from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. After graduation, he taught at Bishop Dwenger High School. Life in politics After losing several elections for state representative in the early 1970s, Richard was elected to the Indiana State Senate in 1974 and served until 1978. In 1976, Richard ran for Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, but lost to the incumbent, Harold H. Negley by 2.52%. Afterwards, he continued to be involved in both state and local affairs through his membership on several governmental advisory boards and community service agencies. Richard campaigned in 1999 on a platform of increasing the efficiency and responsiveness of local government. He was narrowly elected in 1999 over Republican Linda Buskirk, but won his second election with 58% of the vote. Richard is a great proponent of Six Sigma management techniques, and in 2000, the City of Fort Wayne became the first city government to officially adopt the system. Richard helped lead Fort Wayne to national recognition for high performance city services. Results included: lowest crime rate in over 25 years, saving taxpayers more than $31 million using business practices including Lean Six Sigma; and record breaking investments in downtown development, neighborhoods, and infrastructure while keeping property tax rates at one of the lowest levels since the 1960s. Potholes are filled in less than 4 hours instead of 4 days, permitting time has been slashed from 48 days to less than 10. In 2007, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce honored Richard by naming him "Government Leader of the Year." During Mayor Richard's tenure, the City of Fort Wayne won national awards for the #1 Fleet Operation in the nation, and best Public Works and City Utilities Department in the country. He did not seek re-election in the 2007 city election. He was succeeded by fellow Democrat Tom Henry. Business Over the course of his business career, he operated several small businesses, including the consulting firm Graham Richard Associates LLC and venture capital firm Ruffolo Richard LLC. Among other activities, he helped start a cable television company, a public television station, and a small-scale hydropower company. He was also a co-founder of the Fort Wayne Enterprise Center, a business incubator. He served as the CEO of Advanced Energy Economy from March 2012 to January 2018. Graham is now leading the Clean Economy Collaborative which is a new initiative to help accelerate the clean economy in