Tributes pour in after death of William McNamara, longest-serving New Britain mayor
Tributes from Democrats and Republicans alike followed the death Sunday of William “Billy Mac” McNamara, New Britain’s longest-serving mayor and a symbol of its frequently paradoxical politics.
He was 88.
McNamara helped Democrats maintain their stronghold on Connecticut’s eighth-largest city during his time in office from 1977 to 1989, and shepherded economic development projects such as the New Brite Plaza shopping center.
Along the way, the lifelong Democrat established a reputation as a political conservative, routinely supporting Republican candidates locally, snubbing Jane Fonda, grandly welcoming President Ronald Reagan and ending up as mentor to Republican Mayor Erin Stewart.
Yet McNamara built respect — and occasionally long-term personal friendships — with some of his adversaries in Democratic leadership.
“New Britain has lost a fierce advocate and a political icon,” said former Mayor Don DeFronzo, whose 1989 victory leading a progressive ticket ended McNamara’s era in power.
McNamara never recovered politically from that loss; he tried a comeback in 1995 but was soundly defeated in the Democratic mayoral primary by Lucian Pawlak, who went on to win the general election and three subsequent terms.
“He’s one of the guys I’m really going to miss. I have nothing but respect for him, I wish I had more lunches with him,” Pawlak told the Courant on Wednesday. “He was such a real human being, he wasn’t a phony.”
In a Facebook post announcing his death, Stewart wrote “He supported me from Day 1, when the supporters were far and few between. When everyone questioned or doubted me he’d say ‘you got this kiddo.’ He was always there for a good lunch at Great Taste, advice, sarcasm, a good joke and lots of laughs.”
McNamara grew up in a time of unionized, blue-collar Democratic dominance of New Britain politics, and established a record of community service. Before becoming mayor, he had been an Army medic in the Korean War, worked as a supernumerary in New Britain’s police department, served as an alderman and spent 16 years teaching German and English at what was then Pulaski High School.
He won the 1977 election to become mayor, followed by five reelections.
“One of his proudest moments as mayor was hosting President Ronald Regan’s 1987 visit to New Britain,” according to his obituary.
By then, the city and the local Democratic Party had both shifted toward the left, though, and McNamara’s popularity waned. DeFronzo, who had conscientious objector status during the Vietnam War, put together a challenge slate and knocked off McNamara in the 1989 Democratic primary.
When McNamara’s allies harshly criticized DeFronzo over his conscientious objector status, it was not a surprise. McNamara himself had drawn headlines in 1978 by refusing to meet with Jane Fonda when she visited the city; veterans at the time were boycotting her movies because she posed for a photo with an antiaircraft gun when she traveled to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
And in 1984, McNamara was at the center of another controversy: He refused to meet with two citizens of what was then the Soviet Union when they visited New Britain as part of a church-sponsored cultural exchange called Bridges for Peace. Organizers of the Bridges for Peace trip said the two had no connection to the communist government, but McNamara said they represented “a nation with blood on its hands,” according to a United Press International report at the time.
“The actions of the communists speak much clearer than their words, and they are the actions of world criminals,” he said.
McNamara had earned widespread praise for appointing Clifford Willis as the first Black chief in the history of the city’s police department, but also clashed frequently with neighborhood groups pressing for more social services and increased attention to poorer sections of the city.
After DeFronzo’s progressive slate decisively defeated McNamara and his slate of centrist to conservative Democratic incumbents, McNamara went back to teaching for six years. He also taught German as an adjunct for more than 20 years at Central Connecticut State University.
His sole return to politics was a 1995 bid for mayor accompanied by a slate of nine political newcomers running for council. Pawlak’s ticket defeated them in the primary.
Pawlak said that despite plenty of political differences, he became friends with the former mayor.
“He ended up being chairman of my police board. I valued our friendship; the longer we knew each other, the stronger our friendship became,” Pawlak said. “We went to Germany together for a sister city trip. He emceed for me at my inauguration.
“When my daughter chose Trinity on Main to be married in, I noticed a balloon at the roofline that wasn’t going to be aesthetically pleasing,” Pawlak recalled. “Bill went home, came back walking down Main Street with an air rifle and popped that balloon.”
DeFronzo, who became a state senator after his time as mayor, praised McNamara as a leader with intelligence and wit.
“His contributions as a six-term mayor have had a lasting impact on the city. Although we had many political and ideological differences, over the years we came to respect each other as political leaders,” DeFronzo said.
McNamara is survived by his wife, Saundra; daughters Megan McNamara and Amy Kreger (Kevin); and sons Patrick (Rebecca) and Sean McNamara. He was predeceased by his parents, Helen V. (Malinowski) and William F. McNamara; his daughter, Brigid Kay and son Kevin; his sister Kathleen Shaker Machowski; godson and nephew, Paul A. Shaker Jr. and niece, Katie Shaker.
Funeral rites will be Monday at 8:30 a.m. at the Paul A. Shaker Funeral Home, 764 Farmington Ave., New Britain, with a procession at 9 a.m. to the St. Katharine Drexel Parish, 1010 Slater Road, New Britain, for a service at 10 a.m.
Calling hours are Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home.