Arthur John Holland

Arthur John Holland (October 24, 1918 – November 9, 1989) was Mayor of Trenton, New Jersey and president of the United States Conference of Mayors.^[1]

Biography

He was born in Trenton, New Jersey on October 24, 1918.^[1]

He was raised Roman Catholic and considered becoming a priest early in life. Although he studied for the priesthood, he opted against this path and instead attended Saint Francis College and, after graduation, earned an advanced degree from Rutgers University.^[1]

In 1951 Holland became deputy director of public affairs for Trenton, and in 1955 he was elected as a Democrat to Trenton's City Council. He became Mayor of Trenton, New Jersey in 1959, and soon after married his wife Betty. In 1964 he publicly moved into the Mill Hill neighborhood of Trenton, a majority black neighborhood, attempting to lead the way in his city's racial integration. Holland received national attention for the move, much of it negative, but the area thereafter became less racially segregated.^[1][2]

In 1966 Holland lost reelection to Republican Carmen J. Armenti, and served as a teacher at Rutgers University for four years. In 1970 he ran for mayor again, and was reelected.^[3] He was president of the United States Conference of Mayors from 1988 to 1989, and remained mayor of Trenton until he died.

He died of cancer at St. Francis Medical Center (Trenton, New Jersey) on November 9, 1989.^[1]

References

1. "Arthur Holland Mayor of Trenton For 26 Years, Dies of Cancer at 71". New York Times. November 10, 1989. Retrieved 2011-09-19. Arthur J. Holland, the Mayor of Trenton for 26 years and a former president of the United States Conference of Mayors, died of cancer yesterday at the St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton. He was 71 years old. ...
2. Paul Mickle. "1964: Neighborhood on the rise". The Trentonian. Retrieved 2011-09-19. Mayor Arthur Holland and his young wife were idealistic newlyweds with a baby daughter in 1964 when they decided to restore a house in Trenton's crumbling, if historic, Mill Hill neighborhood. ...
3. Anthony DePalma (June 11, 1990). "Past, Present Clash in Race To Be Mayor Of Trenton". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-09-19. On the surface, Carmen J. Armenti, a 61-year-old former restaurateur and City Council President, would seem to represent the old order. Last November he was selected to finish the unexpired term of Mayor Arthur J. Holland, who died after serving in the office for nearly three decades. ...