Published: August 20, 2008 10:54 pm            

Former mayor Harold Scott dies

Realtor filled last year of John W. Miller’s third term

Harold L. Scott Jr., Kokomo mayor from 1970 to 1971, died Aug. 17 in Naples, Fla., his home away from Kokomo since 2002.

A local realtor and former president of the Kokomo Plan Commission, Scott was a member of the city council in 1970 when John W. Miller, then in his third term as Kokomo mayor, decided to step down.

In an unusual move, Miller also had his city controller — who would have normally filled the 10 months left in Miller’s term — resign her post for one day.

Next in the chain of succession was someone chosen by the Kokomo Common Council, and seven members of the council — five Republicans and two Democrats — chose Scott to serve.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Scott’s opponent in the 1971 city election, John Peacock, pounced on the maneuver which put Scott in the mayor’s office.

To counter Peacock’s cry of “musical chairs,” the local Republican Party took out a full-page ad in the Oct. 21, 1971, edition of the Kokomo Tribune, entitled “Here’s The True Story of Harold L. Scott’s Selection as Mayor of Kokomo.”

In it, Republicans explained that Miller’s decision to leave the choice up to the council was more democratic than Miller simply appointing his own successor, which technically, he could have done.

Former Kokomo Mayor Jim Trobaugh, who remembered Scott as a good man deeply concerned with the community, said the “musical chairs” accusation probably cost Scott the election.

Scott’s son, Dave Scott, remembered his father still remained proud of having the distinction of serving as mayor, and that his father remained a member of his beloved Elks Lodge, even after he began spending his winters in Naples.

A veteran of the U.S. Army, serving as a first lieutenant during World War II, Scott was a broker in the firm started by his father, Harold L. Scott Sr.

A golfer, Scott also had the somewhat amazing distinction of hitting three holes-in-one in the space of four years, Dave Scott said.

A former Exalted Ruler of the Elks Lodge in Kokomo, he also served as the club’s manager for many years. He was an elder with the First Presbyterian Church in Kokomo and with Lely Presbyterian Church in Naples. Services for Scott were held in Naples.

Scott Smith may be reached at (765) 454-8569 or via e-mail at scott.smith@kokomotribune.com

        

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