Steve Luecke

In November 2022, the City of South Bend added Luecke's name to the names of Brownfield Park and the Coal Line Trail, which were rededicated after him. Luecke is only the fourth mayor in the city to have a park named after him.

In the 2019 South Bend mayoral election, Luecke endorsed his former special assistant Lynn Coleman in his, ultimately unsuccessful, bid for the Democratic nomination.

In July 2014, Luecke joined his mayoral predecessor Joe Kernan and other South Bend community leaders in holding a press conference condemning the conduct of the South Bend Common Council.

From 2013 until his retirement in 2017, Luecke was the executive director of the South Bend Alumni Association, which raises money to benefit South Bend schools. After retiring as executive director, he was named the association's board of trustees.

Luecke participated in developing the Near Northwest Neighborhood Quality of Life Plan in 2013 for Near Northwest Neighborhood, Inc.

During Luecke's tenure South Bend received a number of positive accolades, such as being named an All-American City by the National Civic League in 2011 and receiving the National League of Cities Gold Award for Municipal Excellence in both 2002 and 2010. However, it also received some negative accolades, being listed by Newsweek in a January 2011 article as one of "America's Dying Cities".

Luecke opted against running for what would have been a fourth full (and fifth overall) term as mayor, making the 2011 South Bend mayoral election an open race to succeed him, and the first open mayoral election in South Bend in 24 years. Luecke abstained from endorsing any candidate ahead of the Democratic primary. The race to succeed Luecke was ultimately won by Pete Buttigieg.

In April 2009, Luecke launched the Green Ribbon Commission to issue recommendations regarding the city's environmental impact. In 2010, he established the Municipal Energy Office, which prioritizes environmental concerns such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, transportation efficiency and innovation, municipal regulation, and recycling and waste management.

In August 2009, Luecke announced an alliance between the city's five largest medical providers.

Under Luecke, the city made the decision that the former Studebaker plant buildings would be demolished for new use. The city put together TIF funds and federal funding to clear the site, which later became the site of the Innovation Park and Ignition Park tech parks. Innovation Park broke ground in September 2008.

In 2008, Luecke signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

By 2007, Luecke was proclaiming that the city had seen $1.3 billion in investments during his tenure.

In 2006, Luecke opposed a private group's plan to create short line railroad named the South Bend Railway by acquiring and refurbishing a former Norfolk Southern rail line running through the city's west side. The plan would have seen the railway utilize the track for freight service, with the potential of having passenger services utilize it in the future to transport football spectators directly to the campus of Notre Dame University. Luecke cited safety and quality-of-life concerns for residents that live near the tracks in his opposition.

In 2005, when it appeared that the South Bend Silver Hawks were potentially leaving the city, Luecke pledged to make strong effort to keep minor league baseball in South Bend. Ultimately, a leadership group led by Joe Kernan stepped up to buy the team and keep it in the city.

The Morris Performing Arts Center was renovated in 2000 under his mayoralty. Two studies conducted around 2007 had demonstrated that these efforts by Luecke were allowing the city to enjoy millions in economic spending. One of these, a study by Saint Mary's College, showed that the city-owned Morris Performing Arts Center would generate a $5.9 annual indirect economic impact, excluding its own ticket sales.

In 1998, the South Street Station, a bus center, opened in downtown South Bend. The effort to build the station had begun planning in the mayoralty of Luecke's predecessor Joe Kernan. It opened without an originally-planned Amtrak station component. Luecke sought to have the Amtrak component constructed, but was unsuccessful.

In January 1997, Luecke became mayor of South Bend, filling the vacancy created by the departure of Mayor Joe E. Kernan, who had become lieutenant governor. He was endorsed by Kernan to be his successor, and was thereafter appointed unanimously by the Common Council to fill the vacancy. Luecke remained mayor until 2011. A Democrat, he was the city's longest-serving mayor. Luecke was first reelected in 1999, being subsequently reelected in 2003 and 2007.

Elected in 1987, Luecke served as a member of the South Bend Common Council for nine years, serving as the councilman for the 1st District in the city's northwest.

Stephen J. Luecke (born 1950) is an American politician who served as the 31st mayor of South Bend, Indiana, United States from 1997 to 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the longest-serving mayor in the city's history.