A native of Duluth, Gary Doty was born on February 5, 1948 and worked as a teacher and coach in the Duluth public schools. In 1975 he was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, and he served on several other boards until his election as mayor on November 5, 1991. During his 12 years in office, Doty worked to rebuild streets and sewers throughout the city. He was also a strong promoter of the Great Lakes Aquarium. The socially conservative and fiscally moderate mayor retired in 2004 and lives with his wife Marcia and their three daughters.
Herb Bergson holds the distinction of being the first mayor of Duluth to have already served as mayor of Superior, Wisconsin across the bay. He was born on September 16, 1956 in Duluth but became a police patrolman in Superior in 1977. He later served two terms as mayor there, returning to law enforcement in 1995. After unsuccessfully running for mayor of Duluth, Bergson was elected to Duluth's city council in 2001. He subsequently won the mayor's seat in 2003. During his single term, Bergson pledged to help Duluth's homeless and supported the gay community. He and his wife Jacqui have two adopted sons and have hosted many foster children.
John Fedo, born in 1950, was one of Duluth's most active mayors. Elected in 1979, Fedo helped revitalize the lakefront, increased Duluth tourism, and launched a number of skywalk extensions, park renovations, and freeway expansions. In 1988 he was indicted on 23 charges of various financial crimes, but that didn't stop him from being remembered as one of Duluth's best mayors. He married twice and had four children with each woman. Fedo served until 1992, after which he became city administrator of Hibbing, MN.