Fred L. Ashton

Background

Ashton was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, on March 7, 1931 to Fred L. Ashton Senior and Jean Melick Ashton.

Education

He graduated from Easton Area High School in 1948.

Career

Ashton also served as the first strong mayor of Easton, beginning with his inauguration for a second term in 1972. He enlisted in the United States Army, which stationed him in West Germany at the time of the Korean War in the early 1950s. Ashton received a bachelor"s degree from Lafayette College in Easton in 1952 and a master"s degree from Temple University in Philadelphia in 1955.

Originally a licensed funeral director by profession, Ashton worked for the Schuylkill Haven Casket Company.

Political career Ashton Junior. was elected to the Easton city council from 1963 to 1967. He was elected Mayor of Easton as a Republican in 1967 and took office in 1968, succeeding outgoing Mayor George South. Smith.

As mayor, Ashton oversaw the construction of the city"s new parking garage, which also houses the Easton Police Department, and a new fire station in the city"s College Hill Residential Historic District. Larry Holmes Drive, a portion of Pennsylvania Route 611, was completed in downtown Easton during his tenure.

More controversially, Ashton supported an urban renewal project in the vicinity of Third and Washington streets which displaced a large number of businesses operated by the Lebanese American community.

The older buildings were razed and replaced by a fast-food restaurant, movie theater, hotel, and gas station, which were constructed on the site. Ashton lost his bid for a third term in November 1975 and left office in January 1976. He was succeeded by Mayor Henry Schultz.

He ran again for Mayor in 1983, but lost that election.

Ashton announced his candidacy for Mayor again in 1987, but dropped out of the race due to a conflict with his business schedule. In total, Fred Ashton ran for Mayor during five different elections: 1967, 1971, 1975, 1985, and 1988.

Ashton lived in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, after leaving local politics. Ashton died at his sister"s residence, in the Easton, Pennsylvania area, on May 9, 2013, at the age of 82.

Ashton was buried in Easton Cemetery.

Achievements

• He won re-election for a second term in 1971, becoming Easton"s first strong mayor. (Incumbent Republican Mayor Philosophy Mitman won re-election).

Views

Years later, during a 1987 mayoral election campaign, Ashton defended his decision to tear down the older buildings, arguing that the neighborhood had been blighted and could not have been restored.

Membership

He was a member of the Republican Party.