Albert H. Wheeler
Encyclopedia
Albert H. Wheeler was an American
life-sciences professor and politician in Ann Arbor, Michigan
. He became the city's first African-American mayor, serving in the office from 1975 to 1978.
, and attended Lincoln University
in Pennsylvania
, majoring in biology. He then studied for his master's in microbiology at Iowa State University
in Iowa
. He moved to Ann Arbor to continue his studies, working toward a Ph.D. at the University of Michigan
School of Public Health. After completing the doctoral degree, Wheeler took a job as a research associate at the university.
In 1952, he became an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Michigan
, and eventually became the university's first tenured African-American professor. Influenced by experiences of discrimination at the university and in attempting to secure a home mortgage in Ann Arbor, Wheeler also worked as a civil-rights
activist on campus and in the city. He co-founded the Ann Arbor Civic Forum, which later became the city's NAACP
chapter, and served as president of that body in the late 1960s. Wheeler, who was a Roman Catholic, took leave from the university in the early 1970s to serve in the Archdiocese of Detroit.
, he unseated the Republican
incumbent mayor, James E. Stephenson
. That election used the instant-runoff voting
system, and it represented the first-ever use of IRV
in a U.S. mayoral contest.
During the early and mid-1970s, the local, left-wing Human Rights Party (HRP) had gained a strong foothold in Ann Arbor municipal politics, electing several candidates to the city council. With the introduction of a strong third party in Ann Arbor, concerns grew among Democrats
and HRP supporters that the city's progressive vote would be split, thus allowing Republicans
to win offices on pluralities. Stephenson had won in just such a scenario in 1973, taking only 47 % of the vote. To head off a repeat of this result, the HRP spearheaded a petition campaign to place the IRV
system on the city ballot in spring 1974. Most Democratic and HRP voters supported the proposal, which passed with 52 % approval.
During the April 1975 mayoral race, the only Ann Arbor contest using IRV
, the Republican
incumbent, Stephenson, received 49 % of the first-choice ballots, leading Wheeler, who received 40 %, and the HRP candidate Carol Ernst, who received 11 %. However, since no candidate received a majority, IRV
rules came into effect. Most HRP voters had ranked Wheeler as their second choice, and these votes moved to the Democrat's column, making Wheeler the winner by a slim margin of 121 votes. Ann Arbor voters repealed the system in an April 1976 special election.
challenger Louis D. Belcher
. Wheeler won the election by a margin of a single vote, prevailing by a count of just 10,660 to 10,659. The election results, however, were challenged in court because twenty people who lived just outside city limits had voted without knowing that they were ineligible to cast ballots in Ann Arbor. A judge ordered that the voters reveal the name of the candidate for whom they had voted, in order to determine who would have won the election without the twenty ineligible votes, but University of Michigan
student Susan R. Van Hattum refused the order on privacy grounds.
As the court challenge dragged on through 1977, Mayor Wheeler agreed to a new citywide vote—in effect, a "re-do" of the contested election—in order to end the contentious legal process. Belcher agreed, and the new election was held in 1978. This time, Belcher triumphed, ousting Wheeler from office and becoming mayor.
, was a member of the Michigan State Senate and is currently a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. Another daughter, Nancy Francis, has served as a Washtenaw County, Michigan
probate judge since 1990. Wheeler's grandson, Conan Smith, serves as a Washtenaw County commissioner, and was formerly an official with the Michigan Environmental Council from 2000 to 2004; in December 2008, Smith was elected chairperson of the Ann Arbor City Democratic Party. Conan Smith's wife, Rebekah Warren
, is a member of the Michigan House.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
life-sciences professor and politician in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
. He became the city's first African-American mayor, serving in the office from 1975 to 1978.
Early career
Wheeler was raised in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, and attended Lincoln University
Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)
Lincoln University is the United States' first degree-granting historically black university. It is located near the town of Oxford in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The university also hosts a Center for Graduate Studies in the City of Philadelphia. Lincoln University provides...
in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, majoring in biology. He then studied for his master's in microbiology at Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
in Iowa
Ames, Iowa
Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...
. He moved to Ann Arbor to continue his studies, working toward a Ph.D. at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
School of Public Health. After completing the doctoral degree, Wheeler took a job as a research associate at the university.
In 1952, he became an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, and eventually became the university's first tenured African-American professor. Influenced by experiences of discrimination at the university and in attempting to secure a home mortgage in Ann Arbor, Wheeler also worked as a civil-rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
activist on campus and in the city. He co-founded the Ann Arbor Civic Forum, which later became the city's NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
chapter, and served as president of that body in the late 1960s. Wheeler, who was a Roman Catholic, took leave from the university in the early 1970s to serve in the Archdiocese of Detroit.
