Richmond Remembers

Alan Kiepper's passing at 81 received national attention. A New York Times obituary saluted his work as president of the New York City Transit Authority. Various articles cited his leadership in creating Atlanta's commuter rail network. Kiepper modernized mass transit in Houston, too.

Richmond remembers him as city manager in the late 1960s and early 1970s -- years of challenge, controversy, and accomplishment. In a

Times-Dispatch obituary, Ellen Robertson wrote: "A man who stayed late at work and was impatient with unfinished work, Mr. Kiepper led the city through desegregation busing and school consolidation issues; the annexation of 23 square miles of Chesterfield County, which added 60 percent more land area to the city and grew the city's population by 20 percent; rising crime; and soaring municipal costs, which grew the budget from $76 million in 1968-69 to $136 million. He once told a reporter he took up jogging to keep his sanity through it all."

His work in New York won kudos. He inherited a dangerous mess. Crime stalked the subways; trains covered in graffiti projected menace. The system had fallen into disrepair. Particularly during the early years, incidents occurred on his watch. His perseverance engineered a turnaround, nevertheless. Violence fell. Richmonders visiting New York can thank their former city manager for transforming strap-hanging into a pleasure (most of the time), and a highlight of a Gotham getaway.

Alan Kiepper, R.I.P.