Urban Revitalization, Black City And White Mayor

ABSTRACT: In 1967 Richard Hatcher became Gary Indiana’s first African-American mayor. For the next 16 years Hatcher brought in over $300 million in federal funds to revitalize Gary. By the mid 1980’s the federal funding was all but cut off and the steel industry, Gary’s main economic engine, continued to cut jobs. Hatcher was defeated for reelection in 1987 by Thomas Barnes, another African American.

Under Barnes, Gary’s revitalization stalled as redevelopment plans were not supported by Gary’s mostly white business elites and state government. In 1995, voters in this 90% black city, dismayed by the lack of progress by the Barnes regime, elected Scott King, a Chicago native as Gary’s first white mayor in almost 30 years. Since his election, Scott King has made considerable progress in jumpstarting Gary’s revitalization and was reelected in 1999. However, the question is whether progress was made because of his organizational skill or skin color? This paper attempts to answer this troubling question.

Introduction

In November 1997, Richard Gordon Hatcher, a lawyer and President of the Gary City Council, became the first African American mayor of a US city of 100,000 population or higher. In the early years of his administration Hatcher was extremely successful in obtaining federal funds for housing, recreation and social services; some 300 million worth between 1968 and the early 1980’s. However, by the mid 1980’s Gary had fallen victim to restructuring of its primary economic engine which was the steel industry, white fight, and a virtual cutoff in federal monies because of the Reagan administrations policies (Peterson and Lewis 1986). Hatcher’s critics charged him with being a 1960’s style black militant, out of touch with the social, economic, and political realities of the time and felt that if another, more conservative black were to take over as mayor, white business, industry, and political elites in Gary and the nearby suburbs would embrace the city they abandoned so rapidly upon Hatcher’s election. That person appeared as Thomas Barnes who like Hatcher was black. Barnes’ an attorney and the local county Assessor defeated Hatcher in the 1987 Democratic primary and served two terms before deciding not to run for re-election in 1995 due to scandals in his office. Despite his mild demeanor, Barnes also failed to win support of the metropolitan business community. By 1995 Gary was over 90% African American and Hispanic. (See Table 1) Scott King, a white native of Chicago and an attorney who finished a strong third in the 1991 primary decided to run for mayor against two strong black challengers; State Senator Earline Rogers and former Gary City Judge Charles Graddick. King received 13,400 votes out of over 32,000 cast or 42%. Rogers and Graddick received 16,000 votes between them, 50% of the total. With no runoff required under Indiana law, Scott King emerged the victor in a stunning reversal of the 1967 Democratic Party primary when Hatcher received the nomination with 40% of the vote, defeating two strong white candidates including incumbent mayor Martin Katz.¹ Unlike 1967 when disgruntled white losers backed a Republican candidate in a barely unsuccessful attempt to prevent Hatcher from becoming Gary’s first black mayor, Rogers and later Graddick endorsed King who then sailed to victory in the November 1995 general election with 80% of all votes cast. On January 2, 1996, Scott King took over as Gary’s first white mayor in almost 20 years.

Table 1. GARY’S POPULATION DYNAMICS 1910-1994

YEAR TOTAL
POPULATION % BLACKS IN
TOTAL POPULATION % HISPANIC
IN TOTAL POPULATION

1910 16, 802 2.3 ---

1920 55,378 9.6 ---

1930 100,426 17.9 ---

1940 111,719 18.3 ---

1950 133,911 29.2 ---

1960 178,320 38.8 4.5

1979 175,415 52.8 6.2

1980 151,953 70.8 7.3

1990 116,646 80.6 7.1

2000 102,746 86.5 12.6

1. Hispanic population not identified as such until 1960.
SOURCES: Statistics derived from selected annual decennial federal census.

What factors led King to victory in this almost totally African American city? How well did King perform in his first two years in office? What were the reasons for this performance? This paper attempts to answer these questions and more.

