Mayor Marie Gilmore Says Yes to the Challenges of Public Service

When Alameda Mayor Marie Gilmore entered city politics in 1992, becoming mayor was the last thing on her mind. She had no aspirations to climb the rungs of city government, let alone reach the top. “Absolutely not,” she laughs. “Absolutely not.” Yet here she was, the first African-American female mayor of a vibrant city of 70,000, giving an interview in her office at City Hall.
If not self-determination, chalk it all up to a matter of simple fate. Gilmore’s 18-year path to mayorhood, as ineluctable as it was patient, owes more to her personable, straightforward manner; eagerness to help the city where her family has lived since 1989; and, perhaps most importantly, ability to manage the minutiae of city government, than it does to any carefully charted plan. In an era where, perhaps cynically, we expect ruthlessness from our politicians, Gilmore’s story is a breath of fresh air — and good news for a city otherwise recovering from more than its share of lapses in leadership.
It all began when a difficult pregnancy with her first child sidelined her young career in labor and employment law. When her son was a toddler, the family gravitated toward nearby Franklin Park. “We spent an inordinate time at the park,” Gilmore recalls fondly. Gradually, she became invested in its future and increasingly passionate about public service. “I always felt that, if you’re able to, you should give back to your community,” she says. Then-mayor Bill Withrow appointed Gilmore to the Recreation and Park Commission, and the ball was off and rolling.
“I was really happy, because I felt I had spent so much time in the park that it would be nice to be able to recommend policy to the city council,” Gilmore says. She spent four years on the commission before taking her next step. Appointed to the City Planning Commission by Mayor Ralph Appezzato, Gilmore transitioned to a more demanding and visible post within the city while retaining her service-oriented, unselfish perspective. The new position allowed her to draw from concepts surrounding real property that she had mastered in law school, yet in a real-world setting, where people’s time, money and property were on the line.
Again she succeeded, and again life led her down a path she might not have plotted for herself. The unfortunate passing of City Council member Al DeWitt left a vacant seat, and after an extensive appointment process, Gilmore found herself called upon once more. The next year, in 2004, her council seat was up for grabs, and, deciding she was qualified, she opted to run. “I felt that I had developed the skills that I could put to use as a councilmember,” she says.
“I really felt that I could help the council move the city forward.”
Gilmore won, then earned a second term in 2008. But had she finally set her sights on becoming mayor? “Not then,” she says. Not until a year and a half or so before the November 2010 election, when friends and colleagues began encouraging her to run. After serious consideration, she went for it; and upon handily besting a field of five, landed where she is today. All that success hasn’t changed Gilmore’s outlook one bit. “I’m not a politician,” she says. “I saw an opportunity to participate, to help, and I took it.”

This article appears in the July-August 2011 issue of Alameda Magazine
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