Albert S. Porter (November 4, 1904 – January 7, 1979) was an American engineer and politician from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Early life

Porter was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, to Albert S. and Lena Edmonds Porter. He moved with his family to Lakewood, Ohio in 1913, graduated from Lakewood High School in 1922 and from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

with his

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

in 1928. In 1929 he joined the Cleveland Highway Research Bureau, becoming chief assistant to county engineer John O. McWilliams in 1933 and served until 1943, when he succeeded him. He also served five years in

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during World War II.

Political career

He was a Cuyahoga County engineer for 29 years (since 1943, defeated for reelection in 1976) and county Democratic party chairman for 6 years (1963–1969), and a delegate to the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

and

1972 Democratic National Convention The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, also the host city of the Repub ...

s. During his tenure as county engineer much of the freeway system linking Cleveland to its suburbs was built. Porter unsuccessfully sought the 1958 Democratic nominee for Governor of Ohio, losing decisively to

Michael DiSalle Michael Vincent DiSalle (January 6, 1908September 16, 1981) was an American attorney and politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as mayor of Toledo from 1948 to 1950, and as the 60th governor of Ohio from 1959 to 1963. ...

. He is perhaps best remembered as an Ohio favorite-son candidate in both 1960 and 1964 Democratic presidential primaries. In 1960 he lost the Ohio primary to Governor DiSalle, carrying 39.75% to DiSalle's 60.25%. This placed him 8th in nationwide popular vote (3.52%) Four years later he was unopposed and carried the Ohio primary with 100%. and placed 6th nationwide (7.94%) As with other favorite sons that fall, he supported the reelection of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

Controversy and downfall

Porter planned to build a freeway, commonly referred to as the Clark Freeway, through the

Shaker Lakes The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes is a nonprofit organization in Shaker Heights, Ohio, that works to conserve a natural area, educate visitors about nature, and promote better environmental stewardship. It was founded in 1966 as the result of a ...

, a park that preserved a

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

. Once the Clark freeway was completed, a secondary freeway, the Lee freeway, would be built from

I-480 Interstate 480 may refer to: *Interstate 480 (Nebraska–Iowa), a loop through Omaha, Nebraska into Council Bluffs, Iowa * Interstate 480 (Ohio), a loop through Cleveland, Ohio *Interstate 480 (California), the former Embarcadero Freeway in San Fran ...

to I-90. The interchange between Clark and Lee freeways would replace the Shaker Nature center. When a coalition of citizens' groups organized to fight this plan, Porter called the Shaker Lakes "a two-bit duck pond." In May 1976 Beth Ann Louis, a twelve-year-old girl in

Olmsted Falls Olmsted Falls is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a southwestern suburb of Cleveland. The population was 9,024 at the 2010 census. The city's main business district is located at the corners of Bagley and Columbia Roads, and c ...

, wrote to Porter as part of a school assignment, asking him not to replace the Bagley Road bridge because of the impact on wildlife and the environment. Porter replied to her with a disparaging letter that included several misspellings, calling Olmsted Falls residents "moochers, scroungers, chiselers and parasites." Public outrage resulted. In September 1976 a number of Porter's employees told The Plain Dealer in a series of articles authored by reporter Amos A. Kermisch that for years he had forced them to

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two percent of their pay. That November he was defeated for reelection. As a result of a grand jury investigation in 1977, which was launched following the articles in The Plain Dealer, Porter pleaded guilty to 19 counts of theft in office for the kickback scheme and was fined $10,000 and placed on

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

for 2 years.

Personal life

Porter married Genevieve Shaveyco in 1949. They had two sons (Lee and Alan) and one daughter (Carol).

References

Encyclopedia of Cleveland History Article on Porter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Albert S. 1904 births 1979 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II People from Lakewood, Ohio Ohio Democrats Politicians from Cleveland Politicians from Portsmouth, Virginia Candidates in the 1960 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1964 United States presidential election 20th-century American politicians Ohio State University alumni