Wallace E. Holland (1926–1998) was an American politician who served as the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

mayor of

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Oakland County Oakland County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Metro Detroit, metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, its population was 1, ...

Biography

Holland was born in 1926. He was elected to the City Council of

and then was named by the council as mayor in 1974. He was continuously appointed as mayor by the City Council through 1982. After the city changed its government to a

strong mayor Strong may refer to: Education * The Strong, an educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States * Strong Hall (Lawrence, Kansas), an administrative hall of the University of Kansas * Strong School, New Haven, Connecticut, United St ...

form of government, he won the general election in 1981 beginning his term in 1982. In the 1985 general election, he was defeated by Walter L. Moore before returning the favor and defeating Moore in the 1989 general election. In 1993, he was defeated in the primaries by state representative Charlie Harrison Jr. and former mayor Walter Moore. Voters were upset over the large budget deficit, high crime rates, and a declining population. Harrison would go on to win serving from 1994 until his death in 1995. He died in 1998 at the age of 71 due to complications from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Wallace E. 1926 births 1998 deaths African-American mayors in Michigan Mayors of Pontiac, Michigan 20th-century African-American politicians