1975 mayoral election
Wheeler first made a bid for the office of Ann Arbor mayor in April 1975. Running as a DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, he unseated the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
incumbent mayor, James E. Stephenson
James E. Stephenson
James E. Stephenson was a Republican politician in the American state of Michigan. He served as mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan from 1973 to 1975.-Further reading:* , AnnArbor.com, August 29, 2009....
. That election used the instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...
system, and it represented the first-ever use of IRV
Instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...
in a U.S. mayoral contest.
During the early and mid-1970s, the local, left-wing Human Rights Party (HRP) had gained a strong foothold in Ann Arbor municipal politics, electing several candidates to the city council. With the introduction of a strong third party in Ann Arbor, concerns grew among Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and HRP supporters that the city's progressive vote would be split, thus allowing Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to win offices on pluralities. Stephenson had won in just such a scenario in 1973, taking only 47 % of the vote. To head off a repeat of this result, the HRP spearheaded a petition campaign to place the IRV
Instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...
system on the city ballot in spring 1974. Most Democratic and HRP voters supported the proposal, which passed with 52 % approval.
During the April 1975 mayoral race, the only Ann Arbor contest using IRV
Instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...
, the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
incumbent, Stephenson, received 49 % of the first-choice ballots, leading Wheeler, who received 40 %, and the HRP candidate Carol Ernst, who received 11 %. However, since no candidate received a majority, IRV
Instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...
rules came into effect. Most HRP voters had ranked Wheeler as their second choice, and these votes moved to the Democrat's column, making Wheeler the winner by a slim margin of 121 votes. Ann Arbor voters repealed the system in an April 1976 special election.
1977 mayoral election and 1978 "special election"
In 1977, Wheeler ran for reelection, facing RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
challenger Louis D. Belcher
Louis D. Belcher
Louis D. Belcher was the mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan, from 1978 to 1983. He won office in an unusual "special election" of 1978, held after lengthy court wranglings over the disputed 1977 mayoral contest, and went on to win three more two-year terms as mayor.-Early career:Louis Belcher was born...
. Wheeler won the election by a margin of a single vote, prevailing by a count of just 10,660 to 10,659. The election results, however, were challenged in court because twenty people who lived just outside city limits had voted without knowing that they were ineligible to cast ballots in Ann Arbor. A judge ordered that the voters reveal the name of the candidate for whom they had voted, in order to determine who would have won the election without the twenty ineligible votes, but University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
student Susan R. Van Hattum refused the order on privacy grounds.
As the court challenge dragged on through 1977, Mayor Wheeler agreed to a new citywide vote—in effect, a "re-do" of the contested election—in order to end the contentious legal process. Belcher agreed, and the new election was held in 1978. This time, Belcher triumphed, ousting Wheeler from office and becoming mayor.
Career after mayoral tenure
Wheeler died on April 4, 1994. Ann Arbor's Wheeler Park was named in his honor. Members of his family remain active in Michigan political life. Wheeler's daughter, Alma Wheeler SmithAlma Wheeler Smith
Alma Wheeler Smith is a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. She was most recently a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing the 54th District, which includes the city of Ypsilanti, Augusta Township, Salem Township, Superior Township, and Ypsilanti Township in...
, was a member of the Michigan State Senate and is currently a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. Another daughter, Nancy Francis, has served as a Washtenaw County, Michigan
Washtenaw County, Michigan
Washtenaw County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 344,791. Its county seat is Ann Arbor. The United States Office of Management and Budget defines the county as part of the Detroit–Warren–Flint Combined Statistical Area...
probate judge since 1990. Wheeler's grandson, Conan Smith, serves as a Washtenaw County commissioner, and was formerly an official with the Michigan Environmental Council from 2000 to 2004; in December 2008, Smith was elected chairperson of the Ann Arbor City Democratic Party. Conan Smith's wife, Rebekah Warren
Rebekah Warren
Rebekah Lynn Warren is an American Democratic politician from Ann Arbor, Michigan, representing the 18th District of the Michigan Senate since January 1, 2011. She was elected to this position on November 2, 2010, beating Republican opponent John Hochstetler, 65.5% to 34.5%...
, is a member of the Michigan House.
External links
- Obituary: "Wheeler 'chartered course we are attempting to follow today,'", University Record, April 18, 1994.
- Mayors of Ann Arbor page at PoliticalGraveyard.com