Frederick Kohler

Office:	Mayor, Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
Political party:	Republican
Term of office:	1922–1923
Preceded by:	William S. Fitzgerald William S. Fitzgerald William Sinton FitzGerald was an American politician of the Republican Party who served as the 39th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio....
Succeeded by:	William R. Hopkins William R. Hopkins William Rowland Hopkins was an American politician of the Republican Party who served as the first city manager of Cleveland, Ohio from 1924 to 1929, during the brief period that Cleveland had a council-manager government instead of a mayor-council government.Hopkins was born in Johnstown,...
Date of birth:	March 16, 1866
Date of death:	February 4, 1942
Profession:	Police officer

Frederick Kohler (May 2, 1864–January 30, 1934) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 of the Republican Party who served as the 40th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

 from 1922 to 1923. He was born in Cleveland to Christian and Fredericka Kohler. As a teenager, he left school to help his father in Kohler Stone Works. After his father's death, the business ended and Kohler sought work elsewhere.

In 1889, Kohler joined the police force and quickly rose to prominence. In 1900, he was promoted to captain and in 1903, Mayor Tom L. Johnson

Tom L. Johnson

Thomas Loftin Johnson , better known as Tom L. Johnson, was an American politician of the Democratic Party from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He headed relief efforts after the Johnstown, Pennsylvania floods of 1889, was a U.S. Representative from 1891–1895 and the 35th mayor of...

 appointed Kohler as chief of police. He had a very brusque style of law enforcement and always expected the absolute maximum from all policemen, demanding a neat appearance and full day's work. While some, such as President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

, applauded him as "the country's finest chief of police", he was disliked by political partisans who disapproved of his contempt for political favoritism. After Johnson left the mayor's office in 1909, opposition forces began gathering up to rid the city of Kohler. In 1913, Kohler was fired from his position by Civil Service Commission

Civil Service Commission

-Chairmen:*John Houghton MHK, 2004-date*George Waft MLC, 1996-2004*Clare Christian MLC, 1981-1982*Noel Cringle MLC, 1992-1996*Walter Gilbey, years unknown...

 on charges of neglect of duty and gross immorality, after becoming wrapped up in an ugly divorce suit brought by a salesman against his adulterous wife. A month later, a gang of hired thugs mugged and brutally beat Kohler in an alley off Short Vincent Street.

Kohler made it through the tussle and instead of deciding to leave Cleveland, he devoted himself to politics. In 1918, he was elected Cuyahoga County

Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Cuyahoga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. It is the most populous county in Ohio; as of the 2010 census, the population was 1,280,122. Its county seat is Cleveland. Cuyahoga County is part of Greater Cleveland, a metropolitan area, and Northeast Ohio, a...

 commissioner as a Republican, serving two terms. His tenure as commissioner served him well when he campaigned and was elected mayor of Cleveland. He served one term from 1922 to 1924. As mayor, Kohler concentrated on the economy in city government, cutting payrolls and city services, and persuading private agencies to care for families on relief. However, Kohler started becoming unpopular again when he "cleaned up" City Hall

Cleveland City Council

Cleveland City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Cleveland in Ohio. Its members are elected from 19 wards to four-year terms. The number of council members has decreased over the years...

 by slashing municipal expenses and firing 850 patronage employees.

In 1924, the city adopted a city manager

City manager

A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...

plan, and Kohler did not seek reelection. Instead, he was elected sheriff. He left office in 1926, after being accused of underfeeding the prisoners in jail. He suffered a stroke in 1932 and died in 1934.