Community remembers Sacramento's first elected female mayor Anne Rudin, who passed away at 97.

Many across the region were remembering a local pioneer of female leadership on Thanksgiving Day. Anne Rudin, Sacramento's first elected female mayor, passed away at the age of 97 after complications from pneumonia. Rudin moved to Sacramento in the late 1950s and was first elected to Sacramento City Council in 1971, the first woman elected in more than two decades. She then served as the city's first elected female mayor from 1983 to 1993. Belle Cooledge was Sacramento's first female mayor in 1948 but she was appointed by City Council prior to the role becoming an elected position in later years. "Mayor Anne Rudin was always a leader ahead of her time. She was among the first to recognize that LGBTQ rights are core civil rights. She saw early the possibilities to convert military bases into economic opportunities," Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said in a statement released after news of Ruden's passing. "She broke the glass ceiling, becoming Sacramento's first elected woman mayor. She was decent, tough and always elevated the best of Sacramento's values." Prior to becoming mayor, Rudin proudly served on the League of Women Voters. She served as president of both the Sacramento chapter and the California chapter. Today, the organization has a scholarship named after her. Jay Rudin, Anne Rudin's son, released a statement saying his mother was the most honest person he knew. "I don't think she could have told a fib if her life depended on it, " the statement reads. "As a parent and a politician, rather than rule with an iron fist, she led with wisdom, communication, civility and diplomacy to bring people together. She always led by example, a style that never failed her." After the news of her passing, many area leaders past and present shared their thoughts on Rudin and her leadership that many say set the bar in Sacramento. "Sacramento has lost a champion of the people and trailblazer for women and girls across our region," Congresswoman Doris Matsui said. "Her impact will be forever felt in our great city and her legacy will continue to inspire and guide us forward." The eldest of three children, Rudin, an Italian-American, earned a bachelor's degree in nursing at Temple University, where she went on to teach in the school of nursing. "The tiny but mighty shoulders of Mayor Anne Rudin have held up many," council member Angelique Ashby tweeted last week. "First of 2 women elected Mayor and 1 of only 16 Councilwomen ever to serve our city. In the 50 years since she won her council seat, only 13 women have followed, including me. She showed us the way." Rudin was heavily involved in the Sacramento community before and after her time in city government. She served as the president of both the Sacramento and statewide League of Women Voters. At one point, Rudin sat on 14 different boards. But her most important accomplishment, as Rudin wrote in her many memoirs, was raising her four children with her husband in Sacramento County, Council member Rick Jennings said it was that perspective that he admired most about Rudin. "I learned from her how to serve the constituents of Sacramento as a public servant while not neglecting my own family and I will always be thankful to her," stated council member Rick Jennings. Rudin is survived by her four children, Jay Rudin, Carol White, Barbara Rudin and Nancy Robinson, along with several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her husband, Edward, died in 2003.