John F. Shelley
| John Francis Shelley | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 35th Mayor of San Francisco | |
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In office January 8, 1964 – January 8, 1968 |
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| Preceded by | George Christopher |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Alioto |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 5th district |
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In office November 8, 1949 – January 7, 1964 |
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| Preceded by | Richard J. Welch |
| Succeeded by | Phillip Burton |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Francis Shelley September 3, 1905 San Francisco |
| Died | September 1, 1974 (aged 68) San Francisco |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
John Francis "Jack" Shelley (September 3, 1905 – September 1, 1974) was a U.S. politician. He served as the 35th mayor of San Francisco, from 1964 to 1968, the first Democrat elected to the office in 50 years, and the first in an unbroken line of Democratic mayors that lasts to the present (as of 2017[update]).
Shelley earned a law degree from the University of San Francisco in 1932. He served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II and was a member of the California State Senate from 1938 to 1946. He ran an unsuccessful race for the Lieutenant Governor's office against Goodwin Knight in 1946. Shelley would then make his mark as a leader of the California delegation to the 1948 Democratic National Convention, when he helped marshal his state's votes to support a strong civil rights plank. Shelley entered the United States House of Representatives in 1949 and served until 1964, when he stepped down to be inaugurated Mayor of San Francisco after winning the November, 1963 election by nearly a 12-point margin against his nearest opponent, Harold Dobbs (50-38.5%).
John Francis Shelley was the oldest of nine children born to Dennis Shelley and Mary Casey Shelley on September 3, 1905. His father was an immigrant from County Cork (then part of the United Kingdom), who became a longshoreman in California. He grew up in the Mission District of San Francisco, then "a tough working-class district," where he "acquired a deep-seated belief that 'working it out instead of fighting it out' was the best policy when disagreement was encountered." He attended Mission High School, where in 1923 he was elected student body president. He studied law at the University of San Francisco, while working as a bakery driver and playing varsity football.
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