Deedee Corradini | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 32ndMayor of Salt Lake City | |
| In office 1992 – January 3, 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Palmer DePaulis |
| Succeeded by | Rocky Anderson |
| 56thPresident of the United States Conference of Mayors | |
| In office 1998–1999 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Helmke |
| Succeeded by | Wellington Webb |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Margaret Louise McMullen (1944-04-11)April 11, 1944 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Died | March 1, 2015(2015-03-01) (aged 70) Park City, Utah, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Profession | Businesswoman andpolitician |
Margaret "Deedee" McMullen Corradini (April 11, 1944 – March 1, 2015) was an Americanbusinesswoman andpolitician who served as the 32ndmayor ofSalt Lake City,Utah, from 1992 to 2000. Corradini was the first woman to serve as mayor ofSalt Lake City.[1]
Corradini, at the time of her death Senior Vice President for Prudential Utah Real Estate, was also the President ofWomen's Ski Jumping-USA. She was on the WSJ-USA board, and served as president for three years, taking a lead role in the battle to get women's ski jumping into theOlympic Winter Games.
Corradini was born Margaret Louise McMullen[2] (although Deedee was a childhood nickname)[2] in Providence, Rhode Island, the daughter of Marie-Louise (Strehlau) and the Rev. Horace "Mac" Martin McMullen.[3] Corradini attended school inLebanon andSyria for 11 years as a child. She attendedDrew University from 1961 to 1963. She received aBachelor of Arts in 1965 and aMaster's degree in 1967, both inPsychology from theUniversity of Utah.[4] She served asPress Secretary toCongressmanWayne Owens of Utah and then Rep.Richard Ottinger of New York in the early 1970s.
Although Utah leans strongly toward the Republican party, Corradini was a Democrat. This is not unusual for Salt Lake City, which tends to vote Democratic far more than other regions of Utah.
Corradini was fluent in French and Arabic.[5]
Corradini's efforts gave Utah the initial shove that landed the state the2002 Winter Olympics. Corradini was the first woman to receive theOlympic flag, in front of a television audience of hundreds of millions of viewers, when it was passed to Salt Lake City at the1998 Winter Olympics inNagano,Japan at the closing ceremonies.
Under Corradini's watch, the city'spopulation experienced a tremendous growth spurt, as the metropolitan area of Salt Lake City and the rest of the state began to grow by thousands of families a month.
But she also endured scrutiny as a result of the fallout of Bonneville Pacific, a publicly traded alternative energy producer that went through bankruptcy proceedings in 1991. While never an executive of the company, Corradini had been a director, and - facing being dragged into years-long legal proceedings which would cost millions regardless of actual responsibility or outcome - agreed to a settlement of $805,000, a huge amount given that no responsibility or liability had or has ever been shown. Corradini was later criticized for soliciting some $231,000 in cash gifts and loans from friends and acquaintances to help pay the settlement; although insinuations were made, particularly in the alternative press, no serious allegations of impropriety were ever advanced. In January 1999, she announced she would not seek reelection the following year.
TheACLU and the First Unitarian Church ofSalt Lake City, among others (including her successorRocky Anderson), were upset with a deal she negotiated on behalf of the city to sell a block of Main Street — then city property — adjacent toTemple Square tothe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[6] However, the conversion of this block into a church plaza was one of the 14 major projects put forth by the city in its 1962 Second Century Plan.[7][8][9] The 1962 plan stated: "It is proposed that Main Street between the two church blocks either be closed to vehicular traffic or an underpass installed. This would strongly unify these two blocks as a visual anchor on the north end."[9]
During her tenure, Corradini pushed hard (and ultimately successfully) for the relocation of theUnion Pacific railroad tracks that divideddowntown, pushed through theTRAXlight-rail system, and won massive federal funding for reconstruction of thefreeway system in advance of the Olympic Games (one of the largest single public works transit projects in recent American history). She also was the guiding force for the construction of the popular baseball stadium for the (then) AAASalt Lake Buzz, at the time, thefarm team for theMinnesota Twins), the redevelopment of a 50-year-old rail yard into the 30-acre (121,000 m2), $375 millionThe Gatewaymixed-use development, resulting in two million square feet (186,000 m2) of shops, restaurants, office space, and housing, a 12-screenmovie theatre, theClark Planetarium, andDiscovery Gateway, a children's museum.
