- Anthony J. Celebrezze
Anthony Joseph Celebrezze Sr. (
Anzi ,September 4 ,1910 –Cleveland ,October 29 ,1998 ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party, who served as the 49th mayor of Cleveland,Ohio , as a cabinet member in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and as a U.S. appeals court judge.Celebrezze was born in
Anzi ,Italy , but moved with his family to the United States as a young child. He served in the U.S. Navy duringWorld War II . He attendedOhio Northern University inAda, Ohio , where he received a J.D. and in 1936 Celebrezze passed the bar and began working for the Ohio Unemployment Commission.In 1950, Celebrezze ran for a seat on the
Ohio State Senate and won. He served as an Ohio state senator from 1951 to 1953. One of the few Democrats to serve in the Senate at the time, Celebrezze cultivated a friendly relationship with the Republican majority. Then Gov.Frank J. Lausche , also a Democrat, did not have a good relationship with the Democratic leadership in the Senate. Lausche thus relied heavily on Celebrezze to represent his interests.In 1952, when Celebrezze sought re-election to the state senate, he ran into trouble when he crossed the Democratic party chairman, Ray T. Miller, by supporting
Michael DiSalle for the U.S. Senate instead ofJames M. Carney . Celebrezze was nevertheless renominated by his party and won the general election.In 1952, after continuing battles with the Democratic leadership in the Senate, Celebrezze resigned to run for
Mayor of Cleveland . The office was open because sitting MayorThomas A. Burke had decided not to seek another term. The Democratic party organization chose Cuyahoga County Engineer Albert S. Porter to succeed Burke. Celebrezze, although he did not have the support of Chairman Miller, did have the backing of Governor Lausche. Mayor Burke did not take sides between Celebrezze and Porter.In the open primary between Porter, Celebrezze, and Republican juvenile court Judge William J. McDermott, Celebrezze pulled off a decisivee victory, with a substantial lead over McDermott. Porter came in third. In the general election, Celebrezze again defeated Republican McDermott. The endorsement from the Cleveland Press editor Louis B. Sultzer was always credited for Celebrezze's victory. However, some historians point out that Sultzer actually endorsed Celebrezze because his paper's reconnaissance found out Celebrezze was organized in all of Cleveland's 33 wards, far better than his opponents. Simply put, Sultzer endorsed the inevitable winner making it look like he crowned a new mayor.
Celebrezze was mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, from 1953 to 1962. In 1958, he sought the Democratic nomination for
Governor of Ohio , but lost toMichael DiSalle . In 1960, he launched the Erieview urban renewal plan, designed by architectI. M. Pei . The most prominent result of the plan was theErieview Tower . From 1962 to 1965, Celebrezze served in the cabinets of presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, as theU.S. Secretary for Health, Education, and Welfare .In 1965, President Johnson appointed Celebrezze to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He served as a federal appeals court judge until his death in 1998. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brook Park, Ohio.
The U.S. government's building in Cleveland is named after Celebrezze, as well as an archives room at
Ohio Northern University 's law school (Ada, Ohio).Celebrezze was the father of state attorney general and gubernatorial candidate
Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. , and the uncle of Ohio Chief JusticeFrank Celebrezze , and Ohio Supreme Court JudgeJames Celebrezze , the great uncle of Ohio Appeals Court JudgeFrank D. Celebrezze Jr. , the grandfather ofAnthony J. Celebrezze III and the brother ofFrank D. Celebrezze I , a Cleveland Municipal Court judge.ee also
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