The Emergence of Scott King

Scott King was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1950. Educated at Indiana University, he received a bachelor’s degree in 1974 and a law degree from this university in 1978. In the early 1980’s King opened a law practice in Gary and in 1985; married a Gary native who happened to be black and by 1990, the couple were the parents of three children.

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, King became involved in a number of grass roots civic activities such as the attempts to revise Gary’s economy by the development of marinas and gambling casinos.² Although both projects fell short King established himself by 1991 as a major candidate for mayor backed by a coalition of white liberals in the lakefront Miller district, young blacks, disenchanted with both Hatcher and Barnes, and Gary police and fire fighter unions.³ King ran against the incumbent Barnes, Richard G. Hatcher and Dozier Allen, the local township trustees. Barnes ran on his record of working with Northwest Indiana’s business establishment and state government claiming that he needed four more years to undo the 20 years of damaged caused by his predecessor. Hatcher accused Barnes of giving away the city with his $130 million tax abatement to US Steel in exchange for allowing a marina to be constructed on property they owned. Dozier Allen stressed his experience as township trustee and longtime Democratic Party political functionary. King insisted that a new face was needed to bring industry and business to Gary and he was that person.⁴

The local newspaper the "Post Tribune" gave Mayor Barnes a ringing endorsement for re-election. The paper stated, "Gary Mayor Thomas V. Barnes deserves to be elected to a second term so that he can continue his work to improve Gary". The Post Tribune which had a long running feud with Hatcher when he was mayor dismissed him stating, "He has done little during the campaign to suggest that he has changed his attitudes or his tactics". Dozier Allen was discounted because "his plans for Gary are sketchy and at best unworkable. As for Scott King, the Post Tribune stated in this May 5, 1991 editorial; "King is promising but at this time he lacks the management and organizational experience that would lead us to believe he can marshall the solutions".⁵ After all votes were cast Barnes won with 45% of the vote. Hatcher was second with 25% and King finished with a strong 23%. Longtime politician Dozier Allen was way behind in fourth place with only 5% of the vote.

Barnes second term was a disaster. The Gary based steel economy which lost three quarters of its high paid jobs between 1979 and 1989 failed to recover with an additional 1,000 jobs eliminated during the early 1990’s. While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had rated the Gary Airport number one for expansion as the third Chicago area airport, Barnes lost this multi billion dollar project with its 20-40,000 jobs to Chicago due to bungling on his part, half hearted support by state government and regional business leaders, and an aggressive campaign by Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley⁶. Scandals also hurt the Barnes administration as no less than 11 key staffers and campaign supporters were indicted, tried and found guilty on a variety of state and federal charges dealing with bribery, influence peddling, and misuse of public funds.⁷ With the May 1995 primary in sight, Barnes chose not to run. King decided on a second campaign for mayor and with the Post Tribune endorsement, a divided black community, and a desire on the part of the electorate for a change regardless of race, won first the primary and then the November general election. Stated King upon his general election victory "this is not about race, it is about all of us moving forward together".⁸

Scott King’s Performance in Office: The First Year

Upon his November victory, Scott King moved quickly to form his cabinet. On December 19, 1995, King announced that Suzette Raggs would become the first African American women deputy mayor in Gary’s history. Also named were the police chief, a holdover from the Barnes administrations, and five other key staffers; fire chief, public works director, planning director, city attorney, and budget director. In all, King’s new cabinet would consist of five blacks, two whites and two women. This decisiveness on King’s part is contrasted with Barnes who upon winning election in November 1987 did not name a complete cabinet until March 1988.⁹

Scott King entered office with praise from the "Post Tribune". The same newspaper that ripped Hatcher for the entire 20 years of his administration and after a brief honeymoon, soured on Barnes, stated in a December 31, 1995 editorial "King told the Post Tribune Editorial Board his first goal towards uniting the disparate region is to unite his own city: How refreshing to hear ideas like that coming from City Hall". The "Post Tribune" quickly forgot that Hatcher and Barnes made the same remarks over and over during their terms as mayor. The Post Tribune continued to report favorably on King during his first month in office citing his proactive stance on pressing citywide problems, his openness in meeting with local elected officials and business leaders, and enlisting the support of Indiana University Northwest faculty in restructuring City Hall management.¹⁰’¹¹ In all, King’s first year accomplishments can be best examined by a closer look at four pressing issues and how they were handled by his administration: (1) The Chicago Bears Stadium-Planet Park; (2) the Jackson Family Theme Park; (3) the City Landfill, and, (4) the Casino Boats.

