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Dan Whitehurst

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dan Whitehurst
19th Mayor of Fresno
In office
April 25, 1977 – January 26, 1985
Preceded byTed C. Wills
Succeeded byDale Doig
Personal details
Born
Daniel Keenan Whitehurst

(1948-10-04) October 4, 1948 (age 76)
Los Banos, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseKathleen McCann (m. 1969)
EducationSaint Mary's College of California (BA)
University of California, Hastings College of the Law (JD)

Dan Whitehurst (born 1948 in Los Banos, California), is a former California politician. Whitehurst started college at age 16 and law school at age 20. He practiced law briefly and then worked for a time at his father's funeral home before entering politics in 1975.[1] He was mayor of Fresno, California from 1977 to 1985.

Civic career

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Whitehurst was a member of the Fresno City Council from 1975 to 1977, and was elected mayor of Fresno in 1977. He took office at the age 28, making him the youngest mayor of a major city in the U.S. and the youngest mayor in the history of Fresno. In 1982, while still in office as mayor, Whitehurst ran against California Governor Jerry Brown for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate.[1] He came in fourth place with 167,574 votes (6.10%).[2]

After leaving office in 1985, Whitehurst remained active in local politics. His public service included the following:

  • 1986–present Chairman, California Healthy Cities Steering Committee
  • 1986-87 Program Evaluator, Ford Foundation Innovations in Government Program
  • 1985-88 Executive Session on Community Policing, Harvard University
  • 1993-94 Chairman, Fresno Metropolitan Projects Authority (Arts to Zoo Commission)
  • 1997-99 Chairman, Great Valley Center

Whitehurst also served on various advisory committees for: Fresno State, Regional Medical Center, Central California Futures Institute, Boys and Girls Clubs, Fresno County Association for a UC Campus, Fresno Unified School District, Citizens for Community Enrichment (Arts to Zoo), Downtown Task Force (ULI Study) [3]

Whitehurst practiced also law and was in various business ventures. He again ran for mayor of Fresno in 2000, but he lost to Republican Alan Autry.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Fresno Mayor Enters Race". Lodi News-Sentinel. Oct 5, 1981.
  2. ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate - D Primary Race - Jun 08, 1982". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  3. ^ "Full Biography for Daniel K. Whitehurst". Smart Voter. League of Women Voters. 4 February 2000. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  4. ^ "Our Campaigns - Fresno Mayor Race - Nov 07, 2000". www.ourcampaigns.com.
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Political offices
Preceded by 19th Mayor of Fresno
1977-1985
Succeeded by