It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of Anne Rudin, former LWVC and LWV Sacramento County President and first directly elected female Mayor of Sacramento. 

“She’s someone who broke the glass ceiling, here in Sacramento, as not only the first woman to be elected from a district, back in ’71, but the first woman to be elected citywide as mayor,” said former mayor Heather Fargo.

A former nurse with a Masters in Public Administration, she tackled all the tough issues of her time including, assault rifle bans, smoking bans, rights for women and children along with LQBTQ as well as opposing development along the Sacramento River levee. Anne was also a founding member of the Riverside (CA) LWV in 1953-4).  You can read more about her life and legacy online. 

The League established the Anne Rudin Scholarship Fund to commemorate the accomplishments of former Sacramento Mayor Anne Rudin and to enable other women to pursue higher education in the fields of public administration and public policy. You can also donate in her honor online or to the Anne Rudin Scholarship Fund.