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Alvin J. Kushner, a seven-term city councilman and mayor of College Park from 1981 to 1987, died Tuesday. He was 82.

Kushner, a retired attorney for the Internal Revenue Service, served on the council from 1969 to 1981 and from 1987 to 1989. A lifelong College Park resident, he served on the city's seven-member Advisory Planning Commission in his later years.

"College Park was very strong in his heart," said Anna Owens, who succeeded Kushner as mayor from 1987 to 1993. "He tried to make it as safe and comfortable and secure as possible for all the people here."

One of Kushner's proudest accomplishments, Owens said, was his role in lobbying the county and General Assembly for a tax differential plan, which stopped the county's practice of billing city residents for services offered by the county rather than the city.

As mayor, he also established a committee to improve relations between residents and his alma mater, the University of Maryland, College Park.

Councilman Jack Perry (Dist. 2) served on the council with Kushner from 1979 to 1981 and during Kushner's first term as mayor. The two ran against each other in the 1983 mayoral race, which Kushner won with about 60 percent of the vote.

"Many of his views were conservative like mine, so we shared a lot of things in common," Perry said. "Al was an asset to the city and I think he served the city well."

In 1985, Kushner's race against lawyer V. Charles Donnelly ended in a rare tie. Kushner won a December run-off to earn his third and final term in office. In 1987, he chose to run for council rather than mayor and was elected unopposed.

"He worked hard for the area and for his district," said City Manager Joe Nagro, who replaced Kushner on the council in 1989 and served until 1997. "I knew him as a constituent ... I'd come down here to the meetings and I could talk to Al."

Kushner is survived by his wife, Gail, and three daughters, Debbie, Jane and Jennifer. Funeral arrangements were not finalized by press time.

E-mail David Hill at dhill@gazette.net.