William M. Wolfarth

William M. Wolfarth
25th Mayor of Miami
In office
1949–1951
Preceded byRobert L. Floyd
Succeeded byChelsie J. Senerchia
Personal details
Born(1906-06-30)June 30, 1906
Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri, US
DiedMarch 25, 1993(1993-03-25) (aged 86)
SpouseMary Agnes Galhouse
ResidenceMiami

William Michael Wolfarth (30 June 1906 – 25 March 1993 in Miami, Florida) was a commissioner and mayor of Miami.

In 1936, he married Mary Agnes Galhouse of Atlanta. They had six children and celebrated the renewal of their marriage vows in 1986 at Gesu Catholic Church.

Wolfarth grew up in Chicago and moved to Miami in 1934. In 1935, he opened the first of a chain of bakeries (Cushman Bakeries). From 1949 to 1951, he was the Mayor of the City of Miami and from 1951 to 1953 he served as a commissioner (his mother-in-law, Anne Galhouse, served as his secretary). He was responsible for building the original Art Deco main public Library in downtown Miami, which was later torn down. In addition, he built the Morningside pool which still bears a plaque commemorating him. In 1959, he ran for mayor again against Robert King High on a platform to keep Miami segregated and lost the election.

Electoral history

City Commissioner

General election, Miami, FL 1949

Candidate Votes %
WM Wolfarth 25,518 19.04
Perrine Palmer Jr 24,289 18.12
Louie Bandel 23,777 17.74
H Leslie Quigg 22,916 17.10
Leonard K Thomson 22,826 17.03
James A Dunn 14,675 10.95
Total Votes 134,001 99.98%

[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ "New city commissioners to take oath". No. 1 pg 1. The Miami Herald. Nov 24, 1949.
  • The Miami Herald; William Wolfarth Former Miami Mayor; 28 March 1993; Page 4B
  • The St. Petersburg Times; Wolfarth Named New Miami Mayor, 23 November 1949.
  • The Miami News; Mother-In-Law Secretary Rates Mayor Bill as Tops by Don Branning; 1 December 1949.