Harold Moss

Harold Gene Moss (October 1, 1929 – September 21, 2020) was an American politician and businessman who was the 34th mayor of Tacoma, Washington. He was the first African American member of the city's council, its first African American mayor and the first African American member of the Pierce County Council. His wife, Bil Moss, was on the Tacoma City Council.

Early life and education Moss was born in Gilmer, Texas, on October 1, 1929, and his family later soon resettled in Detroit during the Great Migration. Moss attended the Lewis College of Business before arriving in Tacoma during the Korean War as a member of the United States National Guard.

Career He first became politically active in the 1950s as a member of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He served two terms as branch president, served on Tacoma's first Human Relations Commission (later Human Rights Commission), and in 1968, Moss helped create the Tacoma Urban League and played a key role in securing public funding for its Urban Services Center. He entered electoral politics in 1969 as an unsuccessful candidate for the Tacoma City Council. ran that fall for a full term, won, and was reelected in 1991. In January 1994, Tacoma mayor Jack Hyde suffered a fatal heart attack nearly at the start of his term. was appointed mayor Because the mayor is considered part of the city council, term limits prevented him from running as an incumbent in the 1995 election. including as council chair from 2002 to 2004, at which time he announced his retirement.

Personal life In a September 1978 domestic argument, Moss shot his son in the shoulder with a .38-caliber revolver. No charges were ever pressed, and the two later reconciled.

Moss died in Tacoma on September 21, 2020, ten days before his 91st birthday.