Henry Walter Maier (February 7, 1918 – July 17, 1994) was an American politician and the longest-serving mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, holding office from 1960 to 1988. A Democrat, Maier was a powerful and controversial figure, presiding over an era of economic and political turbulence for the city of Milwaukee.
Early life
Maier was born Henry Walter David Nelke in Dayton, Ohio. After his father died, he moved with his mother to Springfield, Ohio to live with his maternal grandparents. He graduated from Springfield High School in 1936. When his mother moved to Milwaukee and married contractor Charles Maier, Nelke accompanied her.
Maier served in the United States Navy during World War II. He earned a master's degree from University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He worked briefly as an agent in the insurance industry,
In its obituary for Maier, the Chicago Tribune reflected, "Maier began his mayoral reign during a period of urban transition and turbulence. Milwaukee was spared neither." At the time the longest-tenured incumbent mayor in any of any of the top 20 most populace United States cities, he had been in office eleven years longer than the next-longest tenured incumbent (Baltimore mayor William Donald Schaefer).
Racial matters
Maier's opposition to demands of Civil Rights Movement organizers caused constant friction with his administration and Milwaukee's non-white residents. Many of the civil rights protests in Milwaukee were headed by Rev. James Groppi, a Milwaukee-based Roman Catholic priest. Maier and Groppi were lastingly at-odds, with Maiers 1990s autobiography exclaiming that he would have been sooner to forgive Senator Joseph McCarthy for his Red Scare hunts for communists than he would been willing to forgive Rev. Groppi for his actions. In response to the riot, Maier declared a state of emergency, enforced a curfew, and asked-in the National Guard. While many residents offered plaudits for his handling of the riots (considering him to have acted decisively), many civil rights activists criticized his response and overall handling of racial matters. This change did not materialize.
Development, tourism, and festivals
Across his mayoralty, Maier promoted efforts to revitalize the city's downtown, to bring increased tourism to the city, and to establish festival events in the city. Considered a "bombastic" showman, Maier often participated in festivals, even performing songs.
Circa 1970, Maier became the chief organizer of the newly founded Wisconsin Alliance of Cities.
In 2017, Prigge recalled that Maier,