Jerome Cavanagh
| Jerome Cavanagh | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 64th Mayor of Detroit, Michigan | |
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In office January 2, 1962 – January 5, 1970 |
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| Preceded by | Louis Miriani |
| Succeeded by | Roman Gribbs |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jerome Patrick Cavanagh June 16, 1928 Detroit, Michigan |
| Died | November 27, 1979 (aged 51) Lexington, Kentucky |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Helen Martin |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Jerome Patrick Cavanagh (June 16, 1928 – November 27, 1979) was the mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 1962 to 1970. Initially seen as another John F. Kennedy, his reputation was doomed by the 1967 riots. He was the first mayor to reside at Manoogian Mansion, donated to the city by the industrial baron Alex Manoogian.
Jerome P. Cavanagh was born on June 16, 1928, the son of a boilermaker at Ford Motor Company. He attended the University of Detroit, earning an undergraduate degree in 1950 and a law degree in 1954, and practiced law in Detroit after graduation. He was active in Democratic Party politics while attending school, and afterward served in low-level appointed positions as an administrative assistant at the Michigan State Fair Authority and as a member of the Metropolitan Airport Board of Zoning Appeals. He is the father of Mark Cavanagh, a judge on the Michigan Second District Court of Appeals, and Phillip Cavanaugh a member of the Michigan House of Representatives.
In his first campaign ever, the 33-year-old Cavanagh entered the 1961 Detroit mayoral race, one of eleven candidates in the nonpartisan primary opposing incumbent Louis Miriani. None of these candidates was seen as serious opposition to Miriani, who had an enormous amount of institutional support and had easily won the mayoral race four years earlier. Cavanagh ran second to Miriani in the primary, earning a slot in the general election, but received less than half the primary votes Miriani did. However, Cavanagh campaigned relentlessly, criticizing Miriani's handling of Detroit's financial affairs and race relations with the city's African-American community. And indeed, many in the black community believed Miriani condoned police brutality. On election day, black voters turned out in force, and Cavanagh stunned political observers by defeating incumbent Miriani.
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