Dan Whitehurst

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.

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
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)

Civic career

He was a Fresno city council member from 1975 to 1977 and was the mayor of that city from 1977 to 1985. Whitehurst took the oath of office at 28 years of age when he became mayor of Fresno, making him the youngest mayor of a major city in the U.S. and the youngest mayor in the history of Fresno. This beat the former youngest mayor of Fresno, Gordon Dunn, by 8 years.

In 1982, 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]

He did community activities like:

  • 1997-99 Chairman, Great Valley Center
  • 1993-94 Chairman, Fresno Metropolitan Projects Authority (Arts to Zoo Commission)
  • 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
  • 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)
  • 1977-85 Mayor of Fresno[3]
  • 1975-77 Fresno City Council
  • Board Member, National League of Cities; Chair, Public Safety Committee, U.S. Conference of Mayors; President, Mayors and Councilmembers Department, League of California Cities

After his tenure as mayor, Whitehurst practiced law and did other business over the years. He ran for Mayor of Fresno again in 2000 but lost to Republican Alan Autry.[4]

References
  1. "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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