Dona Spring (January 22, 1953 – July 13, 2008) was an American activist and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. She served on the Berkeley City Council from 1992 until her death in 2008.

Early life and education

Spring was born in Plentywood, Montana. She graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

with honors, earning a bachelor's degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

Career

Spring worked for many years as an activist devoted to causes such as disability rights, seniors, at-risk youth, poverty, the environment and animal rights. She used a wheelchair for much of her adult life due to

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

. Spring was elected to the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee in 1986 and to the county's Green Party County Council in 1990. Spring was elected to the Berkeley City Council in 1992 as a member of the Green Party of California. She served on the Alameda County Recycling Board from 1997 to 2001, including a stint as its president in 2001. She was elected to her fifth, and last, term to the Berkeley City Council in 2006 with 72% of votes cast. Her last act as a member of the city council was to pledge support for the tree-sitters during the University of California, Berkeley oak grove controversy. Spring was succeeded in the City Council by Jesse Arreguín, who Spring had encouraged to run for office previously.

Death

Spring died in 2008, aged 55, at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, after being diagnosed with pneumonia. In July 2008, filmmakers Lindsay Vurek and Valerie Trost released a

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about Spring's life, ''Courage in Life & Politics - The Dona Spring Story''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spring, Dona 1953 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women Activists from California California city council members California Greens Deaths from pneumonia in California American disability rights activists Green Party of the United States officeholders People from Sheridan County, Montana Politicians from Berkeley, California Women city councillors in California University of California, Berkeley alumni 20th-century California politicians