Shirley Huffman

Shirley Todd Huffman (August 30, 1928 – July 1, 2018) was an American politician and legal secretary in the U.S. state of Oregon. Raised in Dayton, Oregon, she settled in Hillsboro, Oregon, where she served on the city council before serving two terms as mayor from 1985 to 1993. During her time as mayor, plans for the Westside Light Rail were approved, with Huffman receiving credit for the extension into downtown Hillsboro. After leaving office, she served on the board of directors of TriMet and as a development coordinator for the city. Early life Shirley Todd was born on August 30, 1928, in Bowdle, South Dakota. Shirley met Thomas A. Huffman when growing up in Dayton, Oregon, when both were seven years old. They married in 1949 and had two children, son Tom Jr. and daughter Julie. The Huffmans moved to Hillsboro in 1954 after Thomas graduated from Willamette University College of Law in Salem. Tom had been a student of later U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield, who taught at Willamette’s undergraduate school. In Hillsboro, Shirley joined the Trinity Lutheran Church in downtown, and worked as a legal secretary for her husband until 1989. Political career Huffman’s political career began in June 1977, when she was appointed to the Hillsboro City Council to replace resigned member Ted Clarno. She had been asked to join the council, and agreed to what she originally planned to be a short-term involvement in city government. She was subsequently elected to the position in 1978, for a term starting in January 1979, and served on the council until 1985. In 1984, she ran for mayor, winning the November election after running unopposed and becoming Hillsboro’s first woman mayor. During her first term that was to be two years long, she worked to have the city charter revised to extend terms of the mayor to four years. The city council and city voters approved the change, with mayors now holding office for four years, though still limited to two consecutive terms. In 1988, she was again unopposed and won re-election, this time to a four-year term. As mayor, a part-time and unpaid position, she worked in the position between 35 and 40 hours each week. This work included representing the city at official events as well as lobbying on behalf of the city.