Richard Caliguiri

Richard S. Caliguiri (October 20, 1931 – May 6, 1988) 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 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 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 1990[1] (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 Bob 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.

Film career

The Mayor is spotlighted in a cameo playing himself in the sport/cult classic The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh 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.

Electoral history

• 1977 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
  • Richard Caliguiri (I),48%
  • Thomas Foerster (D), 44%
  • Joseph Cosetti (R), 9%
• 1981 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
  • Richard Caliguiri (D), 80%
  • Fred Goehringer (R), 18%
• 1985 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
  • Richard Caliguiri (D), 77%
  • Henry Sneath (R), 22%

Refernces