George Latimer left a strong mark on St. Paul

Opinion editor’s note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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Caring, compassionate, witty, affable, visionary — all words used to accurately describe former St. Paul Mayor George Latimer. The charismatic, bearded politician had a way of making even his critics like and respect him.

Latimer died Sunday at age 89.

A lawyer from Schenectady, N.Y., Latimer moved to St. Paul in the early 1960s. His first foray into politics came when he successfully ran for St. Paul school board, on which he served from 1970 to 1974. Two years later, he made his first of five successful runs for mayor, ultimately becoming the city’s longest-serving chief executive.

At least a couple dozen major projects were started or completed in St. Paul under his leadership, including the Burlington Northern site renovation that is now Bandana Square/Energy Park, the City Walk condominiums and Galtier Plaza (now Cray Plaza). He was ahead of his time on energy conservation, particularly in championing an efficient downtown heating system that was one the first of its kind in the country.

Even after leaving the mayor’s office, Latimer remained steeped in civic life. He was dean of Hamline University’s law school, a special adviser to President Bill Clinton’s Housing and Urban Development secretary, a visiting professor of urban studies at Macalester and an executive of the National Equity Fund, which manages low-income housing units in cities across the nation.

In 2014, the downtown Central Library was renamed in his honor, recognition he especially appreciated.

Lori Sturdevant, a Star Tribune columnist and retired editorial writer, said Latimer embodied the joy of politics, delving into policy issues to help people — similar to how the ”happy warrior“ Hubert Humphrey was characterized before him and how Kamala Harris and Tim Walz now speak of their campaign.

Sturdevant said that Latimer also set a standard of cooperation with Minneapolis leaders. “That started when he and then-Mayor Don Fraser developed a strong relationship and worked together on issues facing the cities.”

Latimer and his wife, Nancy, were both strongly committed to serving in ways that would build community and improve people’s lives. She was a former foundation executive who helped start important programs for rural Minnesotans along with doing advocacy work for children and families. Nancy Latimer died in 2006.

Joe Nathan, co-director of the Center for School Change and a former St. Paul schoolteacher and administrator, directed several of Latimer’s campaigns for elected office. Nathan recalled bringing his students to City Hall for a mock trial in which Latimer was the judge. “George was one of the funniest people I ever met,” he said. “He had a way with people and was especially inspiring with young people.”

In a 2017 Pioneer Press commentary, Latimer wrote that “too often when people speak of the sense of community, they mean it exclusively … or in an elitist way. They say whoever was here first is ‘the community’ and whoever comes later ought to stay for only a short while or immediately take on all the characteristics of those who came before them, abandoning any unique culture.”

“There are multiple communities in St. Paul where there are high levels of trust and a great love of the sense of place,” he continued. “An important part of the mayor’s job is to be a bridge builder between all of those wonderful communities.”

Among Latimer’s many admirable leadership and personal qualities, bridge-builder surely belongs on the list.

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