1. Chicago Bears Stadium-Plant Park.

In 1995, the Chicago Bears, upset because Mayor Richard M. Daley refused to have the city build a new stadium for their use, started to look elsewhere in the region. On November 16, 1995 only six days after King’s general election victory, a group of Northwest Indiana business elites led by Gary Neale, president of Northwest Indiana Public Utilities Company (NIPSCO) proposed a $482 million domed stadium to be located in Gary’s southwest corner with excellent highway connections to Chicago. This proposal was endorsed by Bears President Michael McCaffery provided that public funding could be made available. In addition to the stadium, the project would include an amusement center (Planet Park) office buildings and a restaurant-shopping complex. The project was to create 14,000 construction jobs and 2700 permanent jobs. Financing was to come from a one half of one percent county income tax for "economic development" authorized by the state legislature in 1992.¹²

Although the project was to be located in Gary, unlike the Airport case of 1987-1992, residents of Northwest Indiana, black and white were extremely supportive. The Post Tribune quoted Mat Handin, a white construction worker living in suburban Merrillville as "It would end up being a good thing….it is bound to bring money into the area. It would be less controversial than the airport".¹³ The State of Indiana quickly pledged $50 million for infrastructure improvements. Scott King quickly endorsed the project as did all of the mayors in north Lake County: East Chicago, Hammond, Merrillville, Hobart, Lake Station and Griffin. Mayors in the south Lake County area were more cautious fearing their voters would not be receptive to any additional income tax burden.

Despite positive publicity by the Post Tribune during the period of November 1995-January 1996 including weekly "Bear Stadium Updates", voters realized that a one half percent income tax would mean an annual $150 bite out of the average household income and public support eventually cooled.⁶On February 2, 1996 the Lake County Council fearing voter discontent, refused to schedule a vote on the tax and the project quietly died.¹⁴ However, it is noteworthy that unlike the Gary Airport project where there was absence of support from business, industry, and state government, Bears Stadium-Planet Park was enthusiastically endorsed by these same leaders even though the airport would have generated at least 20,000 jobs with no tax imposition compared to less than 3,000 temporary construction jobs for this project. Citizen support for the project was strong across racial and class lines until the high price tag became apparent. One wonders if Bears Stadium-Planet Park would have generated the same level of enthusiasm by the parties mentioned above if the project had been presented to the public before November, 1995 or if Rogers or Graddick had been nominated as Gary’s mayor in the May 1995 primary?

2. The Jackson Family Theme Park.

Gary is the birthplace of Michael Jackson, pop music megastar and the Jackson family including, his brothers and sister Janet Jackson, a success in her own right. One of Thomas Barnes pet projects was to restore the old Jackson family home located in the city’s historically Black Central District and to develop a theme park nearby associated with the Jackson’s. Barnes had created a private for profit group business known as the 6594 Development Foundation to prepare a plan for the theme park and entertainment center. Costs were estimated at $2 billion, including at least $100 million in city, county and state funds for infrastructure improvements. Two major problems with the scheme were (1) the project was to be built in a river floodplain designated as permanent open space on the city’s 1987 Comprehensive Plan, and (2) while the project was endorsed by the Jackson family and a prominent Hollywood agent, it did not have the endorsement of Michael and Janet Jackson, the family stars.¹⁵

Scott King, sensing problems with the project voided the city’s contract with the 6954 Development Foundation on February 9, 1996 despite the protests of several Gary community leaders. His actions entirely correct given the problems mentioned above, were praised by the Post Tribune and county political leaders and provided early credibility for the King administration.

