Frank Licht, 71; Former Rhode Island Governor

Former Gov. Frank Licht, who pushed through a state income tax to end Rhode Island’s 1960s fiscal crises, died Saturday at the age of 71. He had suffered from cancer and died at Roger Williams Hospital.

Licht, a Democrat, served as a state senator and judge before being elected governor in 1968. He was reelected in 1970 but chose to return to private life after his second term ended in 1973.

Former colleagues praised Licht as a man of fierce integrity and political courage.

Gov. Edward D. DiPrete called Licht a man of rare accomplishment who served the state with distinction. His nephew, Lt. Gov. Richard A. Licht said: “He played an important role to me as a mentor . . . a person who set standards of ethics and conduct.”

Licht’s outstanding contribution was to restore the state’s fiscal health by pushing through Rhode Island’s first income tax, associates said.

A Providence native, Licht graduated from Brown University and Harvard Law School. He was a partner in the Providence law firm of Letts & Quinn from 1943 to 1956 and represented Providence in the state Senate from 1949 to 1956.

He retired from the Senate to take a seat on the Superior Court in 1956 but left the bench in 1968 to fight an underdog campaign to oust Republican Gov. John H. Chafee, now a U.S. senator.

Licht is survived by his father, Jacob Licht, 97; his wife, Dorothy; three daughters, and four grandchildren.