Mike Boyle | |
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Member of the Douglas County Board of Commissioners from the 1st district | |
Assumed office September 30, 1997 |
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Preceded by | Bernice Labedz |
40th Mayor of Omaha, Nebraska | |
In office June 1981 – January 1987 |
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Preceded by | Al Veys |
Succeeded by | Stephen Tomasek, Jr. |
Personal details | |
Born |
Los Angeles, California |
January 19, 1944
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Anne Boyle |
Children | Five Children |
Residence | Omaha, Nebraska |
Alma mater |
Creighton University (B.A.) Creighton University (J.D.) |
Profession | Attorney |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
David Michael "Mike" Boyle (born January 19, 1944, Los Angeles, California) is a Democratic politician in Nebraska, the former mayor of Omaha, and a current member of the Douglas County Board of Commissioners. Mike Boyle has been a lawyer in private practice in Omaha for over 30 years.
Educated in Catholic schools in Omaha (Saint Cecilia elementary school and Cathedral High School), Boyle graduated from Creighton University in 1973 with a degree in economics and management from the Business Administration School. He graduated from the Creighton University School of Law in 1977.
Mike married Anne Howell on April 24, 1965 at St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha. They have five children and 18 grandchildren. Anne Boyle is the first woman elected in the 130-year history of the Nebraska Public Service Commission. She was re-elected in 2008 and is a former chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party. She led the Bill Clinton for President campaign in Nebraska and the Re-election campaign, as well. She has been a delegate to several Democratic National Conventions and her father Sam J. Howell was considered the dean of Omaha's Douglas County Courthouse.
Boyle was elected Mayor of Omaha in 1981 and re-elected in 1985.
In October 1986, a recall campaign was initiated against Boyle after a controversial dismissal of the Omaha Chief of Police. In October 1985, Police Lt. Timothy Dunning wrote a memo titled "Mission Impossible" describing a plan to target and surveil the Mayor's brother-in-law, John Howell, and attempt to arrest him on suspicion of drunken driving. This was meant to provide an opportunity for Boyle to interfere with the criminal justice process. The arrest was carried out and an investigation by Omaha Public Safety Director Keith Lant followed. Lant held that there was both an improper plot and subsequent cover up and demanded that Omaha Chief of Police Robert C. Wadman discipline the involved officers. Wadman refused Lant's orders to co-sign the disciplinary notices based on Wadman's personal beliefs and the results of polygraph examinations of the officers. Lant personally issued the notices against the officers and recommended the dismissal of Wadman for insubordination. The Personnel Board of the City of Omaha, a citizen-panel, unanimously approved Lant's disciplinary notices and Wadman's dismissal. The Douglas County District Court upheld the disciplinary notices, but overturned Wadman's dismissal by the Personnel Board. The overturned dismissal was appealed to the Supreme Court of Nebraska which reversed the District Court's decision and found the Personnel Board's dismissal order to be legal.