3. The Gary Landfill.

Since the mid 1980’s Gary’s Municipal Landfill had been cited by state and federal regulatory agencies for poor management practices, technical flaws, and lack of fiscal accountability.¹⁶ The Gary 1986 Comprehensive Plan called for phasing out the landfill and replacing it with a "waste to energy" plant similar to those constructed in Camden, New Jersey, Tampa, Florida, and dozens of the US cities during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The Barnes administration chose to ignore that alternative and instead, contracted with a black owned management group, Environmental Services Company to operate the landfill. Still, by late 1995, citations from state and federal environmental agencies piled up and the State of Indiana threatened to close the landfill just before King was elected mayor.

Just as in the case of the Jackson family Theme Park, King acted quickly and decisively on the landfill issue. First, on February 15, 1996, he voided the contract with Environmental Services Company citing a list of regulatory agency complaints. Then on March 13^th, he announced a new joint partnership between Waste Management Inc, a nationally recognized landfill operator and a local minority owned firm, Northwest Evacuation Inc.¹⁷ Scott King then pulled off a major coup convincing Lake County government to take over Gary’s garbage disposal at a new county landfill to be built in rural Eagle Creek Township some 20 miles south of Gary. Under the agreement, the County Landfill developer, Hickory Hills USA agreed to loan Gary $4 million to close most of its landfill with the monies being paid off from county generated dumping revenues. Gary would get $650,000 annually from this source as its share. Scott King used his chairmanship of the Lake County Solid Waste Management District to get the best deal for Gary. On May 25, 1996, the District Commissioners voted 12-11 for this deal with all but three commissioners being white.

During deliberations, Scott King was granted considerable deference by other waste district commissioners according to the "Post Tribune".¹⁸ Commissioner James Weiser was quoted as saying "I knew he was a good lawyer but I didn’t know that he had great political skills". During the 1980’s Weiser, a city councilman from suburban Highland was a vocal opponent of Gary Mayor’s Hatcher and Barnes on issues ranging from municipal consolidation and the airport case to casino gambling and Gary Marina Project.¹⁹

4. The Casino Boats.

By the mid 1980’s, with a declining economy and greatly reduced federal aid, Gary and Northwest Indiana business, industry, and political leaders were desperately looking for new revenue sources. In 1988, viewing the success of casino gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Gary Mayor Thomas V. Barnes proposed a casino operation at a lakefront site known as Buffington Harbor located in Gary’s northwest corner with direct highway and rail access to Chicago, some 40 minutes away. In order to generate support for this project, Barnes conducted a non-binding referendum in 1989, and 60% of Gary’s voters endorsed casino gambling at that location. While casino gambling lost in the state legislature’s 1991 session, it was finally approved by that body in 1993. In December 1994, the State Gaming Commission approved two boats for the Buffington Harbor site. One was to be operated by Detroit based black businessman Don Barden, the second by the legendary Donald Trump. Under, the State Gaming Commission provisions, the State of Indiana would collect $3 per person admitted to the casino from the operators with one dollar each going to the city of Gary, Lake County, and the State of Indiana. By the time of Scott King’s election, all plans for the Casino Boats were in place.²⁰

Training for the 2,000 new casino workers began in February 1996 (James, February 5, 1996). By this time, opposition from the state and Northwest Indiana business leaders had faded. Scott King demanded that all casino employees be Gary residents while state government and business leaders opted for the "best qualified workers regardless of residence"²¹. A compromise was quickly reached allowing for two thirds of all casino employees to be Gary residents, a pill made easier to swallow because the Gaming Commission had just approved one casino boat each for East Chicago and Hammond with the same residency requirement for employees as Gary’s. Plans moved ahead swiftly as both Donald Trump’s and Don Barden’s boats arrived and docked at the harbor in May 1996. Despite a training mishap where a life raft capsized slightly during a routine evacuation drill, injuring 23 employees, the Gary Casino opened on time on June 12, 1996 to cheering crowds.²²

