ST PAUL, Minn. — St. Paul’s longest-serving mayor, George Latimer, passed away on Sunday.
Latimer was 89 years old and was the epitome of a leader to so many.
“He had a passion for the city of St. Paul second to none,” said former St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman. “He was willing to have big visions and take chances… because of that he really got St. Paul back on track, after it had gone through some really difficult times,” Coleman said.
Coleman is now the CEO of the Twin Cities for Habitat for Humanity, but Latimer was always just a phone call away.
“He was a person that I would always call and ask for advice when I was mayor, and when I had an issue that I couldn’t quite figure out how to work through. Whether George knew the answer or not he always had an opinion and was always willing to share it,” Coleman said.
He said in many ways Latimer was like a second father.
"He actually gave a eulogy at my dad's funeral when I was 19 years old,” he said. “He was a tremendous figure in my life.”
Coleman said what made Latimer so special is that he understood the character of St. Paul.
Latimer was the mayor for 14 years between 1976-1990, making him the longest-serving mayor in the city’s history. He also served as a University of Minnesota regent and sat on the St. Paul school board.
In 1986, he challenged Governor Rudy Perpich for the DFL nomination, but he didn’t.
He was a dean at Hamline University Law School for three years and taught at Macalester College after he was mayor.
Something Coleman and Latimer’s friend John Kaul loved about him is that he wasn’t afraid to own his mistakes. He even taught a class at Macalester about his mistakes.
One of his off-used phrases was ‘Mrs. Latimer didn’t raise any dumb children’,” he said.
Kaul has known Latimer for 50 years. He said he first met him, when he was running for his first term for St. Paul Mayor.
Over the years, Kaul, a photographer, has taken several photographs of Latimer. One of his favorites features Kaul’s daughter.
“My daughter Rachel and his son Tom, many, many years ago were in a play,” Kaul said. “My daughter and his son were featured prominently in this article, and when I went to house I saw that pictured framed on the wall.”
Kaul said Latimer was an innovate mayor, who wanted the best for the city of St. Paul. He said he made everyone feel like a priority.
“When you were in the room with him, he wasn’t looking over his shoulder to talk to someone else. He always made you feel like a VIP,” Kaul said.
He said Latimer surrounded himself with good people and he listened to them.
“He listened to people, he was visionary, he had a plan, he was able to pull it off, so he’s an exemplar of what good leadership is,” he said.
Both Kaul and Coleman said Latimer had the ability to talk with people on both sides of the political aisle.
“He had the credibility to work with all sides, and when you were talking with him, it didn’t matter what your politics were or what your position was, you could always trust George would do the right thing,” Coleman said.
Both men said Latimer was a great man who was always smiling. They both said they will miss him.