Graham Richard

Infobox Officeholder
name = Graham Richard


caption = Graham Richard (D-IN)
order = 34th Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana
term_start = January 1, 2000
term_end = January 1, 2008
predecessor = Paul Helmke
successor = Tom Henry
birth_date =
birth_place = Fort Wayne, Indiana
death_date =
death_place =
constituency =
party = Democrat
spouse = Mary E.
profession =
religion = Anglican


footnotes =

Graham Richard is an American politician and the 34th and former mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, serving since 2000. His term expired on January 1, 2008, when he was succeeded by Democrat Tom Henry.

Early Life and Education

Graham Richard is the only son of a prominent Tokheim executive (he has four sisters). His mother is a local philanthropist, widely known in the arts community for her work with the Fort Wayne Ballet. Richard attended North Side High School and Princeton University, where he received his B.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. After graduation, he taught for a time at Bishop Dwenger High School though he is not, however, Roman Catholic, but an Episcopalian and lifetime member of Fort Wayne's historic Trinity Episcopal Church.

Life in politics

Richard was defeated in a State Representative race in 1970. He narrowly lost to incumbent State Representative William Latz. Richard was elected to the Indiana State Senate in 1974 during the Watergate Scandal and served until 1978.

In 1976, Richard was nominated at the Democratic state convention for Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction. Richard was defeated by a large margin in the fall general election by Republican Harold Negley.

Afterwards, he continued to be involved in both state and local affairs through his membership on several governmental advisory boards and community service agencies. Richard campaigned in 1999 on a platform of increasing the efficiency and responsiveness of local government.

He was narrowly elected in 1999 over Republican Linda Buskirk. Buskirk had emerged from a bruising primary election over Sheriff Joe Squadrito. Richard's victory in the general election was only certified after a recount.

Richard is a great proponent of Six Sigma management techniques, and in 2000, the City of Fort Wayne became the first city government to officially adopt the system.

He is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, [cite web| url=http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/about/members.shtml| title=Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members Retrieved on June 12, 2007] an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino.

He did not seek re-election in the 2007 city election.

Business

During the eighties and nineties, he operated several small businesses, including the consulting firm Graham Richard & Associates and venture capital firm Ruffolo-Richard LLC.

Among other activities, he was engaged in businesses that ranged from promoting toboggans to very small small-scale hydropower generators.

Related Links

*List of mayors of Fort Wayne, Indiana

References

External links

* [http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=50&Itemid=82 Official City of Fort Wayne biography]
* [http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org Mayors Against Illegal Guns homepage]