Mayor Bertha Knight Landes

Bertha Ethel Knight Landes (October 19, 1868 – November 29, 1943) was the first female mayor of a major American city, serving as mayor of Seattle, Washington from 1926 to 1928. After years of civic activism, primarily with women's organizations, she was elected to the Seattle City Council in 1922 and became council president in 1924.

• Wikipedia: Bertha Knight Landes

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Seattle Mayor.

Born in Ware, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, she served as mayor of Seattle, Washington from March 1926 to March 1928. She was elected as Seattle's mayor on March 9, 1926 defeating Edwin J. Brown by 6,000 votes, to become the first woman to head a city government of a major American city. Educated at the University of Indiana with degrees in history and political science, she moved to Seattle with her husband Henry in 1895. Prior to serving as mayor, she served two terms on the Seattle City Council from 1922 to 1926, the second term as council president.

She ran her political campaign promising to clean up city government corruption, and was a strong advocate of public ownership of private utilities including Seattle City Light and street railways. Following her defeat for re-election in 1928 by Frank Edwards, she remained active in a number of civic and charitable affairs, and was in high demand as an author, writing numerous articles for national publication. A strong advocate of women's rights, she served as a member of several women's organizations including the Women's University Club, the Women's Century Club, the Women's Auxiliary of University Churches, and the League of Women Voters. She died at the home of her son in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the age of 75.