| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
Sharon Pratt was born January 30, 1944 in Washington. She received both undergraduate and law degrees from Howard University, following the career path of her father, a superior court judge, and was a professor in law at Antioch College before returning to Washington in 1977.
In 1983 she was made Vice President of Community Relations at Pepco, the local power utility, becoming the first woman and first African-American to serve in that role. The same year, she won the Presidential Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Pratt directed the failed 1982 mayoral campaign of Patricia Robert Harris and married Arrington Dixon , a Democrat on the DC city council. Her political energies, however, were drawn to national rather than local politics. She was a member of the Democratic National Committee from the District of Columbia from 1977-90, the first female to hold that position. She served as Treasurer of the DNC 1985-89.
Pratt was sworn in as mayor of Washington on January 2, 19911991 like 2002, is a palindromic year. It also has the same calendar as 2002, including Easter on March 31. It is a common year starting on Tuesday. Events January January 2 Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of Washington, DC becoming the first blac, the first African-American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city. Early in her term, she married James R. Kelly III, a New York businessman, and changed her name to Sharon Pratt Kelly.
Upset with the decline of her hometown, she announced she would challenge incumbentThe incumbent in politics, is the current holder of a political office. For example, in the 2004 Russian presidential election, Vladimir Putin as the current president is the incumbent. In many jurisdictions and situations, incumbents have structural adva mayor Marion BarryNot to be confused with Marion Berry, U. Representative from Arkansas. Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr. born March 6, 1936) served as Democratic mayor of Washington, DC from 1979 to 1991. He was forced to leave office during his third term as a result of a drug in the 1990 election at the 1988 Democratic National ConventionThe 1988 Democratic National Convention was held in Atlanta, Georgia in July of 1988, to select a candidate for the 1988 United States presidential election. At the convention Michael Dukakis was nominated for President and Lloyd Bentsen for Vice Presiden, a race also joined by three DC Councilmen. As an unknown without previous experience in District politics, she was free to criticize Barry and the "three blind mice," and promised to "clean house with a shovel, not a broom." Kelly received the endorsement of the Washington Post, and after Barry was arrested on drug charges and dropped out the race, she won handily.
Once in office, however, the aloof Kelly proved ineffective. Her vows to slash the city employment rolls won little support among city employees, high crime and ongoing failures of city services disillusioned the electorate, and suspicion of questionable accounting tactics and the city's deteriorating finances found strong disfavor in the United States CongressThe United States Congress is the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The structure and responsibilities of Congress are defined in Article One of the United States Constitution. The United States Congress is bicameral, meaning tha. In the second year of her term, Barry loyalists mounted a recall campaign which although unsuccessful weakened her administration, which backed away from reform in light of union opposition.
In the 1994 Democratic primary, Kelly finished a distant third, losing to Marion Barry.