By January 1997, the Gary Casinos were a proven success. At that time, some 2500 people were employed at salaries averaging $15.00 per hour plus benefits. Attendance outstripped projections and Gary revenues were estimated at $28 million for the first year alone.²³ However, the news accounts toasting the casino’s success gave all praise to Donald Trump, Don Barden and Scott King for his "leadership". Forgotten was the fact that the initial battles for acceptance of casino gambling by the Indiana State legislature were fought and won by Thomas Barnes and the groundwork for casino development was done by his administration.

In addition to demonstrated success in the cases just mentioned, the King administration was also able to obtain major grants from the state for road improvements, much larger than in the years of the Hatcher and Barnes administration.²⁴ In 1996, Gary’s share was the third highest in the state while between 1980-1995 Gary’s share was no higher than 10^th among Indiana municipalities. Also, by September 1996 there was a 34% decrease in the city’s murder rate from that same time in 1995, a fact attributed by the New York Times in a September 14, 1996 article to "more effective policing by Gary’s new mayor". And finally, on April 17, 1996, "The Post Tribune" reported that after years of failure as the part of the Hatcher and Barnes administration to obtain commercial airline service, not one but two carriers had agreed to begin passenger service by June 1996. City Links Airlines agreed to offer three flights daily to Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, and Newark, New Jersey while Trans State Airlines announced plans to fly once daily to St. Louis.

Scott Kings Second Term Accomplishments

Scott King was re-elected in 1999 with over 80% of all votes cast. Between 1999 and 2002 his administration continued to make progress on Gary’s physical revitalization. In 1999, Donald Trump added a 300 room hotel to the casino site and by 2000 employment at the Gary Casino’s was up to 3000. In 2000, Pan American came to the Gary Airport and offered flights to Orlando, Florida and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. By 2001 the Gary Airport entered into a formal agreement with the City of Chicago to expand and eventually serve as the "third Chicago Airport".²⁵ In 2001, a baseball stadium for a class A minor league franchise was constructed and in that same year the Continental Basketball League (CBA) placed a team in Gary: The Gary Steelheads and this organization will play their home games in the 8,000 seat Gary Convention Center which up to this time has been essentially a white elephant in Gary’s downtown.²⁶

Since 1995, Gary has made considerable progress in revitalization. However, planning has taken a back seat to incremental development. Although the Lakefront is being developed as an output of a comprehensive development plan, that effort does not link up with planning for Gary’s Central Business District or the city’s neighborhoods.

Scott King’s Success: Organizational Efficiency or Race

Close observation of the King administration since 1995 indicates that it might be due to a combination of both factors. First of all, King must be given credit for presenting a proactive and take charge administration. As contrasted with Barnes in 1987, he quickly announced his cabinet choices within a month after election and began his administration with a competent staff fully in place. He was astute to initially support the Bear’s Stadium-Planet Park project and then quietly back off when it met with disapproval from voters not because it was in Gary but due to taxpayer costs. He quickly and decisively dismissed the Jackson Family Theme Park. He solved the perplexing problem of Gary’s landfill initially finding a short term solution in the form of a joint venture between a nationally known firm with a solid track record in landfill operations and a local minority owned company and a long range solution whereby Lake County paid Gary to dispose of the city’s garbage. Although, the casino project was firmly in place when King took office, he did nothing to hamper its implementation but instead was strongly proactive in reserving jobs for Gary residents.

But there are several instances where it is clear that King was treated differently than Barnes or Hatcher by business elites, suburban politicians, state government and the local newsprint media. Earlier, this author pointed out contrasts of the treatment given by these groups to the Bears Stadium-Plant Park and the Gary Airport expansion projects, both located in Gary although the Airport project would have created 10 times as many permanent jobs as the Bears Stadium without any tax increases. But comparisons in treatment with respect to other issues are troubling as well.

