Kenneth A. Schmied
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Allen Schmied a Republican, served as Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky.
Schmied was the son of a Swiss immigrant who sold coffee door to door and later owned a furniture store. Kenneth A. Schmied and a brother entered the family furniture business.
Schmied was not politically active until 1960 when a local party leader asked him to help organize a rally for Republican presidential candidate Richard M. Nixon
. The local party was impressed with his ability and recruited him to run for the Board of Aldermen in Louisville's Third Ward. Schmied directed the local Republican effort that fall and the Republicans swept the local elections. Republican William O. Cowger
was elected Mayor of Louisville and Schmied won the aldermanic seat and was elected President of the Board of Aldermen.
Cowger chose Schmied as his successor as mayor. Schmied ran for the office in 1965. He defeated a former sheriff in the Republican primary and won the general election against Democrat Marlin Volz. Republicans retained control of the Board of Aldermen. Schmied served as mayor from 1965 to 1969.
As mayor, Schmied won approval of a bond issue for local projects including an expansion of the public library system and sites for Jefferson Community and Technical College and the medical and dental schools at the University of Louisville
. Schmied also promoted development of the riverfront.
The civil rights movement coincided with Schmied's term as mayor. Housing discrimination was a hot topic. Schmied claimed to favor fair housing but he opposed a local ordinance to that effect. The Republican majority on the Board of Aldermen blocked the passage of any fair housing legislation. The Democrats ran on that issue in 1967 and took control of the Board of Aldermen. The Democrats that then controlled the Board of Aldermen passed a fair housing measure; Schmied neither signed it nor vetoed it. Schmied and the Board of Aldermen spent the second half of his term in conflict, and the Democratic aldermen passed several measures over Schmied's veto.
1968 saw rioting in Louisville's West End
, as happened in many American cities in that year following the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.
. The black areas of the city claimed that Schmied was unaware and uninterested in the many problems there.
The 1969 elections saw Democrat Frank W. Burke
win the mayor's office.
Schmied died in 1973 and is buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.
Schmied was the son of a Swiss immigrant who sold coffee door to door and later owned a furniture store. Kenneth A. Schmied and a brother entered the family furniture business.
Schmied was not politically active until 1960 when a local party leader asked him to help organize a rally for Republican presidential candidate Richard M. Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
. The local party was impressed with his ability and recruited him to run for the Board of Aldermen in Louisville's Third Ward. Schmied directed the local Republican effort that fall and the Republicans swept the local elections. Republican William O. Cowger
William O. Cowger
William O. Cowger , a Republican, served as mayor of Louisville, Kentucky and as a member of the United States House of Representatives....
was elected Mayor of Louisville and Schmied won the aldermanic seat and was elected President of the Board of Aldermen.
Cowger chose Schmied as his successor as mayor. Schmied ran for the office in 1965. He defeated a former sheriff in the Republican primary and won the general election against Democrat Marlin Volz. Republicans retained control of the Board of Aldermen. Schmied served as mayor from 1965 to 1969.
As mayor, Schmied won approval of a bond issue for local projects including an expansion of the public library system and sites for Jefferson Community and Technical College and the medical and dental schools at the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
. Schmied also promoted development of the riverfront.
The civil rights movement coincided with Schmied's term as mayor. Housing discrimination was a hot topic. Schmied claimed to favor fair housing but he opposed a local ordinance to that effect. The Republican majority on the Board of Aldermen blocked the passage of any fair housing legislation. The Democrats ran on that issue in 1967 and took control of the Board of Aldermen. The Democrats that then controlled the Board of Aldermen passed a fair housing measure; Schmied neither signed it nor vetoed it. Schmied and the Board of Aldermen spent the second half of his term in conflict, and the Democratic aldermen passed several measures over Schmied's veto.
1968 saw rioting in Louisville's West End
Louisville riots of 1968
The Louisville riots of 1968 refers to riots in Louisville, Kentucky in May 1968. As in many other cities around the country, there were unrest and riots partially in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. On May 27, 1968, a group of 400 people, mostly blacks, gathered at...
, as happened in many American cities in that year following the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
. The black areas of the city claimed that Schmied was unaware and uninterested in the many problems there.
The 1969 elections saw Democrat Frank W. Burke
Frank W. Burke
Frank Welsh Burke was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky from 1959 to 1963 and as Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky from 1969 to 1973....
win the mayor's office.
Schmied died in 1973 and is buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.