Funeral arrangements are set for former Columbus Mayor Bob Hydrick
Former Columbus Mayor Bob Hydrick, who helped create the city’s modern form of government, has died. He was 83.
Hydrick died peacefully at his home Saturday morning, his daughter, Susan Rinkowski, told the Ledger-Enquirer. He was in hospice care while battling a recurrence of cancer, she said.
After serving on the commission that wrote the charter consolidating the city with Muscogee County in 1971 — the first in Georgia — Hydrick served as mayor from 1973-75.
The funeral service will be June 2, starting at 11 a.m., in St. Luke United Methodist Church, 1104 Second Ave. Visitation before the service will begin at 10 a.m. in the fellowship hall behind the sanctuary. The burial will be private.
From businessman to mayor to consultant
Hydrick was a successful businessman as an executive with RC Cola. Among a group of rising young community leaders, he got involved in local politics through his servant leadership with the civic organization Jaycees, the Junior Chamber of Commerce.
After then-Mayor J.R. Allen died in a plane crash in 1973, Hydrick, 34, was convinced to become a candidate.
“He didn’t pick running for mayor,” retired advertising executive and former Columbus Councilor (1972-80) Jack Basset told the Ledger-Enquirer. “It sort of picked him. ... He knew the government inside and out because he wrote most of the charter.”
Hydrick defeated Muscogee County Sheriff Jack Rutledge and WRBL-TV sales account executive Charles Rector in the 1973 special election to fill Allen’s unexpired term.
Public offices for Columbus Council and mayor are nonpartisan now, but Hydrick ran as a Republican when Democrats dominated state and local politics. He campaigned on a platform of establishing a new generation of leadership dedicated to lower property taxes, increased industrial development and improvements to hospitals, public safety, recreation, environmental protection and government services.
“He did what he said he was going to do,” Basset said. “... He knew how to plan, develop solutions and execute.”
Hydrick’s victory was considered a political upset. The Columbus Enquirer reported then that Rutledge pulled out of the expected runoff election after Hydrick received surprising support from Black voters. It was an example of Hydrick’s ability to bridge differences.
“Bobby was friendly, had a good sense of humor, all that, but the main thing was that he was all business when it came to decision-making and creating an atmosphere to get it accomplished,” Basset said. “I really enjoyed working with him. ... He was just a very good guy.”
Although his name never was on a ballot again after Jack Mickle defeated him in the 1974 mayoral election, Hydrick stayed involved in local and state politics as a consultant to civic leaders and a contributing columnist to the Ledger-Enquirer. Basset recalled working with him on some campaigns.
“I was big-picture; he was details,” Basset said. “He put a lot of faith in research, surveying, polling and budgeting. I learned a lot from him.”
‘Loved Columbus’
Columbus Councilor Gary Allen, son of the late mayor, was a student at Columbus College when his father died and Hydrick was elected.
“Bob was a very dedicated person that loved Columbus and loved the government, the consolidated government,” Allen told the L-E. “... He left a very lucrative job with RC Cola to run for mayor when my dad passed, and he led Columbus through that tough time. Then he stayed involved after that, helping a variety of those that ran for office and served in office as a consultant. Just a great mind to lean on when times were tough.”
Rinkowski cherishes the example her father set as a person who put others before himself.
“My dad definitely saw his calling to be more than just in a business or at his house but making Columbus a better place,” she said.
Rinkowski read an entry from the journal Hydrick kept while receiving chemotherapy treatments:
“What do you want to be known for? Being a good man, a good husband and a good father and a good grandfather and a good citizen who did his best to make his city, county, state and country better. Perhaps the best way I want to be known for is in a line written by the editorial when I left the mayor’s office: He takes his responsibility seriously without taking himself seriously.”
“That’s my dad in a nutshell,” she said. “My dad was a great father, and he loved Columbus, and he was always proud of its progress, and he respected everyone’s vision, even though sometimes he might have gone against them. He has loved watching what Columbus has become, and it truly has become a city where people want to be, and I think that was his purpose all along, to be part of that movement and to work collaboratively to do that.”
This story was originally published May 28, 2022 at 11:24 AM.