For example, business, suburban politicians, state government, and the media were extremely critical of the airport expansion project when Hatcher and later Barnes refused to cede local control in favor of a so call "regional" board with the proposed suburban members having no experience whatsoever in running an FAA certified airport. For instance, no sooner than public support for the airport was crystallizing throughout Northwest Indiana, the Post Tribune on June 2, 1987 put a wet blanket on the expansion plans with a front page article entitled "FAA Study Rules out Gary as Third Airport Site", insinuating that an expanded Gary airport would interfere with flight patterns at O’Hare and Midway airports in Chicago.²⁷ This story lost credibility when the FAA ruled that the O’Hare and Midway pattern could be redesigned to accommodate Gary’s expansion. An Indianapolis Star article dated July 28,1987 noted "There is an implication that Gary with its high unemployment and crime rate and its rust belt image doesn’t have enough charm to serve as a major link in America’s air service network", a statement loaded with racist code words. On the other hand, local media was kind to the King administration and Gary in the Casino Boats case when during a safety drill, a lifeboat capsized injuring 23 employees. The news article was entitled "Safety test Score Doesn’t’ Rock Casino Boats Debut" and described the incident as a "heads up for other potential dangers"²⁸. Again by contrast, the airport expansion would have created at least 20,000 new jobs; the casino project will create at the most 3000 jobs. King’s landfill coup must be contrasted to the ill fated "Metrolake" proposal²⁹ which was a plan to consolidate Gary with several other north Lake County cities to create a city of 400,000 population only 40% of whom were black, thus wiping out minority group political power. In fighting Metrolake, Richard Hatcher pleaded for suburban governments to substitute regional cooperation for consolidation noting the favorable literature reviews for the co-operative approach and its success in neighboring south suburban Chicago.³⁰ Although suburban Lake County governments ignored repeated requests by Hatcher and Barnes to become involved in co-operative arrangements, these same individuals were all too willing to cooperate with Scott King as evidenced by the position taken by the Lake County Solid Waste Management Group’s which went a long way to solving Gary’s landfill problems.

Since 1989, liberal African American mayors in Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York City were replaced by more conservative white mayors. Subsequently in these cities, the posture of white business, institutional and regional political leaders has become if anything, less tolerant of people of color.³¹ This might just be the case in Northwest Indiana as well. For example, a "Post Tribune" editorial dated April 14, 1996 supported building a new high school for 1800 students in a virtually all white suburban area at a cost of $75 million but in the same editorial, recommended against a $150 million bond issue for school renovation and new construction for Gary’s 21,000 students virtually all of whom are African American. For the 1800 student suburban project, the Post Tribune stated, "Building is the best way for Duneland. It is expensive but …….renovating again to meet technology requirements of a population that is growing through 27 new subdivisions is putting a Band-aid on something that needs major surgery". For Gary’s 21,000 youngsters of color, the same editorial stated, "But Gary shouldn’t move too fast!" "The $150 million bond issue being requested to build and renovate school is too aggressive of a plan for a city with one of the highest tax rates in the state". So while the local media is extremely supportive of Gary’s mayor who happens to be white, it still turns a cold shoulder to the city’s school children who happen to be mostly people of color.

Local leadership elites in Northwest Indiana have also let Scott King off the hook in at least two other incidents. On November 21, 1995, St. Mary’s/Mercy Hospital one of two such facilities located in Gary closed due allegedly to "managed care dynamics".³² However, the body’s governing corporation chose to keep open its other hospital located in suburban Hobart, although, that facility’s patient load was lighter than Gary’s especially the emergency room.³³ Despite protests by community groups and patient advocacy organizations who wanted to keep the hospital open for at least outpatient treatment, the hospital’s board of directors sold off all of the equipment and as of July 2001, this facility including a wing built in the 1980’s remains vacant. Scott King could do nothing to stop the closing and business leaders and the Post Tribune did not chide him for failing to be proactive and effective in this matter.

