Edwina Benner
Edwina Benner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mayor of Sunnyvale | |
| In office 1924–1926 | |
| In office 1937–1938 | |
| Member of Sunnyvale City Council | |
| In office 1920–1948 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 1, 1885 |
| Died | May 14, 1955 (aged 69) |
Edwina Adaha Cochrane Benner (August 1, 1885[citation needed] – May 14, 1955) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Sunnyvale, California, from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1937 to 1938. She served as councilmember from 1920 until 1948.[1] Commonly described as the first female mayor in California, she was actually the second, after Ellen French Aldrich of Sawtelle, California—though Sawtelle had already been annexed by the city of Los Angeles by the time Benner was appointed mayor.[2]
Benner died on May 14, 1955 in San Jose, California.[3]
Legacy
[edit]In 1954, Sunnyvale School District opened the Edwina Benner Intermediate school, named in her honor. In 2017, affordable housing developer MidPen Housing broke ground on a new 66 unit affordable housing project in Sunnyvale, the Edwina Benner Plaza.[4]
References
[edit]- ↑ Smith, Nancy (March 28, 2017). "Forget selfish personal interests: California's first woman mayor". Nancy Smith: Sunnyvale City Council Seat 6. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
- ↑ Kezra, Victoria (March 2, 2016). "Sunnyvale: The name of the first woman mayor in state history will adorn affordable housing project". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
- ↑ "Mrs. Benner Is Dead". The San Francisco Examiner. 1955-05-15. p. 37. Retrieved 2026-09-26 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Kezra, Victoria (May 15, 2017). "Construction has begun on Sunnyvale affordable housing project". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
- 1885 births
- 1955 deaths
- People from Sunnyvale, California
- Politics of the San Francisco Bay Area
- Government of Santa Clara County, California
- Political history of the San Francisco Bay Area
- 20th-century American women politicians
- 20th-century mayors of places in California
- Women mayors of places in California
- Mayors of places in California