HAYWARD — Ilene Weinreb, who after sitting at city council meetings thought she could do as good a job as those on the dais and became Hayward’s first elected female mayor, has died. She was 89.
Weinreb died Nov. 22 from old age, her family said.
Weinreb was first elected to the council in 1968, a year of political upheaval during which women throughout the country were campaigning for equality. Her election as mayor would come six years later.
Weinreb served two terms as mayor, where she gained a reputation as a staunch advocate for affordable housing — a cause she continued to champion after leaving office.
“I just did things that I thought were important and didn’t think anything about it,” Weinreb told this news organization in October 2015. “I was surprised other people thought it was worth mentioning.”
While in office, Weinreb helped launch Eden Housing, a nonprofit that builds and runs affordable housing for lower-income families, seniors and people with disabilities, and was a long-time member of its board.
She also served on Alameda County’s public hospital consortium board and founded “MOMS,” or Maximizing Mothers to Succeed, a partnership with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office that supports incarcerated mothers seeking to build connections with their children.
Before Eden Housing started in 1968, there was no local agency that promoted housing for financially struggling people, Weinreb once noted. Since its launch, more than 100,000 people have gained housing through Eden, according to the organization.
“Affordable housing was and still is the greatest need,” Weinreb said in an interview.
Eden Housing named a 22-unit low-income senior apartment complex in Hayward “Weinreb Place” in honor of the former mayor.
“When I think about all the people who are in Eden Housing projects in our city and who have affordable places to live, I am really grateful for Ilene Weinreb,” Mayor Barbara Halliday said.
Born on Nov. 9, 1931 in Kansas City, Mo., the eldest of three daughters of Henry and Mary Spack, Weinreb earned a master’s degree and a teaching credential from the University of Chicago, where she also met her husband, Marvin Weinreb, then a medical student.
The couple married in 1951 and moved to Hayward in 1957.
“She was a very family-oriented person,” said her son-in-law, Tom Jacobsen. “But at the same time, she was a real go-getter.”
Weinreb was working with the League of Women Voters when the organization asked her to observe Hayward city council meetings.
“After sitting there for a number of weeks, I said even I can do better than that,” Weinreb later remarked.
After she left elected office, Weinreb and her husband moved to Oakland to be nearer their children. They lost their home in the October 1991 East Bay hills firestorm.
Marvin Weinreb was killed in a 2000 plane crash while volunteering with Flying Doctors.
Ilene Weinreb served on the board of the Jewish Federation of the East Bay and at UC Berkeley Hillel, where she launched the Friday night Shabbat meal program. She also helped start Alameda County’s 211 telephone line, which connects residents with health and human service programs.
Weinreb was a member of Temple Beth Sholom in San Leandro for more than 60 years.
Her survivors include two daughters, a sister and four granddaughters.
“She left behind quite a legacy,” Jacobsen said. “Especially in terms of her family. I think that would be what she would be most proud of.”