Ralph S. Locher

Ralph S. Locher
50thMayor of Cleveland
In office 1962–1967
Preceded by	Anthony J. Celebrezze
Succeeded by	Carl B. Stokes
Personal details
Born	Ralph Sidney Locher (1915-07-24)July 24, 1915 Moreni,Dâmboviţa County,Kingdom of Romania
Died	June 18, 2004(2004-06-18)(aged 88) Beachwood,Ohio,United States
Citizenship	American Romanian
Political party	Democratic
Occupation	Politician,lawyer

Ralph Sidney Locher(July 24, 1915 – June 18, 2004) was aRomanian-bornAmericanpoliticianof theDemocratic Partywho served as the 50thmayorofCleveland,Ohio.

Life and career

In 1915, Locher was born in the oil-producingRomaniantown ofMoreni,northwest ofBucharest.His father, a Swiss-American, representedStandard Oilin the country from 1906. His mother was aRegat Germannative to Romania. The family left for the United States in 1928, after the father retired.

Locher graduated fromBluffton Collegeand was admitted to the Ohiobar.He became a close associate ofFrank J. Lausche,laterGovernor of OhioandU.S. Senator,who nurtured his career, first appointing him as secretary of the Ohio State Industrial Commission in 1945. They were instrumental in building the "cosmopolitan Democrats" movement of urban ethnic voters. Locher was law director ofClevelandunder MayorAnthony J. Celebrezzebeginning in 1953, then succeeded him as mayor when Celebrezze was appointedUnited States Secretary of Health, Education, and WelfarebyPresidentJohn F. Kennedyon July 14, 1962.Ohio Attorney GeneralMark McElroywas expected to win theDemocraticnomination in theprimary electionheld on October 2, but Locher won the nomination in an upset.Locher easily won election to the remainder of Celebrezze's term in ageneral electionheld on November 6.

After completing Celebrezze's fifth term, Locher served two full terms of his own as mayor of Cleveland. In 1965, Locher banned all rock concerts at Public Hall and other city-owned venues following a near-riot at aRolling Stonesperformance.His tenure was marked by increasing racial tensions in the city, culminating in theHough Riotsof 1966. On April 25, 1967, Locher declared that three recent visitors to the city – Floyd McKissick, national director of theCongress of Racial Equality(CORE), Alabama governorGeorge C. Wallace,and civil rights leaderMartin Luther King Jr.– were "extremists."

On October 3, 1967,Locher lost the Cleveland Democratic primary election toCarl B. Stokes,who he had narrowly defeatedin the 1965 general election.Stokes went on to defeatRepublicanSeth Taftin the general election, becoming the firstAfrican Americanmayor of a major U.S. city.

Locher went on to be elected aprobate courtjudge in 1970, and was elected to theOhio Supreme Courtin 1977, serving two terms. Though a Democrat, he became increasingly conservative as he got older and with longevity in office frequently voting with Republican justices on worker's compensation and other employment issues. He died at his home inBeachwood, Ohio,on June 23, 2004.He was interred at theOld Stone Churchcolumbarium in Cleveland, Ohio.