Sharon Sayles Belton | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Sharon Sayles Belton asMayor of Minneapolis in the 1990s | |
| 45thMayor of Minneapolis | |
| In office January 1, 1994 – December 31, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Donald M. Fraser |
| Succeeded by | R. T. Rybak |
| President of theMinneapolis City Council | |
| In office 1990–1993 | |
| Member of theMinneapolis City Council from the 8th Ward | |
| In office 1983–1993 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sharon Sayles (1951-05-13)May 13, 1951 (age 74) Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic (DFL) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Macalester College |
Sharon Sayles Belton (born May 13, 1951) is an American community leader, politician and activist. She is Vice President of Community Relations and Government Affairs for Thomson Reuters Legal.[1]
She served asmayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 1994 until 2001, and was the first African American and first woman to hold that position.
Sayles Belton was born inSaint Paul, Minnesota, one of four daughters of Bill and Ethel Sayles.[2] After her parents separated, she lived for one year with her mother inRichfield, Minnesota, where she was the only African American in East Junior High School. She then moved to south Minneapolis to live with her father and stepmother. She attendedCentral High School in Minneapolis.[3] She volunteered as acandy striper atMount Sinai Hospital, and later worked as a nurse's aide. She was briefly acivil rightsactivist in the state ofMississippi.
Sayles Belton attendedMacalester College in Saint Paul, where she studied biology and sociology. She later worked as aparole officer with victims of sexual assault. Like her grandfather Bill Sayles, she became a neighborhood activist.[4]
In 1983, Sayles Belton was elected by the Eighth Ward to theMinneapolis City Council. She was inspired by working with mayorDonald M. Fraser. She represented the state at the1984 Democratic National Convention, where Minnesota politicianWalter Mondale was nominated forPresident of the United States. A member of theMinnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Sayles Belton was elected city council president in 1990.
In 1993, she announced her candidacy for mayor. With the help of three phone banks and a staff of ten, she was elected on a platform that included reform of the police department, and focused on her election as the first African American and the first woman mayor in the city's 140-year history. She defeated DFL formerHennepin County Commissioner John Derus. She was reelected in 1997, defeating Republican candidateBarbara Carlson. Sayles Belton held the position for two terms, from January 1, 1994, to December 31, 2001.[4]
During her tenure, the city addressed archaic utilities billing, outdated water treatment and neighborhood flooding. By the end of the decade, Minneapolis saw increased property values, its first increase in population since the 1940s, and a reversal of a "50-year economic slide." Sayles Belton is credited with stabilizing neighborhoods amid racial tensions, supporting the school system, and being an able and savvy city manager. Critics of Sayles Belton opposed the use of city subsidies for downtown development, said to total $90 million combined for the Target store and Block E.[5][6]
In the 2001, election Sayles Belton lost her party's endorsement and the Democratic primary toR. T. Rybak, who received the support of the powerful Minneapolis Police Federation. After leaving the mayor's office, Sayles Belton became a senior fellow at the Roy Wilkins Center for Human Relations and Social Justice. The center is part of theHubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
Sayles Belton worked in community affairs and community involvement for the GMAC Residential Finance Corporation, headquartered in Minneapolis. In 2010, she joinedThomson Reuters as vice president of Community Relations and Government Affairs, based inEagan, Minnesota.
She is married to Steven Belton, with whom she raised three children: Kilayna, Jordan, and Coleman.[7]
Sayles Belton is involved in initiatives supporting racial equity, community and neighborhood development, public policy, women's rights, family and children's issues, police-community relations and youth development.[8] In 1978 she co-founded the Harriet Tubman Shelter for Battered Women in Minneapolis. She is a co-founder of the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She contributed to the Neighborhood Revitalization Program, Clean Water Partnership, Children's Healthcare and Hospital, theAmerican Bar Association,[9] theBush Foundation, theUnited States Conference of Mayors, theNational League of Cities, andHennepin County Medical Center by chairing or serving on their boards.[8][10]
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| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mayor of Minneapolis 1994 – 2001 | Succeeded by |