William J. Althaus is a former American politician who served as

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 ...

mayor of

York, Pennsylvania York (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populatio ...

for 12 years between 1982 and 1994. During this time he was also selected to be the 49th President of the

United States Conference of Mayors The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayors or other chief elected officials. The organization was founded i ...

for its 1992 to 1993 session.

Political Career

Mayor of York

As mayor, Althaus sought to turn York into a hub for Soviet and Russian immigrants following the

fall of the iron curtain The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

. During his tenure as mayor Althaus celebrated the 125th anniversary of the occupation of York by the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

joking to the Confederate reenactor it wouldn't be as easy this time around due to the York police department which hadn't existed at the time of the occupation. He co-moderated the 86th annual convention of the Pennsylvania League of Cities in 1985. Althaus was also an advocate for smokers rights, seeking to ensure national federal protection for the freedom of individuals to

smoke Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-produc ...

in public. During his time as mayor he also served as a delegate to the

1992 Republican National Convention The 1992 Republican National Convention was held in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, from August 17 to August 20, 1992. The convention nominated President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle for reelection. It was Bush's fourth ...

President of the United States Conference of Mayors

Before his appointment as the Conference's president, Althaus had been an active member attending every meeting since his election to mayor of York. When he was chosen as president, besides fostering a working relationship with the Clinton administration, the main goal of his 1992 to 1993 term would be to increase federal funding to cities. During the Bush Administration and the

Reagan Administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

federal mandates increased, while the funding for federal mandates was cut. Althaus, and the Conference petitioned to either increase funding so that the mandates may be carried out, or to cut the number of mandates so the funding can cover all of them.

Post-mayoral career

After exiting the office of mayor Althaus has remained an influential member of the local community mostly due to him being the last Republican to hold the office of mayor to date. He has worked with several other more recent mayors to help with issues such as race relations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Althaus, William Pennsylvania Republicans 20th-century American politicians Mayors of York, Pennsylvania