Question

Once in power the political machines dominated daily life in the cities that they controlled and they held the purse strings for techological contracts.

Answer 1

I wouldn't say they dominated daily life. People didn't invite them to birthday parties of bar mitzvahs, or think about them more often than beer or sex. But they certainly dominated the interactions citizens had with government, both in terms of actual voting, and in terms of local and state services. You wanted a pothole fixed, a saloon kept within hours, a local shakedown artist restrained, your kid into a certain school -- you didn't call the mayor's office, you contacted your local machine capo, and he got stuff done. In return, come election time, you were told for whom you would vote, and how many times.