Also, upon taking office Scott King resigned from his old law firm. However, this firm was immediately hired at an annual retainer of $125,000 to handle city business. The Post Tribune took no action on this possible conflict of interest other than to simply report the news. On the other hand this newspaper was quick to report any and all potential conflicts of interest relating to the Hatcher and Barnes administrations.

Indiana University history professor Dr. James Lane has gone on record as be concerned that factors other than organizational inefficiency worked against both Hatcher and Barnes. He also discounts the 1980’s notions by business and institutional leaders in Northwest Indiana that if Gary was governed by a less militant black who would "go along to get along" these leaders would be more receptive to dealing with Gary’s government.

States professor Lane:

"Other factors worked against both Hatcher and Barnes in their relations with Northwest Indiana business leaders. There was no more agreeable fellow than Barnes and he too, got nowhere".³⁴?

Given Dr. Lanes understanding of Gary especially his published work about this city,³⁵ his comment can certainly be taken to mean that "other factors" include race. If this is indeed the case, then Scott King’s success is clouded by another sad episode in American social history.

Summary

By all accounts, Scott King has done a remarkable job in revitalization . He came into office with a staff in place, dealt decisively with potentially troubling issues and scored major successes in a number of areas especially the implementation of casino gambling.

In may instances, King has received much more favorable treatment than that given to black mayors Hatcher and Barnes by area business groups, elected officials, and state government leaders almost all of whom are white. Is this favored treatment due to the organizational effectiveness of the King administration or are these white elites simply more comfortable interacting with a person of their own race? Another question that could be asked might be "Is the phenomena of the militant black mayor a thing of the past due to the failure of these individuals to fulfill expectations"?³⁶ It will be years before this question can be answered for Gary. If in the final analysis, race is identified as a serious factor, we will all be less well off for the experience.

NOTES

On the same night, Carl Stokes became Cleveland Ohio’s first African American mayor. His victory was confirmed only minutes before Hatcher’s but Cleveland is on Eastern Standard Time. Gary is one hour later on Central Standard Time.
For a thorough analysis of Gary Indiana’s birth, growth, decline, and fall, see James Lane City of the Century 1978, Bloomington, Indiana University Press and Robert Catlin Racial Politics and Urban Planning, Gary, Indiana 1980-1989, 1993 Lexington, University of Kentucky Press and Raymond Mohl and Neil Betten 1985 Steel City: Gary Indiana 1906-1950, New York, Holmes and Meir.
This case is described in detail by Robert Catlin in Racial Politics and Urban Planning: Gary Indiana 1980-1989, see Chapter 7 "Changing Pilots During Takeoff" pp. 147-190.
Several contemporary scholars of African-American urban politics have noted the phenomena on high initial expectations of African-American mayors by the electorate followed by disillusionment when they fail to live up to expectations. See Adolph Reed Jr. in "Demobilization in the New Black Political Regime: in The Bubbling Cauldron: Race, Ethnicity and the Urban Crisis. Michael Peter Smith and Joe R. Feagin Editors. Thomas Sowell, Civil Rights: Rhetoric or Realism. New York. William Morrow, 1984 and James Button Blacks and Social Change: Impact of the Civil Rights Movement in Southern Communities. Princeton, NJ. Princeton University Press. 1989.
Hatcher’s troubles with the Post Tribune have been widely discussed in the academic literature on Gary. See William Nelson and Phillip Merento, Electing Black Mayors, 1978, Columbus, Ohio, Ohio State University Press, Arthur Levine, Racial Conflict in America’s Cities, 1976, New York, Bobbs Merrill, Edward Greer, Big Steel, Black Politics and Corporate Power in Gary Indiana, 1979, New York, Monthly Review Press.
In 1994 the US Census estimated median household income in the Gary-Hammond-East Chicago SMA at $31,500.
In several interviews between this author and Mayor Richard G. Hatcher, and Thomas Barnes, taken between 1983-1990, Weiser’s name repeatedly come up as one who was opposed to any initiative that would benefit Gary.
Nowhere is this clearer than in New York City. In 1993 Rudolph Guiliani, a person of Italian-American descent, replaced black mayor David Dinkins. At the end of Guiliani’s first term in 1997, the percentage of civilian complaints of police misconduct rose by 78% mostly brought against white officers by people of color. Also, during this same period, the percentage of city contracts obtained by African-Americans decreased by 15% in dollar volume and minorities as percentage of the city’s workforce decreased by 12.3 percent. (New York Times. December 11, 12, 1997, B1,2, B1).
Hatcher had to fight bitterly in the early 1970’s to keep St. Mary’s formerly closing in Gary and moving to Hobart. He sued the hospital and in a 1974 consent decree, St. Mary’s agreed to keep the Gary facility open for at least 20 years.
Interview with Paul Karras, Gary Airport Director on February 20, 2002.
Interview with Gwendolyn Adams, Director, Lakefront Development on February 20, 2002.

