Richard Lugar - Indianapolis Politics

Indianapolis Politics

Lugar served on the Indianapolis Board of School Commissioners from 1964 to 1967. At the age of 35, he was elected mayor of Indianapolis in 1967, defeating incumbent Democrat John J. Barton, and began serving the first of two mayoral terms in 1968. A political cartoon of the time questioned how an Eagle Scout could survive in the world of politics. He is closely associated with the adoption of Unigov in 1970, which unified the governments of Indianapolis and Marion County. The Unigov plan helped trigger Indianapolis' economic growth and earned Lugar the post of president of the National League of Cities in 1971. In 1972 Lugar was the keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention. During this time he became known as "Richard Nixon's favorite mayor" due to his support for devolving federal powers to local communities. In 1971 he was elected president of the National League of Cities.