September 11, 2006

Wilson Goode, Sr., 68, former mayor of Philadelphia, was one of five recipients of $100,000 prizes honoring social innovations over 60 from Civic Ventures, a San Francisco-based think tank and program incubator aimed at people in midlife. Goode directs Amachi, a nonprofit helping the seven million children in the U.S. who have one or both parents in jail, on parole or under supervision.

The next governor of Alaska will be a former mayor. Republican Sarah Palin, 42, the former mayor of Wasilla, defeated incumbent Governor Frank Murkowski in the state’s Republican primary and will face Democrat Tony Knowles, who held the governor’s seat for two terms from 1994 to 2002. As a former mayor of Anchorage, Knowles hosted the Annual Conference of Mayors meeting in that city in 1985.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O’Connor, 61, the sitting mayor of Pittsburgh, died September 1 at a Pittsburgh hospital of cancer of the central nervous system. O’Connor, a Democrat, became mayor in January after his third run for the office. He worked at the Pappan/Roy Rogers restaurant chain for 20 years before entering politics in 1992. He worked for Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell and later was president of the Pittsburgh city council.

During his short time as mayor of the city of about 300,000, O’Connor spearheaded efforts to promote downtown development and clean up the city. He pledged to restore Pittsburgh’s financial stability after succeeding Tom Murphy. Council President Luke Ravenstahl, 26, was sworn in as mayor, becoming the youngest mayor in the city’s history.