Dona Spring (January 22, 1953 – July 13, 2008) was an American activist and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. She served on the

Berkeley City Council Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emeryvi ...

from 1992 until her death in 2008.

Early life and education

Spring was born in

Plentywood, Montana Plentywood is a city in and the county seat of Sheridan County, Montana, Sheridan County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,669 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History The first business in Plentywood opened in 1900, an ...

. She graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

with honors, earning a bachelor's degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

Career

Spring worked for many years as an activist devoted to causes such as disability rights, seniors, at-risk youth, poverty, the environment and animal rights. She used a wheelchair for much of her adult life due to

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involv ...

. Spring was elected to the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee in 1986 and to the county's Green Party County Council in 1990. Spring was elected to the Berkeley City Council in 1992 as a member of the

Green Party of California The Green Party of California (GPCA) is a California political party. The party is led by a coordinating committee, and decisions are ultimately made by general assemblies. The GPCA is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States (GPUS). ...

. She served on the Alameda County Recycling Board from 1997 to 2001, including a stint as its president in 2001. She was elected to her fifth, and last, term to the Berkeley City Council in 2006 with 72% of votes cast. Her last act as a member of the city council was to pledge support for the tree-sitters during the

University of California, Berkeley oak grove controversy The University of California, Berkeley oak grove controversy arose over the planned removal of a grove of oak trees in preparation for the construction of a new student athletic training center for the University of California, Berkeley. The u ...

. Spring was succeeded in the City Council by

Jesse Arreguín Jesse Arreguín (born September 4, 1984) is an American politician serving as mayor of Berkeley, California. He served on the Berkeley Housing Commission and Rent Stabilization Board from 2004 to 2009 and represented District 4 on the Berkeley, ...

, who Spring had encouraged to run for office previously.

Death

Spring died in 2008, aged 55, at

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Sutter Health Alta Bates Summit Medical Center is located in the East Bay (California), East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its three hospital campuses are located in Berkeley, California, Berkeley (Alta Bates Campus, Herrick Campus) and Oaklan ...

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

, after being diagnosed with pneumonia. In July 2008, filmmakers Lindsay Vurek and Valerie Trost released a

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about Spring's life, ''Courage in Life & Politics - The Dona Spring Story''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spring, Dona 1953 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women Activists from California California city council members California Greens Deaths from pneumonia in California American disability rights activists Green Party of the United States officeholders People from Sheridan County, Montana Politicians from Berkeley, California Women city councillors in California University of California, Berkeley alumni