{{Short description|American politician (1916–2010)}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = Herman Goldner.jpg | caption = Goldner in 1961 | office = Mayor of St. Petersburg | birth_date = {{birth date|1916|11|12}} | death_date = {{death date and age|2010|9|9|1916|11|12}} | party = Democratic (after 1972) | term_start1 = 1961 | term_end1 = 1967 | term_start2 = 1971 | term_end2 = 1973 | predecessor1 = Edward F. Brantley | successor1 = Don Jones | predecessor2 = Don L. Spicer | successor2 = Randolph Wedding | spouse = {{marriage|Winifred Herlan Munyan|November 3, 1938}} | other_party = Republican (until 1972) | birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | death_place = Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. | branch = {{navy|United States}} | battles = *World War II | alma_mater = Miami University<br>Western Reserve University<br>Harvard Business School | children = 2 }}
'''Herman Wilson Goldner''' (November 12, 1916 – September 9, 2010) was a lawyer and politician in the United States. He served four terms as mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida. Originally a Republican, he switched parties and became a Democrat during Richard Nixon's presidency.<ref name="tampabay.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2002/08/21/herman-goldner-dubbed-a-pre-eminent-mayor/|title=Herman Goldner dubbed a "pre-eminent mayor'|website=Tampa Bay Times}}</ref>
==Early life== Goldner was born on November 12, 1916, in Detroit, Michigan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Herman Goldner: Former mayor of St. Petersburg known as an outspoken visionary |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/337832331/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> He received his undergraduate degree at Miami University, law degree at Western Reserve University, and business degree from Harvard Business School.<ref name=":0" /> Goldner moved to St. Petersburg in 1949.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1968-04-07 |title=GOP Senate Race: Gurney or Goldner |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times-gop-senate-race-gurney/147062241/ |access-date=2024-05-11 |work=Tampa Bay Times |pages=54}}</ref><ref name="tampabay.com"/>
==Political career== He served as Mayor of St. Petersburg from 1961 to 1967 and 1971 to 1973.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stpete.org/government/mayor___city_council/mayor_s_office/past_mayors.php|title=St. Petersburg|website=www.stpete.org}}</ref> In the 1964 election, he refused to support Barry Goldwater and instead endorsed Lyndon B. Johnson.<ref name=":0" /> He helped organize a regional planning organization.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://baysoundings.com/tbrpc-celebrates-50-years-of-regional-leadership/,%20https://baysoundings.com/tbrpc-celebrates-50-years-of-regional-leadership/|title=TBRPC Celebrates 50 Years of Regional Leadership - Bay Soundings|date=March 20, 2012}}</ref>
Goldner championed the elimination of St. Petersburg city ordinances that practiced segregation.<ref name=":0" /> He defended murals by George Snow Hill in St. Petersburg's city hall<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18744479/tampa-bay-times/|title=Clipped From Tampa Bay Times|newspaper=Tampa Bay Times |date=December 15, 1966|pages=10|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> with caricatured depictions of African Americans.<ref name="wc" /> The mural was torn down by Joseph Waller who later became African People's Socialist Party leader Omali Yeshitela.<ref name="wc">{{Cite web|url=https://theweeklychallenger.com/the-blank-wall-in-city-hall/|title=I AM: The blank wall in city hall|date=January 2, 2020}}</ref>
In 1972, he switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democratic and endorsed Edmund Muskie.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1972-02-01 |title=Florida Mayor Bolts G.O.P. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/01/archives/florida-mayor-bolts-gop.html |access-date=2023-06-24 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
==Personal life== He married his wife Winifred Herlan Munyan, on November 3, 1938.<ref>"Indiana Marriages, 1811-2019", ''FamilySearch'' (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:27KQ-99N: Sat May 08 11:30:47 UTC 2024), Entry for Herman Wilson Goldner and Winifred Herlan Munyan, 03 Nov 1938.</ref> They both had two sons, Brian and Michael.<ref name=":0" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldner, Herman Wilson}} Category:1916 births Category:2010 deaths Category:20th-century mayors of places in Florida Category:Mayors of St. Petersburg, Florida Category:Florida Republicans Category:Florida Democrats Category:Miami University alumni Category:Case Western Reserve University alumni Category:Harvard Business School alumni