganized the Post Office and got it to turn a profit.
    Although usually loyal to FDR, he opposed his court-packing plan as unconstitutional.
    He intervened with several Irish-American Congressmen to convince them to back Lend Lease aid to Great Britain during WWII.
    He was known for his ability to remember the names and personal details of nearly every person he met.
    He was the first guest on Meet the Press (November 6, 1947).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 6 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying