Barbara Bry (born April 9, 1949) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as a member of the San Diego City Council from 2016 to 2020, representing District 1. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as president pro tempore of the city council from 2017 to 2020 and was a candidate for mayor of San Diego in the 2020 election.

Early life and education

Bry was born and raised in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. She attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, where she obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...

. She later attended

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, where she earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree.

Career

Prior to running for elected office, Bry worked at Connect, a

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

group. She later became an entrepreneur and served on the initial management team of ProFlowers. In 1998, Bry founded Athena San Diego, an organization for women in the tech and life sciences community. In 2008, Bry founded Run Women Run, an organization that recruits and trains pro-choice women seeking elected and appointed office.

San Diego City Council

In 2016, Bry ran for the District 1 seat on the San Diego City Council vacated by term-limited incumbent Sherri Lightner. Bry and Republican Ray Ellis advanced from the March primary with 48% and 34% of the vote, respectively. However, on August 12, 2016, Ellis withdrew from the race, although his name still appeared on the November ballot. Bry went on to win the general election with 65% of the vote. After assuming office in December 2016, Bry served as president pro tempore of the San Diego City Council from 2017 to 2020 under council presidents Myrtle Cole and Georgette Gómez. During her tenure on the city council, she supported restrictions on short term vacation rentals and dockless bicycles, while supporting efforts to combat the gender wage gap in San Diego.

2020 mayoral campaign

Bry ran for mayor of San Diego in 2020, seeking to succeed term-limited incumbent Kevin Faulconer. Bry and fellow Democrat, California State Assemblymember Todd Gloria advanced from the March primary with 22.9% and 41.5% of the vote, respectively. During the campaign, Bry received pushback from local Democratic Party leaders for mailers seen as critical of the

YIMBY The YIMBY movement (short for "yes in my back yard") is a pro-housing social movement that focuses on encouraging new housing, opposing density limits (such as single-family zoning), and supporting public transportation. It stands in opposition ...

housing movement. Gloria went on to defeat Bry in the November general election with 55.95% of the vote. After leaving office in December 2020, Bry returned to the private sector to work for a venture capital and private equity firm.

Personal life

Bry lives in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California with her husband, entrepreneur Neil Senturia. They have two daughters and are grandparents. Bry and her husband are of the Jewish faith.

Electoral history

2016 San Diego City Council

2020 Mayor of San Diego

Notes

References

External links

City of San Diego: Barbara Bry website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bry, Barbara 1949 births 21st-century California politicians 21st-century American women politicians California Democrats Harvard Business School alumni Living people People from La Jolla, San Diego Politicians from Philadelphia San Diego City Council members University of Pennsylvania alumni Women city councillors in California People from University City, San Diego