Louis F. Snedigar
Louis Fielding "Red" Snedigar was an attorney, realtor and four-time mayor of the city of Miami Beach.
Early life
Snedigar was the son of a Union Civil War veteran. He was born in Bartow, FL.He married Edna Morris on May 24, 1916, in Deland, Florida. He later graduated from Stetson University where he played baseball while earning a law degree. Snedigar had a.420 batting average and was signed to a contract by the Philadelphia Athletics. Snedigar later credited major league legend, Connie Mack with dissuading him from a baseball career.
The Snedigars had two sons. When they settled in Miami, Louis worked as a lawyer with Shutts & Bowen and moonlighted as a semi-professional shortstop. for the Miami East Coast League baseball team
Politics
Snedigar was the fourth, sixth and ninth Mayor of Miami Beach. In a letter he wrote to the mayor and city council in the late 1940s, Snedigar remarked that he had been the leader of the city through "the boom, the bust, the Wall Street panic and, 'the blow, referring to the great Miami Hurricane of 1926.During Snedigar's terms as mayor, he oversaw the installation of the city water system and the sewer system, the procurement of multiple parks and the building of multiple bridges. Notably, the Miami Beach City Hall was built under his tenure.
Snedigar was never a Miami Beach city council member prior to his election victories.
In his 1928 election victory, he defeated Val C. Cleary by only four votes. He retired after the 1930 election.
In 1934, John H. Levi withdrew from the mayoral race, citing a technicality in the city charter. Snedigar announced his candidacy just a few hours later and went on to win his third term.
After his service to Miami Beach, Snedigar ran for and won a Dade County Commission seat.
Later life
During World War II, Snedigar's enlistment was declined. He joined the Florida State Guard and the Coast Guard volunteers.Snedigar's sons, Louis Jr. and James, went on to be decorated WWII veterans.
Snedigar died in Miami Beach in 1951.