Preceded by Theodore R. McKeldin Religion Catholic Nephew Paul Pelosi Jr. | Political party Democratic Party Democratic Party | |
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Succeeded by William Donald Schaefer Succeeded by William Donald Schaefer Full Name Thomas Ludwig John D'Alesandro III Born July 24, 1929 (age 87)
Baltimore, Maryland ( 1929-07-24 ) Relations Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr. (father)
Nancy Pelosi (sister) Parents Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., Anunciata D'Alesandro Siblings Nancy Pelosi, Hector D'Alesandro, Joseph D'Alesandro, Nicholas D'Alesandro, Franklin D. Roosevelt D'Alesandro Grandparents Maria Petronilla D'Alesandro, Tommaso G. D'Alesandro Similar Thomas D'Alesandro Jr, Nancy Pelosi, Christine Pelosi, Alexandra Pelosi, Thomas Jefferson | ||
Thomas Ludwig John D'Alesandro III (born July 24, 1929) – known as Tommy D'Alesandro – is an American attorney and former politician who was Mayor of Baltimore from 1967 to 1971. He is the brother of former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, and son of former Baltimore Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr., who served from 1947 to 1959.
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Early life and education
D'Alesandro was born in Baltimore to Annunciata (née Lombardi) and Thomas J. D'Alesandro Jr. He was the oldest of six children, of whom his youngest sister Nancy would become the first female Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He attended Loyola College in Baltimore and studied law at the University of Maryland School of Law. He served in the US Army from 1952 to 1955.
Career
After military service, D'Alesandro entered into politics, becoming president of the Baltimore City Council in 1963. He ran for mayor in 1967 as a Democrat and easily defeated Republican challenger Arthur W. Sherwood.
His one term as mayor was dominated by civil unrest and budgetary troubles. In 1968 D'Alesandro ordered the relocation of the East-West Expressway unstarted since 1941 to be rerouted through the Western Cemetery, followed by cancelling the project, followed by implementing a HUD program to finance 475 of the vacant homes abandoned after they were previously condemned to create "homes for the poor". The homes were demolished in 1974, with the Rouse Company creditors abandoning the project.
He was unable to respond effectively to the Baltimore riot of 1968 that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and National Guard troops were called in to control the situation. He would never run for another political office, choosing to go into private law practice. Years later, D'Alesandro insisted that the riots were not the reason that he walked away from politics. He said that the reason was simply that he had five children and his mayoral salary was not sufficient for him to support his family.