Louis C. Miriani (January 1, 1897 – October 18, 1987) was an American politician who served as the mayor of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, from 1957 to 1962. To date, he remains the most recent Republican to serve as Detroit's mayor.

Biography

Miriani graduated from the University of Detroit Law School. He was chief counsel and later director of the Detroit Legal Aid Bureau. He was elected to the Detroit City Council in 1947, and was council president from 1949 to 1957. He became Mayor in 1957 after the death of

Albert Cobo Albert Eugene Cobo (October 2, 1893 – September 12, 1957) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit from 1950 until his death in 1957. Early and personal life Albert Cobo was born in Detroit on October 2, 1893. He married his ...

, and was elected in his own right shortly afterward by a 6:1 margin over his opponent. Miriani was best known for completing many of the large-scale urban renewal projects initiated by the Cobo administration, and largely financed by federal money. Miriani also took strong measures to overcome the growing crime rate in Detroit. The

United Automobile Workers The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...

(UAW), then at the height of its size and power, officially endorsed Miriani for reelection, stressing his conservative "law and order" position. However, many African-Americans disagreed with the UAW about Miriani and generally opposed him.Cornelius C. Thomas, "The Trade Union Leadership Council: Black Workers Respond to the United Automobile Workers, 1957-1967." ''New Politics'' 10.2 (2005): 124. He served until he was defeated for reelection in 1961 by

Jerome Cavanagh Jerome Patrick Cavanagh (June 16, 1928 – November 27, 1979) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 1962 to 1970. Initially a popular figure, his reputation was seriously damaged by the city's 1967 riots, t ...

, in an upset fueled largely by

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

support for Cavanagh. Under Miriani's administration, Detroit's

Cobo Hall Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...

and other parts of the Civic Center were completed, and the city's infrastructure was expanded. He was again elected to the City Council in 1965. In 1969, Miriani was convicted of federal

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

of $261,000 and served 294 days in prison. He retired from politics after his conviction. Miriani died after a long illness on October 18, 1987, in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miriani, Louis 1897 births 1987 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Michigan American people of Italian descent Detroit City Council members Mayors of Detroit American people convicted of tax crimes Michigan Republicans Michigan politicians convicted of crimes

Biography

References

Further reading

External links