Adlene Nathanson Harrison (November 19, 1923 – February 19, 2022) was an American politician who served on the Dallas City Council from 1973 to 1977, and was acting

mayor of Dallas The Mayor of the City of Dallas is a member of the Dallas City Council and its presiding officer. The current mayor is Eric Johnson (Texas politician), Eric Johnson, who has served one term since 2019 Dallas mayoral election, 2019 and is the 60 ...

in 1976. Harrison was elected as city councilwoman three times. She also served as regional administrator for the

Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations: * Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia * Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) * Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) * Environmenta ...

from 1977 to 1981 and as the first chair of the

Dallas Area Rapid Transit Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is a transit agency serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex of Texas. It operates buses, light rail, commuter rail, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes in Dallas and twelve of its suburbs. In , the system had a r ...

Board. She was the first

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

woman to serve as Mayor of a major U.S. city. She was Dallas' first Jewish mayor and first female mayor; Annette Strauss would follow her in both categories. Harrison, a Democratic city councilwoman, succeeded

Wes Wise Wes Wise (November 25, 1928 – December 9, 2022) was an American journalist and politician who served from 1971 to 1976 as a three-term mayor of Dallas, Texas. Early life and TV news career Wise was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on November 2 ...

as mayor when he resigned to run for the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. Harrison was generally referred to as being a proponent for urban

Populism Populism is a essentially contested concept, contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the "common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently a ...

. Her acting mayoral term had focuses in expanding her existing environmental policy work as well as seeking the growth of municipal historical preservation efforts. While Harrison seriously considered running for mayor in the following election cycle, she ultimately decided that her political efforts were needed elsewhere, such as in her following positions within Environmental Protection Agency. She served until the election of a new mayor, Robert Folsom, at the end of the year. Harrison died on February 19, 2022, at the age of 98.

References

1923 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women 20th-century mayors of places in Texas Women city councillors in Texas Women mayors of places in Texas Jewish American mayors Jewish American women in politics Mayors of Dallas Dallas City Council members Texas Democrats Jewish American people in Texas politics {{Texas-mayor-stub