Joseph Mruk (November 6, 1903 – January 21, 1995) was an American businessman and Republican politician from

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. He is most notable for his service as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1943 to 1945, and as mayor of Buffalo from 1950 to 1953.

Early life

Mruk was of Polish heritage, and was born in

, on November 6, 1903. He attended Public School 44 and Saint John Kanty School, and graduated from South Park High School in 1920. Mruk then began a career in the jewelry business by working at several stores in the Buffalo area. In 1926, he opened his own store, which he continued to operate until the 1970s.

Start of political career

A Republican, Mruk ran unsuccessfully for member of the Erie County Board of Supervisors in 1933, and a seat on the

Buffalo Common Council The Buffalo Common Council is the legislative branch of the city of Buffalo, New York government. It is a representative assembly, with one elected member from each of nine districts: Niagara, Delaware, Masten, Ellicott, Lovejoy, Fillmore, North ...

in 1935. He won a Common Council seat on his second attempt, and served as a district representative from 1937 to 1941. He was elected as an at-large member in 1941, and served until resigning in 1942.

Congressman

In 1942, Mruk was elected to the U.S. House as a Republican, and served one term (1943-1945) as the representative of New York's 41st District. In Congress, Mruk questioned the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

's intentions for post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Poland; as the Soviets were still part of the Allied effort against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, Mruk's concerns prompted assurances from President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

that Poland would not lose its sovereignty. Mruk also opposed creation of the

Saint Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway () is a system of rivers, locks, canals and channels in Eastern Canada and Northern United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North America, as far inland ...

, which Buffalo residents believed would hurt their city. As a result, he became unpopular with the Republican leadership, who endorsed his 1944 primary opponent, Edward J. Elsaesser

Continued career

After leaving Congress, Mruk returned to active management of his jewelry store. In 1945, he was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor. In 1947, he again won election to the Buffalo Common Council, and he served until 1950, when he became mayor.

Buffalo mayor

Mruk won the 1949 mayoral election against the Democratic nominee, Chief City Judge Joseph Hillery and two other candidates. His campaign was buoyed by Polish-Americans who usually voted for Democrats, but were unhappy that the Soviet Union had in fact made Poland part of the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

following World War II. Mruk served from January 1, 1950, to December 31, 1953, and his time in office was highlighted by his concentration on rebuilding the city's infrastructure, including streets, bridges and viaducts. He also worked to improve parks and recreation areas, instituted a lighted school house program to foster community involvement in the city's education system, and hired the city's first school crossing guards. Relying on his business experience to master the details of Buffalo's budgets and spending, Mruk took pride in effecting most of his programs without having to increase local taxes.

Later life

In 1954, Mruk was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. House. In the 1950s and 1960s, Mruk served as a member of the state Commission on Pensions. In 1961, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for mayor. He closed his jewelry store in the mid 1970s, and in 1980 he moved to Florida, where he lived in retirement with his sister Clara and her husband.

Death and burial

Mruk returned to Buffalo in 1988, and spent the last years of his life residing in a

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

nursing home. He died in Lancaster on January 21, 1995, and was buried at Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Cemetery in

Cheektowaga Cheektowaga (; ) is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is t ...

Family

Mruk was a lifelong bachelor. During his time as mayor, his sister acted as first lady during public ceremonies and other events.

References

Sources

Books

Newspapers

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mruk, Joseph 1903 births 1995 deaths Mayors of Buffalo, New York American politicians of Polish descent Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Buffalo Common Council members 20th-century mayors of places in New York (state) 20th-century New York (state) politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives