Best Mayors EVER! Worst mayors ever?

[PghUSA]

http://www.psupress.org/books/titles/0-271-01876-3.html

On this topic we are going to have to rely on the homers on the board to let us know about the Pingrees of Detroit and the Quincys of Boston to give us some background and what things made them so great . . . this way we can better understand what we need in leaders in the 21st century!

Who were our best mayors? The list ranges from Boston's "Great Mayor" Josiah Quincy (1823-1828) to New York City's Fiorello La Guardia (1934-1945), who is first on the all-time-best list. La Guardia, a stouthearted fireplug of a man, built modern New York, fought Murder Incorporated, read the comics to children over the air during a newspaper strike, and was a symbol of ethnic probity and honesty. Sandwiched between Quincy and La Guardia are several other outstanding mayors, including:

Cleveland's Tom Johnson (1901-1909)

Pittsburgh's David Lawrence (1946-1959)[actually ran C.H. from 1934-1966!]

Detroit's Hazen Pingree (1890-1897)

Los Angeles's Tom Bradley (1973-93).

Taking the first-worst prize among scoundrel mayors is Chicago's William H. "Big Bill" Thompson (1915-1923, 1927-1931),one of the most colorful mayors in the city's history, if not the most corrupt. Big Bill, also known as "Kaiser Bill" for his pro-German stand during World War I, accepted campaign funds from gangsters including Al Capone. Also among the "worst" is another Chicago mayor, Jane Byrne (1979-1983), the only woman on the list. Jersey City's Frank Hague (1917-1947) and Philadelphia's Frank Rizzo (1972-1980) are among the other notable rascals who have sat in city halls.

[PghUSA]

This is why Pittsburgh's David Lawrence made the list:

He actually ran 300 Grant Street (City Hall) from 1933/1934 till his death in 1966.

In 1944, the National Municipal Review called Pittsburgh