Maurice Ferré

Maurice Antonio Ferré (June 23, 1935 – September 19, 2019) was an American politician and businessman who served six terms as the Mayor of Miami (1973–1985). Ferré was the first Latino person to serve as mayor of Miami. He also served on the Dade County Board of Commissioners (1993–1997), Florida House of Representatives (1967–1968), and Miami City Commission (1967–1970). He unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Miami-Dade County in 1996 and 2004. In 2001, he unsuccessfully ran for city mayor again. He was a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010, unsuccessfully seeking the Democratic nomination.

Early years, family, and education

Ferré was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. His family is considered to have held aristocratic status in Puerto Rico. He then ventured into construction and real estate development in Miami. Ferré was born when José and his family returned to their hometown of Ponce.

In 1953, Ferré graduated high school at The Lawrenceville School (a boarding school in Lawrenceville, New Jersey). In 1957, Ferré graduated from the University of Miami with a bachelor of science in architectural engineering. In 1958, he completed graduate studies at the same university for an Master of Business Administration.

Private sector work

Ferré was also a businessman. He served as a director of fourteen different corporations that the Ferré family operated in Florida, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.

In 1996, Florida International University political science professor Dario Moreno opined that Ferré had a brand of politics that most appealed to "middle-class-and-higher Anglos and Latins," describing him as not being a populist and having a political brand shaped in large part by his family background as "a patrician, a Latin aristocrat."

Florida House of Representatives (1967–1968) and Miami City Commission (1967–1970)

thumb|right|Ferré and other state reps being administered their [[oath of office by Chief Justice B. Campbell Thornal on April 4, 1967 (left to right: Gerald A. Lewis, Ferré, Kenneth M. Myers, Louis Wolfson II, Murray Dubbin, Carey Matthews)]]

Ferré unsuccessfully ran for Florida State Senate in 1966, but soon after won a seat in the Florida House of Representatives and first taking office on April 4, 1967.

In late-1967, Ferré was appointed to the Miami City Commission (city council), filling the seat left vacant when City Commissioner Stephen P. Clark became mayor following the death Mayor Robert King High. For some time, Ferré held both his state house seat and city commission seat coincidingly. He resigned from the State House on March 1, 1968.

1970 Metro Mayor campaign

In 1970, Ferré ran for Metropolitan Dade County Mayor (county executive). He lost to Stephen P. Clark (the mayor of the city of Miami).

Mayor of Miami (1973–1985)

Ferré served as mayor of Miami from 1973 to 1985. He was the first Latino person to serve as mayor of Miami, and the first Puerto Rican-born mayor of a major city in the mainland United States.

Ferré's mayoral tenure included six consecutive elected 2-year terms. In 1987 he attempted unsuccessfully to win back the mayoralty.

Ferré is sometimes referred to as the "father of modern-day Miami." To pay tribute to him and his legacy, a park district in Miami, formerly called Museum Park, was named after him in early 2019. After his death, the city's local CBS News affiliate recalled, "Ferré led Miami during tumultuous times and shaped the city's future as an international banking center and gateway to Latin America."

As mayor, Ferré participated in the United States Conference of Mayors. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Ferré to the Presidential Advisory Board of Ambassadorial Appointments. Ferré was a member of the delegation that President Carte sent to the 1978 UNESCO General Assembly. However, his firing of Howard Gary (who was African American) from the position of city manager had caused African American support for him to dissipate prior to the 1985 election. Anger over Gary's firing was seen as a major factor in Ferré's ultimate first round defeat in the 1985 election.

Dade County Board of Commissioners (1993–1997)

From 1993 to 1997, Ferré served in the Dade County Board of Commissioners and from 1993 to 1996 was the Vice-Chairman of the board.

In November 2001, Ferré lost his bid to be once again elected as Mayor of Miami.

Ferré attempted his second run for mayor of Miami-Dade County in 2004; however, he won only 17.76% of the vote, and did not make the run-off.

In October 2009, Ferré announced that he was running for the open U.S. Senate seat of Mel Martinez. He finished in fourth place (last place) in the Democratic primary, with only 4.9% of the vote.

Florida Transportation Commission and later work

Ferré endorsed the candidacy of Rick Scott (the Republican nominee) in the 2010 Florida gubernatorial election. In 2011, Governor Scott appointed Ferré to the Florida Transportation Commission, which was one of the most high-profile appointments of a Democrat during Scott's governorship.

On December 20, 1995, Francisco Ferré Malaussena, Mariana Gómez de Ferré, and Felipe Antonio Ferré Gómez (the son, daughter-in-law, and grandson of Ferré) died when American Airlines Flight 965 crashed into a mountain in Colombia.

Ferré died in Miami on September 19, 2019, from an aggressive spinal cancer he had fought for two years. He had recently undergone chemotherapy shortly before his death.

External links

ferre2010.com (archived)