Ralph Perk

Ralph J. Perk (born c. 1914; died April 21, 1999, in Westlake, Ohio) was an American politician of the Republican party of Ohio.

Perk served five terms on the Cleveland, Ohio city council, representing the city's Ward 13. In 1962, Perk was elected auditor of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the first Republican to win countywide office since the 1910s. He won re-election in 1966 and again in 1970. In 1969, Perk ran for mayor of Cleveland and was defeated in the general election. In 1971, after two unsuccessful attempts, Perk won the Republican nomination for the office of mayor, defeating future mayor, governor, and senator George Voinovich, then a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, in the primary election. Perk went on to win the general election and won re-election in 1973 and 1975. In 1977, however, Perk suffered an upset defeat in his own party's primary election.

As mayor, Perk became the subject of national ridicule when an accident resulted in igniting Perk's hair. Perk was again publicly humiliated after suggesting that a study on pornography ought to be conducted by municipal sanitation workers. Perk's wife, Lucille, achieved notoriety when she rejected an invitation from the First Lady Pat Nixon to an event at the White House in order to attend her regular bowling night.

Perk served as mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio, from 1972 to 1977.

In 1974, Perk won the Republican nomination for the United States Senate seat formerly held by William B. Saxbe, who had resigned to accept the appointment to the office of United States Attorney General. Perk, however, was defeated soundly by Democrat John H. Glenn Jr.

Perk's son, Ralph J. Perk Jr is a municipal court judge in Cleveland. Another son, Thomas Perk, is a council member in the village of Valley View, Ohio. Yet another son, Kenneth Perk, is a member of the board of education in Valley View.