Preceded by William C. Celentano Political party Democratic Party | Education Hillhouse High School Name Richard Lee | |
 | ||
Born March 12, 1916 ( 1916-03-12 ) Died February 2, 2003, New Haven, Connecticut, United States | ||
Succeeded by Bartholomew F. Guida | ||
Richard Charles Lee (March 12, 1916 – February 2, 2003) (sometimes called "Mr. Urban America") was a Democrat and a longtime Mayor of New Haven (1954–70) and the youngest when he held the position in 1954 at age 37. Lee is best known for his leading role in urban redevelopment in the 1950s and 1960s.
Biography
Richard Charles Lee was born on March 12, 1916. He grew up in a cold-water apartment in the working-class Newhallville neighborhood of New Haven. His father, Frederick, worked at the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. He graduated from Hillhouse High School in 1934.
After being defeated for mayor in 1949 and 1951, he won in 1953. Lee appointed the city's first black corporation counsel, George Williamson Crawford, in 1954. During his first re-election campaign in 1957, John F. Kennedy, then in the Senate, traveled to New Haven to campaign for him. To shore up New Haven's large Italian electorate, the mayor brought in Rocky Marciano, the boxer. He won that election by a 2-to-1 margin. Lee went on to serve 16 years as mayor, second-longest of New Haven's mayors at the time. In 2003 he died at the age of 86.
On May 17, 1999, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) dedicated the Richard C. Lee United States Courthouse in downtown New Haven to Lee. DeLauro worked with Senators Christopher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman to rename the federal building, which stands at 141 Church Street. The Richard C. Lee Highway, a freeway in downtown New Haven, is also named in his honor. A former New Haven public high school, carried the name Richard C. Lee High School in his honor; it has been replaced by Career Magnet High School. The Richard C Lee High School building is now the Yale School of Nursing.