Charles Stenvig
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Charles A. Stenvig (born January 16, 1928) is a former mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota who served three two-year terms as mayor from 1969-1973 and 1975-1977. Moving from the Minneapolis police department into the mayor's office, Stenvig was an independent politician who espoused a "law and order" platform amid the social unrest of the late 1960s and early 1970s. At the time, Stenvig was compared to other law-and-order mayors such as Sam Yorty in Los Angeles and Frank Rizzo in Philadelphia.
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[edit] Early Years
Stenvig was born in Minneapolis in 1928. Growing up in south Minneapolis, Stenvig attended Roosevelt High School where he won a Minnesota state high boys' golf championship. Stenvig attended Augsburg College and received a degree in sociology. After graduation, he joined the Minneapolis Police Department. Stenvig worked his way up to the rank of detective, working with the burglary squad, prior to entering Minneapolis politics.
[edit] Political Career
In 1969, Stenvig entered the mayoral election as an independent candidate. Former DFL-endorsed mayor Arthur Naftalin had declined to run for fifth term as mayor and the race for the open seat attracted several candidates. Stenvig ran an unconventional campaign for mayor that relied limited funds and volunteer labor. After winning the primary election, he went on to defeat Republican candidate Dan Cohen in the general election. Stenvig received 62 percent of the vote in the election, surprising many veteran political observers in the city.[1] After serving a two-year term, Stenvig was re-elected in 1971 when he defeated Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) candidate W. Harry Davis by a wide margin. In the 1973 election, Stenvig lost to DFL candidate Albert Hofstede. Stenvig in turn won back the mayor's office in a 1975 rematch with Hofstede. Stenvig lost the 1977 and 1979 mayoral elections, effectively ending his public career.
[edit] Family Feud appearance
In 1981, Stenvig and members of his family appeared on an episode of "Family Feud," where they faced the Tuck family. The Stenvig family lost 422-0, but host Richard Dawson did give the family $100 as a consolation prize.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Finlay Lewis, “Detective’s 61.8% of Vote Beats Cohen,” Minneapolis Tribune, June 11, 1969.
