William "Billy" Meehan was the de facto

De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

 leader of the Philadelphia Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 for the second half of the twentieth century, though he formally held a title of "of counsel

Of counsel

Of counsel is often the title of an attorney who is employed by a law firm or an organization, but is not an associate or a partner. Some firms use titles like "counsel," "special counsel," and "senior counsel" for the same concept...

". The Philadelphia Republican Party, in the wake of the political realignmemt in Philadelphia politics starting with the Home Rule Charter

Municipal home rule

Municipal home rule originated in the United States during the Progressive Era of the early twentieth century. It enables voters to adopt a home rule charter that acts as the city's basic governing document over local issues; however, state law continues to prevail over statewide concerns...

 in 1951 and the election

Election

An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...

 of "reform" Democrats

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

, Richardson Dilworth

Richardson Dilworth

Richardson K. Dilworth was an American Democratic Party politician, born in the Pittsburgh area, who served as the 91st Mayor of Philadelphia from 1956 to 1962.-Education and early career:...

 and Joseph S. Clark

Joseph S. Clark

Joseph Sill Clark, Jr. was a U.S. lawyer and Democratic Party politician in the mid-20th century. He served as the mayor of Philadelphia from 1952 until 1956, and as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1957 until 1969...

 as Mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Philadelphia, entered a period of gradual and persistent decline, after having dominated the city's politics for a century prior to home rule. Meehan managed the party with an accommodating practice to his counterparts on the Democratic side, often favouring for minor patronage

Patronage

Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...

-related jobs for party activists in various levels of city government.

Meehan dominated the Party in a structure roughly analogous to old-style machine politics

Political machine

A political machine is a political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses , who receive rewards for their efforts...

, with an emphasis on strong personality leadership. With only one exception (Frank Rizzo

Frank Rizzo

Francis Lazarro "Frank" Rizzo, Sr. was an American police officer and politician. He served two terms as mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from January 1972 to January 1980; he was Police Commissioner for four years prior to that.-Police Commissioner:Rizzo joined the Philadelphia Police...

 in 1991), no Republican Party candidate was able to be nominated for city-wide office without Meehan's blessing. Meehan was noted for the annual summer clambake

New England clam bake

The New England clam bake is a traditional method of cooking foods, especially seafood such as lobster, mussels, crabs, steamers, and quahogs. The seafood is often supplemented by sausages, potatoes, onions, carrots, corn on the cob, etc...

, which he held at his residence in the Somerton

Somerton, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Somerton is located in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The neighborhood is generally bound by Red Lion Road to the south, Roosevelt Boulevard to the east, East County Line Road and Poquessing Creek to the north, and the Philadelphia County / Montgomery County...

section of Philadelphia, a heavily Republican stronghold. He was succeeded in the role of guiding the Philadelphia Republican Party, in an unofficial manner, by his son, Michael "Mike" Meehan.