George W. Aldridge

In 1883, Aldridge was elected to the Executive Board of Rochester and was reelected three times serving over eleven years.[2] In this early part of his political career he had a strong reputation for improving municipal services, including the fire and police departments.[2] Through the management of his father's contacts and patronage in the expanding city government, Aldridge built a powerful machine.[4] He was elected Mayor of Rochester in 1893, and assumed office in April 1894.[5]

In 1888, Aldridge became a member of the New York Republican State Committee and soon thereafter was placed on the Executive Committee which he served on until his death.[2]

In January 1895,[6] Aldridge was appointed the Superintendent of Public Works by Governor (and former Vice President of the United States) Levi P. Morton. Aspiring for higher offices in the state, and losing interest in the responsibilities of the mayor's office,[7] he accepted and resigned as mayor on January 22.[8] He served as Superintendent until January 16, 1899.[9] While in office, he sought the Republican nomination to succeed Morton for governor but lost the nomination to U.S. Representative Frank S. Black, who was then elected governor. As commissioner, however, $9,000,000 "passed through his hands and it is of record that his incumbency was marked by gross mismanagement, incompetency and waste of money."[2] Black's successor as governor, Theodore Roosevelt,[10] appointed a commission to investigate Aldridge.[11] No criminal charges resulted, although the report's findings were "not complimentary".[2]

In 1902, Aldridge was appointed the Secretary of the State Railway Commission by Governor Frank W. Higgins[12][13] and remained on the commission until 1907, eventually becoming Chairman. That year it was replaced by the Public Service Commission under Governor Charles Evans Hughes.[14][15] Aldridge again sought higher office in 1910 by running in the House election in the 32nd district following the death of incumbent James Breck Perkins. He was defeated by the Democratic candidate, James S. Havens.[16][17] In 1913, Aldridge became president of the American Cement Corporation, the largest of its kind outside of New York City.[18]

After Merton E. Lewis succeeded Aldridge as acting mayor, a local Good Government League formed to promote an independent school board and other municipal improvements.[19] Aldridge's chosen successor, Hiram Edgerton, lost to Municipal Court Judge George E. Warner, a Democrat, in the 1895 election.[20] Warner was combative with the city council and both parties during his two terms, providing Aldridge with a new opportunity. He allied with the Good Government League that had previously supported Warner, and this alliance greatly influenced the local government and election results until Aldridge's death, with all of his preferred mayoral candidates being elected.[21] Rochester mayors George Carnahan and Adolph J. Rodenbeck received Aldridge's support in 1899 and 1901. In 1903 Aldridge recruited James G. Cutler to follow Rodenbeck, and Hiram Edgerton succeeded Cutler in a second bid for mayor in 1907, after which he served for seven consecutive terms.[22] In 1921, Aldridge recruited local businessman Clarence Van Zandt to run for mayor after Edgerton retired.[23]

Although he lost his bids to become a member of the U.S. Congress or Governor, Aldridge remained a well-known Republican party boss in Rochester and New York state. During the Republican administration of Governor Charles Seymour Whitman, he was a member of Whitman's "Kitchen Cabinet" and was part of a triumvirate, known as the "Big Three" that once ruled the state with Thomas C. Platt (a U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative) and Francis Hendricks (a New York State Assemblyman, Senator and Mayor of Syracuse).[2] The triumvirate later became the "Big Four" of Republican state politics with Aldridge working alongside U.S. Representative William L. Ward, Fred Greiner (veteran of Erie County), and James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. of Western New York.[2] Aldridge was a delegate to every Republican National Convention between 1896 and 1920. At the 1920 Convention, he nominated his friend, Warren G. Harding, on the first ballot. Harding went on to win the nomination and become president.[2]

Aldridge finally reached federal office when he was nominated for Collector of the Port of New York in 1921 by President Harding. Then-Collector Byron Newton implied the nomination was a quid pro quo, sarcastically commenting "we should all admire a prompt paymaster".[24][25] Aldridge remained in the role until his death the following year.[26]