End of The HRP
With the nation-wide decline in student activism, the Human Rights Party's power waned in the mid-1970s. In 1973, Ann Arbor's Democratic/HRP governing coalition lost power, as Republican James E. Stephenson won the mayoralty and Republicans also took control of seven of the ten council seats.
The Ann Arbor chapter lost its last remaining city-council seat in 1976. In 1975, the HRP became the Socialist Human Rights Party, and it later merged with the Socialist Party of Michigan. Some members joined the Democratic Party. However, several of its landmark initiatives, notably the Ann Arbor anti-discrimination ordinance and the lenient municipal marijuana penalties, survive in modified form to this day.
Read more about this topic: Human Rights Party (United States)