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

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, from 1957 to 1962. To date, he remains the most recent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The full-time council is required to meet every business day for at least 10 months of the year, with at least eight of these meetings occurring at a location ...

in 1947, and was council president from 1949–1957. 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 to 1957. Early and personal life Albert Cobo was born in Detroit on October 2, 1893. He married his childhood sweet ...

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

(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 seen as another John F. Kennedy, his reputation was doomed by the 1967 riots. He ...

, in an upset fueled largely by

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

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

Cobo Hall Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as 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 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 reduce the tax ...

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.

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

Biography

References

Further reading

External links