Isaac Adler (May 10, 1868 – June 24, 1941) was an American attorney and politician. He was the mayor of

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, from 1930 to 1932.

Early life and family

He was born on May 10, 1868, in

Medina, New York Medina is a village in the Towns of Shelby and Ridgeway in Orleans County, New York, United States. It is located approximately 10 miles south of Lake Ontario. The population was 6,065 at the 2010 census, making it the county's most populous ...

, to Levi Adler (October 24, 1834 – March 3, 1907) and Theresa Wile (November 22, 1841 – March 8, 1905). He attended the Rochester Free Academy. He earned an A.B. at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

and an LL.B. at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. Together with members of his extended family, Adler owned Adler-Rochester, a clothing firm. He married Cora Barnet and they had four children together, all girls. One died in infancy and three married and had children of their own. The last of their four children died at the age of one year.

Career

Adler was of counsel to the Rochester Board of Education from 1906 to 1913, and was, at times, an attorney of counsel to the board. An advocate of the city manager form of government, he was a member of the Rochester City Council from 1927 to 1933, Vice mayor, and Mayor from 1930 to 1932. He is noted for his work preparing the city manager charter adopted by Rochester in 1925.

Reforming city government

In 1923, a group of

Progressive Era The Progressive Era (late 1890s – late 1910s) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste and inefficiency. The main themes ended during Am ...

Rochester civic leaders asked Adler to select members and to chair a committee with the goal of moving Rochester to a city manager system. The six men and women he invited included civic and labor leaders, individuals who held positions including chairman of the Democratic County committee and of the Women's City Club. The group carried out a study of cities that had moved to city manager systems, focusing on cities where proposals for such a change had been rejected by voters. A "City Manager League" was formed to create public support for the change. It was opposed by a "Non-Partisan League for the Preservation of Popular Government", hastily formed a few weeks before the vote. The measure passed on November 3, 1925, and the city charter was amended.
- Adler became vice-mayor under the new system.

Death

Adler died on June 24, 1941, during a meeting at the Rochester Chamber of Commerce.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adler, Isaac Mayors of Rochester, New York 1868 births 1941 deaths Law School alumni Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Rochester Free Academy alumni