Help People and Love Justice
My father was a Baptist minister. He was the one who encouraged all of his children to be involved in the community - first of all to help people and second to love justice. We were taught to work to bring about the good for people and our community.
From that background I became interested in government and politics. Before I had married and started my own family, I had already worked for a congressman. Washington, D. C. was a very exciting place to work. When leaders would come from other countries, they often would address the Senate or the House and there were always a few tickets for staff members to go over and sit in the balconies. I did that a number of times.
It was good because being a woman in 1956, you usually went from a very protective home, to college, but then you went right into marriage. Usually, there was no free, independent period of your life. But I had that, and I'm so glad that I did. So many of my friends didn't, and then they would look back and think, "Oh, I missed something."
When my husband and I came to California I got involved in government again, first in helping women run for office, and then being on the San Diego County Planning Commission. Then in 1978 we moved here to Solana Beach. At the time myself, and other members of the community, began looking into Solana Beach becoming a city. Many attempts were made but we didn't get enough votes, and then in June of 1986 we were successful. I was given the most votes on the city council, which ended up making me the first mayor. It was very exciting. This year, Solana Beach is going to be twenty years old and we're going to have a big celebration.