Corradini served as the President of theU.S. Conference of Mayors in 1998. She was also President of the International Women's Forum, Chair of the Utah Symphony Board of Directors, of which she was a Lifetime Board Member.
Corradini died from lung cancer on March 1, 2015, at the age of 70.[10]
Corradini's efforts gave Utah the initial shove that landed the state the2002 Winter Olympics.
Corradini crisscrossed the globe meeting withInternational Olympic Committee members for Salt Lake City's 2002 bid. She lobbied theUtah Legislature for a voter-approved sales-tax hike to build winter-sports facilities to help lure theWinter Games.[5]
Corradini was the first woman to receive theOlympic flag, in front of a television audience of hundreds of millions of viewers, when it was passed to Salt Lake City at the1998 Winter Olympics inNagano,Japan at the closing ceremonies.
Corradini was instrumental in adding women'sbobsleigh andskeleton events to the2002 Olympics inUtah.[11]
Corradini campaigned for the2002 Winter Olympics as mayor and then led the effort to bring women's ski jumping to the Winter Games.[12] When theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC)[13] told her and women ski jumpers in 2008 regarding participation in the2010 Winter Olympics that women would not be allowed to jump, Corradini and other women ski jump advocates then filed suit inCanada, suggesting that exclusion of the event violated the human rights of the athletes. The lawsuit was rejected before the2010 Winter Olympics.[12] In 2011, based on improvements in performance and participation, theIOC gave its approval to add women's ski jumping, starting with the upcoming2014 Winter Olympics.[12][14] For nearly a decade, Corradini had led the fight, which included an appeal to theSupreme Court of Canada when athletes fought for the right to compete in the2010 Winter Olympics.TheIOC twice ruled against adding the sport to the Vancouver Games, saying participation worldwide wasn't widespread enough.[14]
After women's ski jumping was added to the Olympic program, Corradini said: "We have only one event, and that's the normal hill jump. The men have normal hill, large hill, the team event and Nordic combined. We're already thinking 2018 to become really equal with the men, so we still have our work cut out for us."[14]
During her tenure, Corradini pushed hard (and ultimately successfully) for the relocation of theUnion Pacific railroad tracks that divideddowntown, pushed through theTRAXlight-rail system, and won massive federal funding for reconstruction of thefreeway system in advance of the2002 Winter Olympic Games (one of the largest single public works transit projects in recent American history).[15]
Corradini became an early advocate for light rail, which debuted on Main Street in the final year of her mayoral run. She helped lay the groundwork for a transportation hub that connectsTRAX,FrontRunner commuter trains and buses in what used to be the city's red-light district.[5]
In championing the initial TRAX spur, Corradini ran into stiff resistance from business owners, who balked at having Main Street torn up for months of construction to accommodate the rails.[5]
Corradini pushed to renovate the blighted west side of the city's business district with an ambitious 50-block project that involved moving roads, bridges and freeway corridors. That paved the way for The Gateway shopping and residential center — a $375 million mixed-use development boasting 2 million square feet of shops, restaurants, offices and housing, as well as a 12-screen movie theater, a planetarium and a children's museum.[5]
Corradini also led the effort to renovateSalt Lake City International Airport and added a third runway.[5]
Corradini was born in Providence, R.I., April 11, 1944, as Margaret Louise McMullen. As an adult, she legally changed her name to "Deedee," a childhood nickname. Corradini was the name she acquired when she married her first husband.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mayor of Salt Lake City 1992 – January 3, 2000 | Succeeded by |