Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Kelly, Sharon Pratt Dixon

From 1991 to 1994, the difficult job of running Washington, D.C., belonged to Mayor Sharon Pratt Dixon Kelly, a successful utilities attorney who had had no previous experience in city government. Kelly was voted mayor in the wake of Marion Barry's fall from political grace. During her uphill campaign, Kelly portrayed herself as a squeaky-clean political outsider, even though she had strong connections to the national DEMOCRATIC PARTY. Kelly, a middle-class African American who was born and raised in the District of Columbia, promised to reduce crime, cut the city's bloated budget, and clean up corrupt government. Although she was turned out of office after just one term, Kelly earned herself a permanent place in history by becoming the first female mayor of the nation's capital.

Kelly was born January 30, 1944, in Washington, D.C. She was the first child...