He was one of the mayors excoriated in Shame of the Cities, a series by muckraker Lincoln Steffens on municipal corruption.

[2] He was closely associated with political bosses Matthew Quay and Israel Wilson Durham.

In 1903, Lincoln Steffens in Philadelphia: Corrupt and Contented wrote that Ashbridge had accumulated $40,000 in debt that got satisfied right before the election.

Steffens relayed an account of a conversation with former Postmaster General Thomas Hicks in which Ashbridge said "Tom, I have been elected mayor of Philadelphia.

[4][5] Reportedly, Quay's associates were angry at coverage in the North America a local newspaper that was owned by Thomas Wanamaker, John's son.

[4] Some highlights of Ashbridge's tenure as mayor include proposing what would become Roosevelt Boulevard, and throwing the ceremonial first pitch at the first baseball game played at Columbia Park.