Mitchell Van Yahres (October 21, 1926 – February 8, 2008) was an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he was mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia from 1970 to 1972, and served in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

from 1981 to 2005.

Political career

Born in

Mineola, New York Mineola is a village in and the county seat of Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from an Algonquin Chief, Miniolagamika, which means "pleasant village". ...

, Van Yahres served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, he attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, graduating in 1949. He then moved to Charlottesville, where he began work as an arborist. He became interested in local politics, and ran for a seat on Charlottesville's City Council. He won, becoming the only Democrat on the then-Republican dominated board. Van Yahres served as a city councilman for eight years. For two of those years, from 1970 to 1972, he was mayor of the City of Charlottesville. During his tenure as mayor, he led the initiative to close East Main Street to automobile traffic and convert much of the heart of the city's business district into the

Downtown Mall The Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, Virginia is one of the longest pedestrian malls in the United States. Located on Main Street, it runs from 6th St. N.E. to Old Preston Ave., where it extends to Water St., for total length of eight blocks. It ...

. Today, the pedestrian mall serves as a major cultural hub for much of Central Virginia. In 1980, Delegate Thomas J. Michie Jr. won a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

to the

Virginia State Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 Senate, senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor ...

. Van Yahres won the subsequent special election to fill the vacancy created by Michie's victory. He served in the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

, representing the City of Charlottesville and a small portion of

Albemarle County Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city and enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Charl ...

. He served as a liberal voice for his constituency in a forum dominated by Republicans after 1999. Van Yahres, however, did not enjoy partisan politics. In a 2005 interview with ''The Hook'', he commented on the partisanship that was overtaking the General Assembly. He said, "It's not a pleasure to be there. It used to be you were able to have friends on both sides of the aisle. There was a political spirit of compromise. Now you have to win battles." In 2005, Mitchell Van Yahres declined to seek a 13th term in the House of Delegates.The Hook: The Mitch: Van Yahres Walked the Walk
/ref> Van Yahres died of lung cancer February 8, 2008 in Charlottesville.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Yahres, Mitchell 1926 births 2008 deaths Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Mayors of Charlottesville, Virginia Virginia city council members Cornell University alumni People from Mineola, New York Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in Virginia Arborists 20th-century American politicians