18 Facts About Shirley Dean

Shirley Dean grew up in a single parent family and graduated from Berkeley High School.

Shirley Dean was selected as a Distinguished Graduate in the Berkeley High School Hall of Fame and was the first in her family to attend college.

Shirley Dean graduated with honors from UC Berkeley with a BA in Social Welfare in 1956.

Shirley Dean's responsibilities included writing the plan and supervising field work for the recruitment of minority students to the UC Berkeley campus and visiting high schools throughout California.

Shirley Dean received two Distinguished Service Awards from UC Berkeley for her work before she retired in March 2000.

Shirley Dean was first elected Mayor of Berkeley in 1994 after a close run-off race.

Shirley Dean stated that she visited the school to read about Worthington in the college newspaper, a public record.

Shirley Dean stated she did not ask for non-public records and that upon the request of the college showed her California Driver License bearing her full name and address.

Shirley Dean compensated by working relentlessly on programs she thought were best for the city.

Shirley Dean lost her bid for re-election in 2002 to fellow Democrat Tom Bates.

Shirley Dean ran for Mayor against Bates once more in 2008, but was soundly defeated.

Shirley Dean started her political career by organizing the Bonita-Berryman Neighborhood Association, which led to her appointment in 1971 to the city's Planning Commission.

Shirley Dean worked with Urban Care to achieve Council approval for what is recognized as one of the best Landmarks Preservation Ordinances in the Nation.

Shirley Dean served on the Berkeley City Council for 15 years between 1975 and 1994.

Shirley Dean was first elected to the City Council in 1975 as an at large member, she served on the council until 1982.

When district elections were adopted in Berkeley in 1986 Shirley Dean was the first elected council member from District 5, she held the seat until 1994 when she was elected Mayor.

Since leaving the Mayor's Office in 2002, Shirley Dean has been involved in several community and environmental organizations, serving on the boards of:.

Shirley Dean made headlines in 2007 when she, at age 71, city council member Betty Olds, 86, and noted environmentalist and co-founder of Save the Bay, Sylvia McLaughlin, 90, climbed a ladder to briefly join a tree-sit aimed at saving the Memorial Oak Grove outside the stadium of the University of California, Berkeley.