Richard Caliguiri
Encyclopedia
Richard S. Caliguiri was an American politician who served as the mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1977 until his death in 1988.
Caliguiri first ran for mayor in 1973 but lost the Democratic primary to incumbent mayor Peter F. Flaherty
. In his position as President of the Pittsburgh City Council, Caliguiri was appointed interim Mayor in 1977 after Flaherty was appointed deputy attorney general
in U.S. President Jimmy Carter
's administration. Caliguiri's departure from the City Council necessitated the 1978 special election which allowed independent Democrat Michelle Madoff
her seat. Caliguiri officially won the mayor's office in an election later in 1977, and was reelected twice, serving until his death in 1988.
Under Caliguiri's leadership, Pittsburgh began its "Renaissance II" plan, an urban renewal
and revitalization plan based on the “Renaissance” plan of former mayor and governor David L. Lawrence
. The plan was generally considered a success but was hampered by a sharp and permanent downturn in the city's economy and resulting diaspora
. Pittsburgh's economy began a marked downturn during the de-industrialization of the 1980s with the decline of the large steel producers such as U.S. Steel
and Jones and Laughlin. Long time industrial giants that called Pittsburgh headquarters such as Gulf Oil
and Koppers
both were victims of the 1980s arbitrage and hostile takeover climate. Gulf was absorbed by Chevron
and Koppers by British firm Beazer, both resulting in the region losing several thousand high salaried corporate headquarter jobs. The period was also marked by Pittsburgh based Westinghouse
's run up to bankruptcy and reorganization in 1990http://www.post-gazette.com/westinghouse/chapter5.asp (later to become CBS
and move to New York) and Rockwell International
's move to California and eventually Wisconsin. By the end of Caliguiri's time in office, not a single major steel mill operated in a city once known as the "Steel City", and the city that once boasted more Fortune 500
corporate headquarters save for New York and Chicago, had less than ten. It is a tribute to mayor Caliguiri that he was able to accomplish as much as he did in the face of national and global trends minimizing the industries Pittsburgh had so long depended on.
In the late 1980s, Caliguiri was diagnosed with amyloidosis
, a rare and serious protein disorder. Curiously, within a few years in the mid to late 1980s, three of Pennsylvania's most prominent political leaders were afflicted with the disorder. Caliguiri as well as longtime Erie
Mayor Louis Tullio and Pennsylvania Governor Robert P. Casey
were all diagnosed with the incurable and usually fatal disease.
Caliguiri refused to allow his declining health to affect his leadership and declined to step down as mayor. He finally succumbed to the illness in 1988 at the age of 56, and was interred in Pittsburgh's Roman Catholic Calvary Cemetery
.
In October 1990, a commemorative statue of Caliguiri sculpted by Robert Berks
was dedicated on the steps of the Downtown Pittsburgh City-County Building on Grant Street. According to Caliguiri's son David, previous ideas had included a renaming of Grant Street and the Pittsburgh Civic (later Mellon) Arena
.
in 1979. Near the middle of the film he is seen on the extreme right introducing to a cheering crowd the city's basketball team at an indoor rally. He slips off camera for a few seconds and then is seen again patting them on the back and shaking hands with the actors and coach, before he extends across the crowd to shake Julius Erving
hand (one of the "actors" on the team) and is met warmly by a surprised Dr. J.
Caliguiri first ran for mayor in 1973 but lost the Democratic primary to incumbent mayor Peter F. Flaherty
Peter F. Flaherty
Peter Francis "Pete" Flaherty was an American politician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.He served as Assistant District Attorney of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania from 1957 to 1964; a City of Pittsburgh Councilman 1966 to 1970; Democratic mayor of Pittsburgh from 1970 to 1977; United States Deputy...
. In his position as President of the Pittsburgh City Council, Caliguiri was appointed interim Mayor in 1977 after Flaherty was appointed deputy attorney general
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
in U.S. President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
's administration. Caliguiri's departure from the City Council necessitated the 1978 special election which allowed independent Democrat Michelle Madoff
Michelle Madoff
Michelle Madoff served as a City of Pittsburgh Councilwoman between 1978 and 1993. Born in Canada, Madoff moved to the United States in 1952 and to Pittsburgh in 1961. Madoff was unsuccessful in runs for Pittsburgh City Council in 1973 and Allegheny County Commissioner in 1975. She was first...
her seat. Caliguiri officially won the mayor's office in an election later in 1977, and was reelected twice, serving until his death in 1988.
Under Caliguiri's leadership, Pittsburgh began its "Renaissance II" plan, an urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
and revitalization plan based on the “Renaissance” plan of former mayor and governor David L. Lawrence
David L. Lawrence
David Leo Lawrence was an American politician who served as the 37th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1959 to 1963. He is to date the only mayor of Pittsburgh to be elected Governor of Pennsylvania. Previously, he had been the mayor of Pittsburgh from 1946 through 1959...
