Tammany’s leader deliberately groomed Al Smith through staged office-holding to the governorship

Evidence

Murphy looked down the table at the young man. He gave the okay for Tammany to sponsor the legislation the man wanted. He built up the young man’s reputation by running him for sheriff of New York County in 1915 and for president of the New York City Board of Aldermen in 1917. And in 1918, he wrenched from the grip of the upstate Democratic leaders the Democratic nomination for Governor and handed it to Alfred E. Smith. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 567

Categorization

• DEFINE: Shows ‘regularity’ and staged political advancement: the boss runs a loyal man through increasingly visible offices to build a reputation before the top prize.
• XREF: connects to: Tammany boss Murphy freed Governor Smith from patronage strings to build his reputation — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 569