Shirley Grasser Horton (July 17, 1952) is a Japanese–American politician who served as the 37th mayor of

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh largest city in Southern California, the List of largest California cities by population, fifteenth largest city ...

, and in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

as a member of the Republican Party. Horton was born in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and educated in California at

Bonita Vista High School Bonita Vista High School (BVH) is a public, four-year (grade levels 9–12) high school located in the city of Chula Vista, California. It is part of the Sweetwater Union High School District, and offers both Advanced Placement and International ...

and

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

. In the 1980s she served as the president of the South San Diego Bay Cities Board of Realtors before becoming active in local politics in Chula Vista when she was appointed to the city's planning commission. In 1991, she was selected to fill Tim Nader's seat and was later elected mayor in 1994. She served as mayor until she was term limited in 2002, and ran for a seat in the California State Assembly from the 78th district. She served in the assembly until she was term limited in 2008.

Early life

Shirley Grasser Horton was born in

while her father was serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. She attended Robert E. Lee Elementary School and O'Farrell Charter Middle School (then called O'Farrell Jr. High School) before graduating from

. She later graduated from

with a master's degree.

Career

Local politics

Horton was selected to serve as president of the South San Diego Bay Cities Board of Realtors to succeed Bill Gildner in 1986, and was later succeeded by Donald Hayes in 1988. She was appointed to serve as chairwoman of the

Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popul ...

Planning Commission in 1990. Horton was appointed in 1991, out of twenty-seven applicants, by a unanimous vote to the Chula Vista city council to fill the vacancy created by Tim Nader's becoming mayor following the death of Mayor Gail McCandliss. She won reelection in 1992, after raising $20,746 during the campaign. On February 14, 1994, Horton announced that she would seek the mayoral office of Chula Vista and placed first out of four candidates in the election after spending $67,422 during the campaign. She won reelection in 1998. Horton was unable to seek reelection in 2002, due to term limits.

California State Assembly

Horton announced in 2001, that she would seek election to the

from the 78th district. She won the Republican nomination against Matt Mendoza and won in the general election against Democratic nominee Vince Hall. During her tenure in the state assembly Horton attempted to join the Democratic Asian Pacific Islander Caucus along with two other Republican members of the state assembly.

Later life

In 2009, Horton considered running for a seat in the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

from the 40th district. She ran for a seat on the

California Board of Equalization The California State Board of Equalization (BOE) is a public agency charged with tax administration and fee collection in the state of California in the United States. The authorities of the Board fall into four broad areas: sales and use taxe ...

in 2014.

Electoral history

References

External links

Official Website

Join California Shirley Horton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horton, Shirley 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American mayors of Japanese descent American women of Japanese descent in politics California politicians of Japanese descent Living people Mayors of Chula Vista, California Republican Party members of the California State Assembly Women state legislators in California 1952 births Asian-American city council members Women city councillors in California Asian conservatism in the United States Bonita Vista High School alumni