Louis Miriani

Miriani graduated from the University of Detroit Law School.[1] He was chief counsel and later director of the Detroit Legal Aid Bureau.[1] He was elected to the Detroit City Council in 1947, and was council president from 1949–1957.[2] He became Mayor in 1957 after the death of Albert Cobo,[3] and was elected in his own right shortly afterward by a 6:1 margin over his opponent.[4] Miriani was best known for completing many of the large-scale urban renewal projects initiated by the Cobo administration, and largely financed by federal money. Miriani also took strong measures to overcome the growing crime rate in Detroit.[5] The United Automobile Workers (UAW), then at the height of its size and power, officially endorsed Miriani for reelection, stressing his conservative "law and order" position. However, many African-Americans disagreed with the UAW about Miriani and generally opposed him.[6][7]

He served until he was defeated for reelection in 1961 by Jerome Cavanagh, in an upset fueled largely by African-American support for Cavanagh.[8] Under Miriani's administration, Detroit's Cobo Hall and other parts of the Civic Center were completed, and the city's infrastructure was expanded.[1] He was again elected to the City Council in 1965.[1]

In 1969, Miriani was convicted of federal tax evasion of $261,000 and served 294 days in prison.[1] He retired from politics after his conviction.[1]

Miriani died after a long illness on October 18, 1987 in Pontiac, Michigan.[1]

• Sugrue, Thomas J. "Crabgrass-roots politics: Race, rights, and the reaction against liberalism in the urban North, 1940-1964." Journal of American History (1995): 551-578. in JSTOR
• Sugrue, Thomas J. The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit (2005)