Stephen Ray "Steve" Hettinger (born August 25, 1945) is an American politician who served as mayor of

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

, from 1988 to 1996. During this period, Hettinger became particularly involved in leading the recovery of the city in the aftermath of the Huntsville Tornado of 1989.

Early life

Stephen Ray Hettinger was born on August 25, 1945, in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. He graduated from

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering in 1967, and moved to

, shortly after. Hettinger worked in the space program while studying towards a Master of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering at the

University of Alabama in Huntsville The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is a public research university in Huntsville, Alabama, United States. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and comprises eight colleges: arts, humanities ...

, which he received in 1974.

Career

In 1982, he successfully ran for a seat in the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

, defeating an incumbent. He left the House after winning the 1988 race for mayor of Huntsville, where he defeated five-term Mayor

Joe Davis Joseph Davis (15 April 190110 July 1978) was an English professional snooker and English billiards player. He was the dominant figure in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s, and has been credited with inventing aspects of the way the game is ...

. While serving as Mayor in June 1990, Hettinger appealed to President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

to restore the United States citizenship of

Arthur Rudolph Arthur Louis Hugo Rudolph (November 9, 1906 – January 1, 1996) was a German rocket engineer who was a leader of the effort to develop the V-2 rocket for Nazi Germany. After World War II, the United States government's Office of Strategic Servic ...

, a former Nazi and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

scientist who had been brought to the United States under

Operation Paperclip The Operation Paperclip was a secret United States intelligence program in which more than 1,600 German scientists, engineers, and technicians were taken from former Nazi Germany to the US for government employment after the end of World War I ...

and

denaturalized Denaturalization is the loss of citizenship against the will of the person concerned. Denaturalization is often applied to ethnic minorities and political dissidents. Denaturalization can be a penalty for actions considered criminal by the state ...

when his Nazi past resurfaced. The appeal failed. In 1995, Hettinger decided not to seek a third term in 1996 election. He considered running as a Democrat for a

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

seat being vacated by

Howell Heflin Howell Thomas Heflin (June 19, 1921 – March 29, 2005) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997. Early life Heflin was born on June 19, 1921, i ...

, but the primary went to Roger Bedford, Jr. and the seat ultimately was won by Republican

Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States attorney general from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United Stat ...

. After leaving office, Hettinger returned to the private sector to co-found an engineering firm.

Personal life

A noted ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' fan, Hettinger temporarily renamed the city "Star Trek, Alabama" for the colossal "Star Trek 30" Convention in 1996. Among the special guests were the lead actors of the original cast, actors from its spinoffs, and six Apollo astronauts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hettinger, Steve 1945 births 20th-century mayors of places in Alabama Living people Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee Mississippi State University alumni University of Alabama in Huntsville alumni Mayors of Huntsville, Alabama Members of the Alabama House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Alabama Legislature