bye mayor mike

i knew him. not well, but i did know him. i NEVER saw mike without a smile on his face. i never saw him NOT say hello to people. the man was one of THE BEST schmoozers i have ever seen in my entire life. you could just tell how much he enjoyed being out and about. greeting people, talking, telling jokes.

i never heard him quiet either. the man COULD and DID tell a mean tale. he once told me his mother (or his mother's family. not sure it was long ago) had something to do with opening the first and last tavern. don't know if it is true or not, but hell, when he told it, it sounded good to me!

MIKE PETERS, 1948-2009

'Mayor Mike' Peters Dies At 60; Struggled With Liver Damage
By EDMUND MAHONY The Hartford Courant

Mike Peters, the wise-cracking fireman who, over four terms as mayor, helped lift Hartford from a political, financial and crime-ridden funk, died just before 8 p.m. Sunday following a struggle with liver failure, family members said. He was 60.Peters had undergone a nearly eight-hour surgery last October to remove his cirrhosis-damaged liver and replace it with a healthy one. He had done well with the new liver, but developed complications with his kidneys. By Nov. 20, he was back in intensive care, and his doctors were considering a kidney transplant once he regained strength.During his time in office, from 1993 to 2001, Peters repeatedly was elected to serve as Hartford's last weak, or ceremonial, mayor. Armed with a revision to the city charter, his successor, Eddie Perez, would eventually gethat Peters always wanted but never had: Strong mayoral authority to shape the city's agenda.But powerless or not, Peters had limitless enthusiasm and he hurled it at his ceremonial office with great effect. Armed with only his personality, a not inconsequential weapon, he reinvigorated a city that, during the 1980s, seemed perched endlessly on the dismal brink of yet another failure................

Timeline: Important Dates In Peters' Life

The Hartford Courant

picture: In this 1998 photo, Hartford Mayor Mike Peters makes a joke as he speaks at a news conference at the state Capitol in Hartford. At left, behind Peters, are M. Jodi Rell, then the lieutenant governor, and then-Gov. John Rowland. (BOB CHILD / AP / March 19, 1998)