REFERENCES

Lori Caldwell, "Kings Cabinet One of Sovereignty", Post Tribune, pg. A1, December 20, 1995.

Lori Caldwell, "King Striked Unique Landfill Deal", Post Tribune, February 14, 1996.

Lori Caldwell, "Michael, Janet do not Endorse Theme Park" Post Tribune, pg. A1, February 16, 1996.

Lori Caldwell, "Safety Test Score Doesn’t Rock Casino Boat’s Debut", Post Tribune, pgs. B1, B3, May 30, 1996.

Robert A. Catlin 1993, Racial Politics and Urban Planning: Gary Indiana, 1980-1989, Lexington, University of Kentucky Press.

Bill Dolan, "King, Gary Big Winners", Post Tribune, pgs. A1, A9, May 26, 1996.

W. Brooke Graves 1964, "Volunteer City-County Regional Co-operation" in Gary Miller Ed American Intergovernmental Relations, Their Origins and Historical Development, New York Scribner.

Edward Greir 1979, Big Steel: Black Politics and Corporate Power in Gary Indiana, New York, Monthly Review Press.

Rick James, "11th Barnes Associate Found Guilty" Post Tribune, January 26, 1995.

Rick James, "Lake County Rejects Big Score for Bears", Post tribune, pgs. A1, A4, February 3, 1996.

Rick James, "Rocky Waters are in the Past", Post Tribune, pg. A1, June 3, 1996.

Rick James, "Casino Boats Do their Jobs", Post Tribune, January 10, 1997.

Rick James, "Gary Hospital Folds", Post Tribune, pg. A1, November 21, 1995.

Rick James, "Hatcher is Living Black History", Post Tribune, pg. B1, B3, February 18, 1996

James Lane, City of the Century 1979, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Charles H. Levine 1974, Racial Conflict and the American Mayor, New York, Heath and Company.

Raymond A. Mohl and Neil Betten 1972, "The Future of Industrial City Planning, Gary Indiana 1906-1910", Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 38, 203-13.

Raymond A. Mohl and Neil Betten 1986, Steel City: Gary Indiana 1906-1950, New York, Holmes and Meir.

Gary Miller 1981, The History of and Background of Inter-governmental Agreements, Cambridge, Mass. MIT Press.

William E. Nelson and Phillip Meranto, Electing Black Mayors Political Action in the Black Community, Columbus: Ohio State University Press.

George Peterson and Carol W. Lewis 1986, Reagan and the Cities, Washington DC, The Urban Institute Press.

Matthew Tully, "Gary Gets Cash for Reads" Post Tribune, February 9, 1996.

Peter Van Allen, "Residents Must Pay to get Bears to Come and Play", Post Tribune, pg. A1 November 16, 1995.

Nancy Winkler, "Dobis: Casino Bill in Dead", Post Tribune, pgs. A1, A6, March 30, 1991.

FOOTNOTES