Lindsay, John Vliet

Lindsay, John Vliet (vlēt), 1921–2000, American politician, mayor of New York City (1966–73), b. New York City. He practiced law and then served (1955–57) as executive assistant to Attorney General Herbert Brownell. A liberal Republican, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1958 and was reelected in 1960, 1962, and 1964. In 1965 he successfully ran for mayor of New York City on a Republican-Liberal ticket. An innovative and controversial mayor, he lost the Republican primary in June, 1969, to a conservative candidate but was reelected mayor as the candidate of the Liberal and Independent parties. In Aug., 1971, he announced his switch from the Republican to the Democratic party. In 1972, Lindsay entered several Democratic presidential primaries, but he withdrew from the running after finishing sixth in the Wisconsin primary. He did not run for reelection as mayor in 1973. He subsequently resumed the practice of law, and unsuccessfully sought the New York Democratic senatorial nomination in 1980.

Bibliography

See his Journey into Politics (1967) and The City (1969); V. J. Cannato, The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York (2001).