Robert Kozaren
Quick Facts
Biography
Robert William Kozaren (June 5, 1934 – 2007), born in Detroit, Michigan, was an American of Polish descent, and a Democratic politician. He served as Mayor of the City of Hamtramck, Michigan from 1980 to 1997. Elected to nine terms, was Hamtramck's longest serving mayor.
Kozaren was president of the city council (and a former deputy city clerk) when he entered the primary for the mayoral election in the fall of 1979, at a time when Hamtramck came to symbolize the Rust Belt. He beat the sitting mayor "with a message of hope and renewal". At six-foot-six, Kozaren cut an impressive figure walking down the street and enjoyed being personable with the people of his town; his enthusiasm and people skills are cited as a reason for his success at the polls and his eighteen-year reign as mayor.