Mulligan, Thomas E., 1918-1985

Thomas "Ed" Mulligan, Jr. was an Albany Republican who made two unsuccessful attempts to become elected to political office. He hoped to eventually overthrow the reigning O'Connell/ Corning Democratic Political Machine. In his first race, in 1953, he ran for Mayor of Albany against the long-standing Democratic favorite Erastus Corning and surprised the city with a powerful campaign that drew more votes than any previous Republican candidate running for that position against Corning. Born on March 6, 1918, in Albany, New York, Mulligan attended St. Theresa's Parochial School, Christian Brothers Academy and Siena College. Prior to entering the United States Air Force in 1940, Mulligan worked for radio stations WOKO and WABY and as a staff reporter for the Knickerbocker News. During World War II, he served as a B-17 bomber pilot until he was shot down and taken prisoner by Germany in 1943. In 1951, Mulligan served as Chair of the Publicity Committee for the Salvation Army Drive. In 1952, he founded the Albany County Eisenhower Committee and was appointed to the New York State Merit Award Board and the New York State Personnel Relations Board by Gov. Thomas E. Dewey. When nominated by the Republican Party to run for Mayor in 1953, Mulligan was employed as a publicity agent for the New York Department of State. He resigned from this position in order to campaign on July 30, 1953, the day his nomination was announced. He lost the race to Mayor Corning by over thirty-four thousand votes. Mulligan returned to his state publicity job until Edward S. Conway fired him.

Thomas Mulligan was a journalist with "The Transcript" in Albany, New York before enlisting in the Royal Air Force in 1941. He then transferred to the United States Army Air Force in 1942, was sent to Europe, and shot down in August of 1943. He was taken prisoner at the same time as Delmar Spivey and they worked together in the camp until their release in 1945. Mulligan edited the camp newspaper, "Kriegie Times" which was the first American edited paper to leave Europe during the war. Mulligan's main duty was to keep camp records intact and record the daily life of the camp and its activities. After the war, Mulligan became a member of the Reserves, returned to New York and went to work as a reporter for the "Knickerbocker News." In 1953, he was hired by the New York Department of State as a publicity agent. Also at this time, Mulligan became interested in Albany politics though he was unsuccessful in winning any political position. He remained at the Department of State until 1964 and then spent time in the research and preservation of historical sites in the Albany area. Thomas Mulligan died of cancer in 1985.