She was notable as the first African American woman to be elected mayor of a major New England city – Hartford, Connecticut – in 1987.

She was selected as an assistant majority leader, chair of the bonding subcommittee, and a committee member for education, finance and housing.

[6] She was credited for helping reduce racial tension in the city; notably, she visited black neighborhoods after the Rodney King verdict, which was credited with preventing rioting in Hartford as had happened in other large cities.

She also focused on reducing burgeoning gang activity and drug trafficking, which was on the rise at the time.

[5] After three terms as mayor, she was defeated by first-time Democratic challenger Michael Peters, a city firefighter.

[2] He had run on a campaign capitalizing on Hartford's declining economy and a sense that street crime was on the rise.