John Logie, former mayor and city advocate has passed away

[walker]

John Logie the long-time mayor who left office in 2003 has died.  He was a key person in the current success of Grand Rapids.  Long before he became mayor, he was active in the early days of the Heritage Hill Association in their successful attempt to keep that defining neighborhood from being urban-renewaled.  I can’t verify this for sure but I believe he actually drafted the bill that established historic districts in Michigan.

I’ve mentioned this before.  Back around that time, (the late sixties to about 1970) he was my neighbor.  He and his wife Susan rented the upstairs of a house on Madison, (in Heritage Hill of course.)  Our landlady was a podiatrist and my apartment and her office were on the first floor.  We got along fine although we didn’t travel in the same circles.  I was the neighborhood mailman and he was a new lawyer who worked for the biggest most prestigious law firm in town.

John Tunison, one of the few veteran Mlive reporters remaining, wrote this article today that lists some of Logie’s life accomplishments:

Mlive: john-logie-longtime-grand-rapids-mayor-who-led-downtown-revitalization-dies-at-81

Here is his official obituary:

Obits: John Logie

And if you’ve got this far and are still interested – here’s an interview with Logie on the occasion of him retiring as mayor.  The title of the link explains what it is about:

Reviving Inner Cities and Slowing Sprawl

One last link.  Almost nothing to do with Grand Rapids but he was also involved in the pardon of Richard Nixon.  Here is a CSPAN program explaining:

CSPAN: president-ford-pardon-of-richard-nixon

Edited August 17, 2021 by walker

[civitas]

John Logie was mayor during a critical transformational period in the life of Grand Rapids.  He set the stage for much of what we are today and was instrumental in significant public investments and policy shifts.  His professional life was equally fruitful and, oh, ..... the Heritage Hill Historic District.   He and I didn't always agree, but we always found common ground and a path to success.  He taught me a great deal about politics and process.  

3-minute egg timers are used in public hearings all around the area.  They are used to manage public comment.  John was the first.  I hate those timers.  lol

RIP Hizzoner.  You were a great man at a great time in a great city.  Well done.