Daniel Flood

American politician

Daniel John Flood (November 26, 1903 – May 28, 1994) was an American attorney and politician, a flamboyant and long serving Democratic United States Representative from Pennsylvania. First elected to the US House in 1944, he served continuously from 1955 to 1980. Flood was credited with leading the effort to help the Wilkes Barre area recover after the 1972 effects of the Agnes Flood. A trial on bribery charges that Flood had accepted more than $50,000 in payoffs ended with a hung jury. A retrial, was repeatedly delayed because of treatment for several ailments, federal prosecutors suggested that treatments were being postponed as a stalling measure. In February 1980, Flood pleaded guilty to a single count of payoffs, and placed on probation for one year. He was censured for bribery in 1980 and resigned from the House.

Flood was born into an ethnic Irish family in Hazleton in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the son of Sarah (McCarthy) and Patrick Flood. He attended the public schools of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, and St. Augustine, Florida. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1924. He attended Harvard Law School and was graduated from Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle in 1929. He was admitted to the bar in 1930 and opened a practice in Wilkes Barre. He was an attorney for the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation in 1934 and 1935, during the Great Depression. He joined the Democratic Party, inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Flood studied acting in his early school days, a skill he fancied and often used while serving as a member of Congress. Flood sported a signature waxed moustache from that time throughout his career, and had a penchant for wearing white suits. His flamboyant style, dress and speech were often compared to that of a Shakespearean actor. He persuaded his friend James Karen to begin his acting career, recruiting him into a production at the Little Theatre of Wilkes Barre. He met his wife Catherine Swank when they were both cast in a production at the same theatre.

Flood was appointed as the deputy attorney general for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and counsel for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board from 1935 to 1939. In 1941, he was appointed director of the State Bureau of Public Assistance Disbursements by State Treasurer G. Harold Wagner, and executive assistant to the State Treasurer from 1941 to 1944.

Flood made his first run for office in 1942, when he was the Democratic candidate in a special election to replace Congressman J. Harold Flannery in what was then Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district, based in Wilkes Barre. He narrowly lost to Republican Thomas B. Miller. Flood ran against Miller again in the general election later that year and lost by a wider margin. However, he ran against Miller in 1944, in what had been renumbered as the 11th District and won. He was defeated for reelection in 1946 due to a nationwide Republican landslide, but regained his seat in 1948. He was reelected in 1950, only to be swept out in 1952, losing to Republican Edward J. Bonin in former General Dwight Eisenhower's massive landslide for presidency. Eisenhower had commanded the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and led them to defeat Germany. Flood was reelected in 1954 in a re match against Congressman Bonin. After a close reelection bid in 1956, he was reelected for 11 more terms without serious opposition. The seniority he established led him to being a member of the important House Appropriations Committee. In that position, he contributed strongly to passage of Medicare, economic development initiatives for Appalachia, and the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. which was devastated when the anthracite coal mining industry took a severe downturn. While in Congress, Flood was credited with sponsoring the Area Redevelopment Act in 1961 and the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. Flood worked hard to rebuild his district in the aftermath of the devastating flooding from Hurricane Agnes. When the tropical storm remnants of Hurricane Agnes overwhelmed the Susquehanna River watershed in 1972, causing major flooding all along the river, one of the hardest hit locations was Wilkes Barre's business and residential areas. Flood, subcommittee chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, with years of clout accumulated while in office, was credited with limiting federal red tape to repair damage from what was then the most damaging hurricane ever recorded in the U. S. Mustering air and boat rescue, bringing President Richard M. Nixon in to survey flood damage, and establishing a federal response all were credited to Flood. "It took a Flood to tame a flood" was his catchphrase. In the 1972 presidential election he supported Republican Richard Nixon over Democrat George McGovern. He refused to accompany McGovern during his visit to Wilkes Barre after the 1972 flood. McGovern held a press conference at the Hotel Sterling. In the neighboring city of Scranton, Flood was occasionally accused of favoring Wilkes Barre. (Scranton was not in the 11th Congressional District during the time Flood served in Congress.) Flood also is purported to have said "No self respecting man from Wilkes Barre would ever date the best looking blonde from Scranton." He is often cited as the source of the naming of the Wilkes Barre/Scranton International Airport (with Wilkes Barre first, despite being the smaller of the two cities and being second alphabetically).

Flood was investigated by at least eight separate U. S. Attorney's offices and had 175 possible cases pending against him. The Washington Post reported in February 1978 that Flood was accused of helping steer federal grant money to the B'nai Torah Institute, a community service organization in New York from which Flood reported receipt of campaign funds totaling nearly $1,000 plus an undisclosed honorarium. Flood's former aide, Stephen Elko, testified that Flood was a 'muscler' who used his influence to direct federal contracts to people and corporations in exchange for cash kickbacks. On September 5, 1978, a federal grand jury indicted Flood on three counts of perjury on charges that he lied about payoffs. During the 96th United States Congress in 1979, Flood was censured for bribery. The allegations led to his resignation from Congress on January 31, 1980.

Flood died in Wilkes Barre on May 28, 1994. His funeral was held on May 30 in St. John's Church in Wilkes Barre, with eulogies given by then Governor Bob Casey and Representatives Paul Kanjorski and Joseph McDade. He was interred in the family plot at St. Mary's Cemetery in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania.

With the nickname "Dapper Dan" for what Time called his "villainous looking waxed mustache" and "eccentric clothes," He is remembered by his constituency for his weekly televised messages from Washington, which were a staple of Sunday morning television for years. He was known to attend virtually any public event that took place in his district. Daniel J. Flood Elementary School in the Wilkes Barre Area School District is named in his honor, as are many other places in Northeastern Pennsylvania. On Saturday, October 2, 2010, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission honored Flood with a plaque as part of the Historical Marker Program. Located on Wilkes Barre's Public Square in the center of the city, it reads: