Former San Jose Mayor Susan Hammer, champion of diversity and arts, dies at 81

SAN JOSE — Former San Jose Mayor Susan Hammer, a leader committed to expanding diversity and the arts and passing a living wage ordinance in the 1990s, has died.

Hammer, 81, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease several years ago, died Saturday evening at home in Willow Glen, surrounded by family. She is survived by her husband, Phil, whose name, along with hers, still graces the top of the former San Jose Repertory Theatre building, now known as the Hammer Theatre.

“We are heartbroken at Mom’s passing and feel so grateful for her boundless love for her family,” her son, Matt, said in a statement Sunday. “She was our model of living a life of compassion and devotion to community.”

Hammer served on the city council representing downtown district 3 beginning in 1983, before her election as mayor in 1990 and again in 1994.

She pushed for an increase in diversity among numerous city commissions, created the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force focusing on social issues contributing to gang involvement and began the partnership between the city and San Jose State University to build the Martin Luther King Library downtown.

Taking leadership on issues that are still fraught today, Hammer introduced policies requiring the replacement of low-income housing destroyed by redevelopment projects and city contractors to pay workers a living wage.

Mayor Sam Liccardo, who spent time with Hammer and her family during some of her final hours Saturday, called Hammer “an extraordinary role model” for him and for generations of leaders.

“She was a study in contrasts — she had a deep commitment to underserved communities, a steadfast civility in the face of heated disagreement, and a genuine humility despite her tremendous professional and personal accomplishment,” Liccardo said. “Susan made San Jose a place for compassionate action, for artistic celebration, and for youthful aspiration.”

Hammer spearheaded both design and funding for the former San Jose Repertory Theatre building and oversaw the construction of the San Jose Arena, now known as SAP Center, which opened in 1993. Hammer also created Project Diversity, the San Jose Conservation Corps and youth homework centers. With former Vice Mayor Blanca Alvarado, she helped launch the Mexican Heritage Plaza by diverting redevelopment funds.

Alvarado called Hammer a “pioneer, a real warrior” and a champion for women’s rights and inclusiveness.

She said she would never forget how Hammer invited her to a small gathering at Hammer’s grand home on Hedding Street in the Rose Garden neighborhood — a setting of numerous fundraisers and gatherings — when Vice President Al Gore came to town.

“She sat me right next to him,” Alvarado said. “The fact that she invited me of all the council members, it was an indication of our friendship, our political alignment, but especially being the only minority from East San Jose to be part of that gathering.”

Hammer was a grassroots activist and protege of the late Mayor Janet Gray Hayes, who was the first female mayor of a large city in the 1970s, a time when women made up the majority of the city council and San Jose became known as the “feminist capital of the world.” Hammer appointed Regina Williams as city manager in 1994, making her one of the first women managers of a major city.

Born in 1938, Hammer grew up in the small Southern California town of Monrovia and graduated from UC Berkeley, where she met her husband who was studying to be a lawyer. They worked on the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy and in 1960, moved to Washington D.C., where she got a job on the first Peace Corps staff. Phil became a staff attorney for the Civil Rights Commission. After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, they returned to Phil’s hometown of San Jose in 1964.

Over the years, she became a member of the Santa Clara County juvenile justice commission and a founding board member and president of the San Jose Museum of Art. She was named to the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

Former San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery called Hammer a “strong, forceful individual.”

“She was pretty impossible not to like,” McEnery said, “but you had a growing respect when you saw how deeply she felt about little things.”

Although the Alzheimers progressed rapidly in recent months, Hammer attended a program in September at the San Jose Women’s Club celebrating the city’s history as the “feminist capital.”

“Susan didn’t want a big deal made about her, so we didn’t announce her attendance at the beginning,” said former Mercury News editorial-page editor Barbara Marshman, who spoke at the event. “But the first time I mentioned her name in my opening talk, the audience spontaneously applauded. I filled up. People loved her. I’m so sad.”

No public memorials were announced immediately.

Staff writer Linda Zavoral contributed to this report.

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