Editing Richardson Dilworth (section)

== Later Career ==

Dilworth resigned as mayor in 1962 to run for governor of Pennsylvania, losing to Republican William Scranton. The defeat ended his electoral career but not his public service. In 1965, he accepted appointment as president of the Philadelphia Board of Education, taking responsibility for a school system struggling with racial tension, declining resources, and political conflict. The late 1960s brought crises including teacher strikes and community conflicts over school policy. Dilworth's tenure was controversial; critics accused him of mismanagement while supporters credited him with maintaining stability during impossible circumstances. He resigned in 1971.<ref name="weigley"/>

Dilworth's final years were spent in semi-retirement, though he remained interested in Philadelphia affairs. He had witnessed the city's rise as a reform model in the 1950s and its descent into crisis in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The optimism of the reform era—the belief that good government and professional planning could solve urban problems—had given way to recognition that Philadelphia's challenges were deeper than any reform could address. Dilworth died in 1974, having spent much of his adult life trying to make Philadelphia a better city. His successes and failures illustrated both the possibilities and limits of reform in American urban politics.<ref name="binzen"/>