Donna Frye
Donna Frye | |
|---|---|
 Donna Frye at a city council meeting, 2008 | |
| Member ofSan Diego City Councilrepresenting the Sixth District | |
| In office June 2001 – December 6, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Valerie Stallings |
| Succeeded by | Lorie Zapf |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 20, 1952 Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic[1] |
| Spouse | Skip Frye |
| Residence | Clairemont, San Diego, California |
| Alma mater | National University[2] |
| Profession | Businessperson |
Donna Frye(born January 20, 1952) is an American politician fromSan Diego.She was born inPennsylvaniaand is one of three children. Frye was a member of theSan Diego City Council,representing District 6 and a two-time candidate formayor of San Diego.In July 2013 Frye was among the first to call on then-San DiegoDemocraticMayorBob Filnerto resign overaccusations of sexual harassment and assault.
Early life
[edit]Frye was born in 1952 inPennsylvania,the second of three children. Her family moved to San Diego when her father took a civilian job with theNavy.
After a failed first marriage in late 1979, Frye had problems with alcohol abuse. That changed within months of meeting her current husbandSkip Fryeat a Mexican restaurant in December 1980, and Frye stopped drinking in early 1981. In 1988, they opened a custom-madesurfboardshop inPacific Beachand they married in 1990.
Political career
[edit]
Frye first became concerned with coastal water pollution problems when her husband repeatedly became sick after surfing. She soon became an environmental and community leader. In 2001 she was elected to the San Diego City Council in a special election.[3]She was later elected to full term on the council in the regular2002 city council elections.
Frye ran formayor of San Diegoin theNovember 2004 run-off electionbetweenDick Murphyand Ron Roberts as a write-in candidate, without having run in the primary. Apluralityof voters wrote in her name, but a controversy arose when she lost the election because a number of voters did not fill in the bubble next to her written name or misspelled her name (usually spelling her last name "Fry" ). If those votes had counted, Frye would have had more votes than either of the moderate Republican candidates officially in the runoff, but still far below a majority vote.[4]Whether Frye would have been allowed to serve as mayor in any case is uncertain, as her write-in candidacy was at odds with the San Diego City Charter.[5]
Dick Murphywas re-elected as mayor after a series of legal challenges to the election results, but resigned on July 15, 2005, as the city's fiscal crisis and legal woes with regulatory and law enforcement agencies like theSecurities and Exchange CommissionandFederal Bureau of Investigationworsened and became a matter of increasing public awareness.
Frye ran for mayor in thespecial electionthat took place on July 26, 2005, with a platform advocating open and honest government and restoring order to the city's financial situation, points found in nearly all of the candidates' platforms. Frye was endorsed byMike Aguirre,the city attorney who has confronted the city council over releasing documents.
Frye placed ahead of ten opponents, including former police chief and runner-upJerry Sanders(27%), by receiving 43% of the vote. However, amajoritywas needed to win outright, and so a run-off election was held between Frye and Sanders on November 8, 2005. Frye was defeated in this election, receiving 46.1% of the vote to Sanders' 53.9%. She did, however, win reelection to her council seat in the2006 city council elections,retiring in 2010 due to term limits.
Post-political career
[edit]In December 2012, Frye joined the administration of San Diego MayorBob Filnerin a new position he created called Director of Open Government. She resigned in April 2013 to become president of Californians Aware, a nonprofit that advocates for open government statewide.[6]
In July 2013 she and two other former supporters of Filner publicly called on Filner to resign as mayor, alleging that he hadsexually harassed numerous unnamed womenby forcibly kissing them, fondling them and making sexually suggestive remarks. Though refusing at first to step down, Filner eventually resigned in August 2013. In October of that year, he pleaded guilty to state charges of false imprisonment and misdemeanor battery.
Recognition
[edit]Frye was nominated and inducted into the San Diego County's Women's Hall of Fame in 2011 for the 'Spirit 2011' title. The Hall of Fame's aim is to "acknowledge and honor women who have significantly contributed to the quality of life and who have made outstanding volunteer contributions in San Diego County." The annual Women's Hall of Fame induction is co-hosted by Women's Museum of California (Located in San Diego), Commission on the Status of Women, UC San Diego Women's Center, and San Diego State Women's Studies.[7]
References
[edit]- ^Gustafson, Craig (2006-02-12)."Little rest for Frye as re-election run begins".San Diego Union-Tribune.Retrieved2007-11-09.
- ^LaVelle, Philip J. (October 16, 2004)."Mayoral write-in candidate Frye confident she can win".San Diego Union-Tribune.Archived fromthe originalon March 6, 2016.RetrievedJune 9,2014.
- ^Hall, Matthew T. (July 7, 2005)."Storefront activist rises: Frye caught political fever at surf shop, surged in November race".San Diego Union-Tribune.RetrievedJune 10,2012.
- ^Rainey, James (25 December 2004)."Media's role clouds San Diego recount: Push to examine ballots stirs debate on impartiality".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved24 December2012.
- ^"Challenge to San Diego Election Brought Too Late, C.A. Rules".Metropolitan News-Enterprise. 2004-12-08.Retrieved2009-04-14.
- ^Gustafson, Craig (April 5, 2013)."Frye out as Filner aide, taking effort statewide".San Diego Union-Tribune.Retrieved16 July2013.
- ^"San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame".Ashley Gardner.Retrieved2012-04-27.
External links
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