Seventy-one years ago Dorothy Jensen arrived.
Her road to National City City Hall was cluttered with political bramble.
The then 46-year-old woman was appointed March 2, 1954 to fill the seat left vacant by a man some people knew as “Ace.”
Maurice “Ace” Carrigan resigned his seat in Feb. 2, 1954, clearing the way for Jensen.
Actually, it was the second time in months Carrigan resigned his seat on the city council.
In December 1953 “Ace” quit his post because, according to The National City News, he said his health would not permit him to run for re-election. Poor fellah.
But wait, someone from the community said, why not appoint “Ace” to the seat vacated in November 1953 by former councilman John McClure?
“Thereby, Mr. Carrigan would not be forced to face the rigors of another election.”
The suggestion was made by Jensen, who also happened to be the president of the National City Taxpayer’s Association and a member of the National City Republican Women’s Club.
The council liked her idea so much they had “Ace” summoned from home and appointed him on the spot.
To recap, we have a man whose health would not allow him to run a re-election campaign but would allow him to endure the rigors of governance nominated for appointment to a different council seat by a woman who months later would be appointed to fill the seat he originally vacated. Got it?
However, the State Attorney General, and National City residents, had other ideas.
Some residents didn’t like the way Carrigan was handed the reins and were planning a recall campaign while the state AG called into question the legality of the political appointment. So “Ace” resigned a second time, clearing the way once more for a new face to join the council.
This time, voters would have their say.
On April 13, 1954, The News reported, 1,555 of 3,000 voters chose Mrs. Thelma Hollingsworth to represent them on the National City City Council.
There were, incidentally, two other seats that also were filled.
But in 1954 National City made local political history by having two women serving on the city council at the same time—33 years before Women’s History month was designated by Congress.
