CINCINNATI — A memorial for former Cincinnati mayor Jerry Springer will be held in Cincinnati in June, according to Jene Galvin, Springer's longtime friend and family's spokesperson.
Springer died on April 27.
The event will take place on June 9 at noon; Galvin said it was originally scheduled for May 16 but was pushed back because of logistical concerns.
The memorial will be a ticketed event, but tickets are free. Galvin also said the plan is to have a live stream available as well.
A statement issued by Galvin at the time of Springer's death said the former mayor and talk show host died peacefully at his home in suburban Chicago after a brief illness. Springer was 79.
“Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word,” said Galvin, a family spokesperson and friend of Springer's since 1970, in a statement. “He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on.”
Springer moved to Cincinnati in 1968 to work in a law firm after graduating from Northwestern University law school. He had already jumped into the political arena, working for Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign.
In Cincinnati, he became chairman of the Hamilton County "Voter-19 Campaign," which sought to lower the voting age in Ohio. He was a Pied Piper with young people, rallying big numbers of college and high school students.
The Democratic Party took notice and ran 26-year-old Springer for Congress in 1970 against four-term incumbent Republican Donald Clancy. Springer, an Army reservist, ran on an anti-war platform. Instead of being a sacrificial lamb, Springer got 45 percent of the vote in the heavily-Republican Second District.
He won a council seat on his first try in 1971 and was re-elected in 1973 with the second most votes behind popular Mayor Theodore M. Berry.
After a brief scandal that pushed him to resign from city council in 1974, Springer was elected mayor of Cincinnati three years later, in 1977.
"When I think of being flat on my back three years ago, having this happen is almost unbelievable," Springer said in 1977. "This is the best feeling I've ever had in my political life."
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