Longtime St. Paul mayor George Latimer dies at 89

George Latimer served as mayor of St. Paul from 1976 until 1990, the longest run of anyone in the city’s history. He oversaw St. Paul’s downtown boom, a growth in development amid a changing city.

Latimer died on Sunday at age 89 at his residence in St. Paul. 

Speaking to MPR News in 2023, Latimer credited his long run as mayor and enduring popularity to his honesty.

“It's a corny, self-serving thing to say, but I'll say it: I think it was partly because I always felt that when all else failed, the truth was the right way to go,” Latimer said, when asked why he was popular even amid controversial decisions. “Whether it was a happy truth or unhappy truth or an embarrassing truth, it was better to just say this is what it was and move along.” 

Latimer was raised in Schenectady, N.Y. He moved to St. Paul in the early 1960s for a job as a law clerk. He and his wife, Nancy Moore Latimer, eventually decided to stay, and had five children. 

Latimer served on the St. Paul School Board before being elected mayor in 1976.

Latimer’s administration oversaw the development of St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood, the riverfront, and District Energy, the city’s heating and cooling system.

His supporters say he brought much-needed vibrancy to St. Paul. Former Minneapolis mayor R. T. Rybak called Latimer the greatest mayor Minnesota has seen.

“St. Paul was really pretty down on its luck,” Rybak said. “George Latimer just sort of seemed to grab St. Paul by the scruff of its neck and just lift it up. I think he helped people believe what was possible.”

Rybak said Latimer had a knack for getting people excited about progress in St. Paul and selling his development ideas with enthusiasm.

Latimer had initially planned to stay two two-year terms but ended up serving 14 years.

“I got hooked, and I loved it, and so I extended and kept running,” Latimer said.

In 1986, Latimer challenged Gov. Rudy Perpich for the DFL nomination for governor. 

“I knew that the governor's job would be a place where you could do a lot of good, and I had the general feeling that maybe his time was up. He had had a long run,” Latimer said. 

Latimer was popular as mayor, but Perpich handily won the nomination, and reelection. Latimer did not seek the governor’s post again. 

Latimer stepped down from the mayor’s office in 1990. He went on to serve as an advisor on housing and urban development in President Bill Clinton’s administration. He worked as the dean of Hamline Law School and a lecturer at Macalester College.

St. Paul mayor Melvin Carter said Latimer’s investments in youth and affordable housing are an inspiration, writing in a social media post that Latimer was a family friend.

“His passing is a profound loss for our community and personally,” Carter wrote. “Mayor Latimer recognized that a city is more than its buildings and streets; it’s about the people who call it home.”

Latimer said in 2023 that he didn’t think much about his legacy. He named just two things he’d like to be remembered for: kids and trees.

“What we do for the littlest and the most vulnerable of our society is finally the test of what our quality is,” Latimer said.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

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