Editing Frank Rizzo Era (section)

== Second Term and Defeat ==

Rizzo won reelection in 1975, but his second term proved difficult. The fiscal crisis deepened; Philadelphia narrowly avoided bankruptcy. Labor relations deteriorated, with strikes by city workers and teachers disrupting services. The [[MOVE Organization|MOVE]] confrontation of 1978, though it occurred under Rizzo's watch, foreshadowed the more catastrophic events that would follow. Rizzo attempted to change the city charter to allow himself a third term, but the referendum failed in 1978—a rare defeat that demonstrated limits to his power. Unable to run again, Rizzo left office in 1980 with his coalition intact but unable to continue governing.<ref name="weigley"/>

After leaving office, Rizzo remained Philadelphia's most prominent political figure. He switched to the Republican Party and ran for mayor again in 1983, losing the primary to W. Wilson Goode, who went on to become the city's first Black mayor. Rizzo ran again in 1987, again losing to Goode. He was preparing another campaign when he died of a heart attack in July 1991. His death removed from the scene a figure who had dominated Philadelphia politics for over two decades. The statue of Rizzo erected outside the Municipal Services Building became a target of protest and was removed in 2020 following the racial justice demonstrations that year.<ref name="daughen"/>