My son returned from Connecticut this morning and brought me the news that (former) Mayor Mike Peters of Hartford had died of liver failure.
I'm always writing obits on my blog... mostly of theatre and film people, but it is really different when you write about someone who was a friend and who was involved in rebuilding Hartford back when I owned U-Design, Inc., there and was one of the founders of Business for Downtown Hartford.
This is from the Channel 3 obit:
HARTFORD -- Former Mayor Mike Peters, 60, died Saturday night after a long battle with liver disease.
Peters recently underwent surgery for a liver transplant in September.
Peters' son, Chris, told Eyewitness News that his father died peacefully, surrounded by his family.
Peters will be remembered as one of the city's most likeable mayors and a proud cheerleader for the state's capital city.
Peters ran in 1993 in a historic and dramatic election. The then 44-year-old firefighter lost to incumbent mayor Carrie Perry in the primary, but then ran as an independent and beat her.
Perry cried racism, but offered no proof. In fact, Perry refused to help the mayor-elect with the transition.
Peters was unfazed, however, and set out to unify the city.
Peters' main focus was on fighting crime. For him, crime was an issue that hit home. During Peters' first term, a close friend and aide, John Bazzano, had his throat slashed.
Under the Peters administration, the city cracked down on gangs and beefed up police presence with substations. Soon, the streets were cleaner and drug-infested housing projects were torn down.
Voters responded and re-elected Peters by landslides in 1995, 1997, and 1999.
In 1996, Peters was named one of the top 10 public officials in the nation.
However, 1997 brought the lowest point of Peters' administration. The state lost its only major-league sports franchise – The Hartford Whalers.
Still, Peters never gave up his hopes of bringing professional sports to Hartford. In fact, he got the owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to tour the city in 1996, and the New England Patriots considered moving to Hartford twice.
The highlight of all of Peters' years in office came in 1998, when then Gov. John Rowland unveiled a billion dollar landing plan to revitalize the city.
The relationship between Republican Rowland and Democrat Peters was quite cozy. In fact, Peters angered the Democratic Party by endorsing Rowland for re-election in 2002.
Peters was not without critics, however, who pointed out that during his terms in office populations dwindled, stores closed, and Hartford was saved from total urban decay by the state.
Yet Peters left office with his head held high and some fond memories.
"I just love it," Peters said. "I think this is the greatest building."
After leaving City Hall, Peters opened a restaurant downtown called Mayor Mike's where he doled out political advice to patrons and hosted rallies to bring back the Whalers.
Peters' health took a turn for the worst within the last year. He turned 60 in November.
Wow! 60! I'm almost sixty three now and back in Hartford I always though Mike was ten years older than I was!
But Mike partied hard and made sure that all the restaurants and clubs downtown got a visit just about every night. He always brought a crowd. Hartford had a "weak Mayor" government back them, the City was run by the Council and the Deputy Mayor that chaired it. Mike got things done in a sort of sideways way... by getting big groups of people to agree with him and make demands.
I've been sitting here having all kinds of memories of sitting with Mike and trading jokes at the bar of Frank's Restaurant, or bringing posters for a new Downtown event over to his office at City Hall and getting an earful about all the other friends we knew.
He was something. I don't think Hartford will ever see another Mayor like him.
Under The LobsterScope