Former Duluth mayor and Minnesota representative Ben Boo died on Dec. 1 at age 96.
Boo was Duluth’s 35th mayor, holding office for two terms from 1967 to 1975. He served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1984 to 1992. He also directed the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District and the Upper Great Lakes Regional Commission in between his political terms.
Previously denied half of a proposed $4,000 annual pay increase, Duluth Mayor Ben Boo got the full hike two weeks later when one city councilor changed his vote. The meeting was reported on the next day in the June 8, 1971 Duluth Herald.
The Duluth Police Union accused Mayor Ben Boo of breach of contract 50 years ago. The June 7, 1971 Duluth Herald reports the union took issue with Boo’s administrative order prohibiting police officers from selling used cars, dispensing liquor or operating a taxi business during off-duty hours.
Duluth Mayor Ben Boo was on the verge of a pay increase 50 years ago, but several city councilors planned to amend the measure and cut the raise in half. That was the top local story in the June 2, 1971 Duluth Herald.
