Joan Reidy Heggen was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...

. The first woman to hold the position, Heggen served as mayor from 1973-1974. She declined to run for reelection, citing a desire to spend more time with her family. Heggen was born in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. She also did graduate work at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

.http://www.tallahassee.com/assets/pdf/CD104036325.PDF In addition to her work as mayor, she served as Tallahassee's City Commissioner and was an active member of the

National League of Cities The National League of Cities (NLC) is an advocacy organization in the United States that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a leading membership ...

. "As a City Commissioner, Joan Heggen was interested in the overall planning to cope with the population explosion in Tallahassee at that time, continually stressing the importance of comprehensive long range planning. She strongly supported the protection of the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

, more

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on af ...

and lower utility rates. Ms. Heggen initiated the City’s first applications for federal grants. She was active in the National League of Cities and in 1973 was appointed chairperson of a committee, which involved environmental and utility problems facing cities." Heggen also worked as the

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Secretary of Community Affairs and as an Assistant County Administrator of Leon County.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heggen, Joan Mayors of Tallahassee, Florida State cabinet secretaries of Florida People from Wisconsin University of Alabama alumni University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire alumni Living people Women mayors of places in Florida Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women