Arthur Teele facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Arthur Teele
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Art Teele as Miami-Dade County Commissioner
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| Administrator, Urban Mass Transportation Administration | |
| In office 1981–1983 |
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| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Theodore C. Lutz |
| Succeeded by | Ralph L. Stanley |
| Miami-Dade County Commissioner | |
| In office 1993–1996 |
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| Constituency | Miami-Dade County, Florida |
| City Commissioner, Miami, Florida | |
| In office 1998–2005 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | May 14, 1946 |
| Died | July 27, 2005 (aged 59) |
| Political party | Republican |
Arthur E. "Art" Teele Jr. (May 14, 1946 – July 27, 2005) was an American lawyer and politician from the Republican Party. In the early 1980s, he served as the head of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (now known as the Federal Transit Administration) from 1981 to 1983. Born into a wealthy black family in Florida, Teele received an excellent education and became an officer in the US Army, and later had a successful career in private practice and politics. The Miami Herald published claims of legal wrongdoing against Teele during his fight to have a conviction against him overturned, and he committed .... Posthumously, his case was appealed and his conviction was overturned, exonerating him of all charges.
Art Teele married Celestra Patton Teele, of whom he had one son Arthur Patton Teele. (Trey) Teele, later married Stephanie K. Teele of whom he was married upon his death.
Military and legal careers
Teele was a law student who went into the military after his graduation. Teele served the US Army as a Judge Advocate General on the personal staff of General Henry Emerson, Commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg from July 1975 to June 1977. Teele earned his law degree from Florida State University College of Law.
After his honorable discharge from the US Army, Teele provided pro bono services to the defendants in the Wilmington Ten which was the most prominent civil rights case in America during the 1970s. Teele met with the attorneys for the Wilmington Ten as well as attorneys and administrative staff of North Carolina Attorney General Rufus Edmisten. In 1980, the federal courts ordered a new trial for the Wilmington Ten, and Attorney General Edmisten dropped all charges after hearing appeals from Teele and others permitting the Wilmington Ten to go free.
Returning to the private practice of law in his home state of Florida, Teele became the attorney for Bill France, the founder of NASCAR, before entering politics in Miami. In Europe, Teele consulted with Interpol on investigations into organized crime and international homicide cases.
Political career
In March 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed Teele to lead the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA), a position officially known as Administrator of UMTA (now FTA). He served as UMTA Administrator from April 1981 to June 1983.
In March 1993, Teele was elected Miami-Dade County Commissioner in Miami, Florida, serving as the Commission's chairman. He resigned from the county commission in 1996, to run for mayor of Miami-Dade County. He campaigned for Bob Dole in the 1996 presidential primaries, and this political association was raised as an issue in the African-American community during Teele's run for mayor. Teele was one of the top two candidates to emerge from the general election, but he was narrowly defeated in a runoff by Alex Penelas. In November 1997, he was elected to a four-year term as a city commissioner for the city of Miami.
Following a controversial investigation and trial, Teele was removed from office by Governor Jeb Bush on March 2, 2005. .....
