Before he was a political bigwig helping Hugh Carey and Rudolph Giuliani get elected, Thomas Regan, who died from leukemia last week at age 84, was a New York City firefighter strapping on his gear and running into danger.
Not much changed after Regan retired from the FDNY. He no longer wore a helmet or rode in a noisy truck, but in his new career as a political operative he still had to put out a lot of fires.
From the mourners who filled Our Lady of Angels Church in Brooklyn for Regan’s funeral on Wednesday came plenty of stories about Regan’s feats in the world of politics.
As Gov. Hugh Carey’s right hand man, rarely did Regan disappoint, they said.
One of his first challenges came on Carey’s first day as governor in 1975. Regan’s job was to get the finished inaugural speech to Carey, but state troopers wouldn’t let Regan into the chamber.
After Regan tried to push his way through, a trooper threatened him with arrest, according to William Cunningham, a next generation political operative, who recounted several colorful anecdotes of the Regan legacy.
“That would be great,” Regan replied to the trooper. “That’s the only excuse the governor will accept from me when I tell him why he didn’t get his speech.”
Another tale involved Carey and the Yankees, and a bid to get Carey an enviable photo op.
The occasion was a Canyon of Heroes parade for the Yankees, who had just won the 1978 World Series, thanks to slugger Reggie Jackson’s three home runs in the final three games.
While Mayor Ed Koch was hobnobbing with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, Regan managed to maneuver Carey, who was running for re-election, next to Jackson.
Home run.
“Tom was the guy in the midst of chaos sorting things out for the governor,” said Cunningham, who went on to become communications director for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “Give him an opening, and he’s going to put his shoulder in there.”
Regan’s relationship with Carey began while Carey was still a congressman representing Brooklyn’s Park Slope, and Regan was still a firefighter in Brooklyn’s Ladder 105. Regan spent 11 years with the FDNY before joining Carey’s team full time when he became governor.
“He was a very, very focused guy,” Cunningham said. “Whatever spare time he had when he was not fighting fires, he would volunteer with Congressman Carey.”
Cunningham said Regan had good political instincts. After a bill signing in 1972, a photographer got a picture of Carey with Republican President Richard Nixon. Some staffers thought the picture would help the congressman with conservative voters, but Regan thought it would do more damage with his liberal base.
So when the picture appeared the next day in the Daily News, Regan did what any protective staffer would do. He got up early and bought all the newspapers in the neighborhood.
He later teamed with consultant David Garth and helped Giuliani get elected mayor.
“He did extraordinary things, and his network was beyond what anyone could understand,” said Regan’s nephew, Michael Regan, a former first deputy fire commissioner. “The bigger the challenge, the better he was at it.”