Monday, April 27, 2015
Richard “Dick” Doyle served as the Mayor of Troy from 1974 to 1992. During the 18 years that he presided over City Council, Doyle worked to maintain a non-political atmosphere. He said in a 1986 interview, “As chairman of the Council, the major contribution a mayor can make is (to) provide stability and leadership. We have maintained a relatively non-partisan Council. It’s a Council which can disagree but they haven’t taken that disagreement into personal reflection of each other. The Council has worked well together.”1
Mayor Doyle also advocated for controlled growth during Troy’s boom period. “The challenge is not to go out and attract growth. The challenge is to monitor growth. . . We don’t have to make an effort to steal development from neighboring communities, especially Detroit,” he said. 2
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dick Doyle earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. He was employed as a district sales manager for Hercules Chemicals, Inc., a materials supplier for the automotive industry. In addition to his outstanding service to the City, Dick Doyle was an enthusiastic supporter of recreational activities including little league baseball and football.
Mr. Doyle and his wife Louise still reside in Troy.
1Troy Eccentric, April 7, 1986
2 ibid
Photo: Mayor Doyle
To commemorate the City of Troy’s 60th Anniversary in 2015, we will publish a different story each day that highlights a person, discovery, or event that occurred locally, regionally, nationally, or even globally between 1955 and 2015 and that helped shape our lives and our community. We will try to post stories on important anniversary dates, but we also realize that dates are less critical than content and context. We will include the facts related to controversial stories, allowing our readers to form their own opinions. We invite you to read and comment on the stories. Your suggestions for topics are also welcome and can be posted on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TroyHistoricVillage. You can also email stories or ideas to the 365 Story Editor at ed@thvmail.org.
