Matt Hammer got it exactly right when talking about the legacy of his mother, former San Jose Mayor Susan Hammer, who died Saturday evening at her Willow Glen home.
“We are heartbroken at Mom’s passing and feel so grateful for her boundless love for her family. She was our model of living a life of compassion and devotion.”
Few Silicon Valley politicians were more beloved than Susan Hammer. With good reason. She had a dry wit and quick mind that commanded respect everywhere she went.
From the beginning, Hammer engaged in community issues for all the right reasons. As mayor, she never aspired to higher office for personal gain. In 1995, when Norm Mineta left Congress, Hammer said she would not run for his seat, saying she liked being San Jose’s mayor. For her, it was always about making San Jose a better place.
Hammer first became involved as a volunteer. It was a golden political era for San Jose in which a host of League of Women Voters volunteers emerged as city leaders. Hammer eventually began working with then-Mayor Janet Gray Hayes, who became the first female mayor of a large city in 1974 and accurately dubbed San Jose the “feminist capital of the world.”
In 1983, Hayes chose Hammer to fill the downtown District 3 City Council seat that was vacated by Councilman Jim Self. Hammer served a second term before becoming mayor in 1990, narrowly defeating Frank Fiscalini.
Hammer was a huge champion for the arts. Her commitment changed the city and raised the profile of the arts community to new heights. Her name, along with that of her husband, Phil, rightly graces the top of the San Jose Repertory Theatre, now known simply as the Hammer Theatre.
She played a major role in bringing the city and San Jose State University together to build the downtown Martin Luther King Library. Hammer also worked with her long-time friend, then-Councilwoman Blanca Alvarado, to push forward construction of the Mexican Heritage Plaza.
Those are major accomplishments. But it was her commitment to inclusion and diversity that stand out most about her years as mayor.
When Hammer took office many minority groups felt left out of the city’s decision-making process.
She insisted that people from all walks of life be included on the city’s commissions, increasing communication and trust. She created the city’s Project Diversity, the San Jose Conservation Corps and homework centers for youth, designed to both keep children off the streets and further their education. Hammer pushed for the city to require contractors to pay workers a living wage and organized the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force.
It created a sense of community that stands as a model for Bay Area cities and beyond.
Hammer said in the conclusion of her farewell address to the city that she hoped to be thought of as a mayor “who put families first; who built community by championing the potential of people; who fostered social action; and who changed the face of the city by nurturing its spirit.”
Mission accomplished.