. The plan was generally considered a success but was hampered by a sharp and permanent downturn in the city's economy and resulting diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
. Pittsburgh's economy began a marked downturn during the de-industrialization of the 1980s with the decline of the large steel producers such as U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
and Jones and Laughlin. Long time industrial giants that called Pittsburgh headquarters such as Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies...
and Koppers
Koppers
Koppers is a global chemical and materials company based in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States in an art-deco 1920s skyscraper, the Koppers Tower.-Structure:...
both were victims of the 1980s arbitrage and hostile takeover climate. Gulf was absorbed by Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
and Koppers by British firm Beazer, both resulting in the region losing several thousand high salaried corporate headquarter jobs. The period was also marked by Pittsburgh based Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
's run up to bankruptcy and reorganization in 1990http://www.post-gazette.com/westinghouse/chapter5.asp (later to become CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and move to New York) and Rockwell International
Rockwell International
Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate in the latter half of the 20th century, involved in aircraft, the space industry, both defense-oriented and commercial electronics, automotive and truck components, printing presses, valves and meters, and industrial automation....
's move to California and eventually Wisconsin. By the end of Caliguiri's time in office, not a single major steel mill operated in a city once known as the "Steel City", and the city that once boasted more Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
corporate headquarters save for New York and Chicago, had less than ten. It is a tribute to mayor Caliguiri that he was able to accomplish as much as he did in the face of national and global trends minimizing the industries Pittsburgh had so long depended on.
In the late 1980s, Caliguiri was diagnosed with amyloidosis
Amyloidosis
In medicine, amyloidosis refers to a variety of conditions whereby the body produces "bad proteins", denoted as amyloid proteins, which are abnormally deposited in organs and/or tissues and cause harm. A protein is described as being amyloid if, due to an alteration in its secondary structure, it...
, a rare and serious protein disorder. Curiously, within a few years in the mid to late 1980s, three of Pennsylvania's most prominent political leaders were afflicted with the disorder. Caliguiri as well as longtime Erie
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
Mayor Louis Tullio and Pennsylvania Governor Robert P. Casey
Robert P. Casey
Robert Patrick "Bob" Casey, Sr. was an American politician from Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995...
were all diagnosed with the incurable and usually fatal disease.
Caliguiri refused to allow his declining health to affect his leadership and declined to step down as mayor. He finally succumbed to the illness in 1988 at the age of 56, and was interred in Pittsburgh's Roman Catholic Calvary Cemetery
Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Calvary Catholic Cemetery is located at 718 Hazelwood Avenue in the Greenfield and Hazelwood neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.It was founded in 1886 with the purchase of a 200-acre tract. The first official interment occurred in 1888, though there are graves with earlier dates. As of...
.
In October 1990, a commemorative statue of Caliguiri sculpted by Robert Berks
Robert Berks
Robert Berks was an American sculptor, industrial designer and planner. He created hundreds of bronze sculptures and monuments including the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial, and the Albert Einstein Memorial in Washington, D.C....
was dedicated on the steps of the Downtown Pittsburgh City-County Building on Grant Street. According to Caliguiri's son David, previous ideas had included a renaming of Grant Street and the Pittsburgh Civic (later Mellon) Arena
Mellon Arena
Civic Arena is an indoor arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is currently undergoing demolition. It was the first retractable roof major sports venue in the world, covering 170,000 sq. feet and constructed with just shy of 3,000 tons of Pittsburgh steel...
.
Film career
The Mayor is spotlighted in a cameo playing himself in the sport/cult classic The Fish That Saved PittsburghThe Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh is an American sports/fantasy comedy film that was released in 1979. The movie was directed by Gilbert Moses and co-produced by David Dashev and Gary Stromberg. It was produced by Lorimar and distributed by United Artists. The rights to the film are currently owned by...
in 1979. Near the middle of the film he is seen on the extreme right introducing to a cheering crowd the city's basketball team at an indoor rally. He slips off camera for a few seconds and then is seen again patting them on the back and shaking hands with the actors and coach, before he extends across the crowd to shake Julius Erving
Julius Erving
Julius Winfield Erving II , commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is a retired American basketball player who helped launch a modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and play above the rim....
hand (one of the "actors" on the team) and is met warmly by a surprised Dr. J.
Electoral history
- 1977 Race for Pittsburgh MayorPittsburgh mayoral election, 1977The Mayoral election of 1977 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1977. The incumbent mayor, Richard Caliguiri, had ascended to the office just 10 months earlier, after long time mayor Pete Flaherty resigned to take a position in the newly formed Jimmy Carter White House...
- Richard Caliguiri (I),48%
- Thomas Foerster (D), 44%
- Joseph Cosetti (R), 9%
- 1981 Race for Pittsburgh MayorPittsburgh mayoral election, 1981The Mayoral election of 1981 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1981. The incumbent mayor, Richard Caliguiri of the Democratic Party chose to run for his second full term....
- Richard Caliguiri (D), 80%
- Fred Goehringer (R), 18%
- 1985 Race for Pittsburgh MayorPittsburgh mayoral election, 1985The Mayoral election of 1985 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1985. The incumbent mayor, Richard Caliguiri of the Democratic Party chose to run for his third term....
- Richard Caliguiri (D), 77%
- Henry Sneath (R), 22%