Cathy Shaw, Ashland Mayor and Political Strategist, January 22, 2020
Channel: Stories of Southern Oregon
Date: 10/02/2020

Cathy Shaw was Ashland's first female and youngest mayor elected to office. She was re-elected as mayor for three terms and over that time set the scene for many of the environmental and land use policies that shaped the town's future. 

After Shaw's term of office, she has become a powerful and effective political strategist, working on campaigns that she believes in. Always an advocate for libraries, Shaw managed the campaigns that formed a Jackson County Library District so that the county's libraries could be funded and opened again. She also managed Senator Alan Bates' campaigns and most recently has worked towards Senator Jeff Golden's successful election as Democratic representative for District 3.

Shaws' oral history is part of the Rogue Valley Women's Movement documentation project in the Year of the Woman and the Centennial of Suffrage. The project is funded in part by the Oregon Heritage Commission with the support of Jackson County Library, AAUW Ashland and Southern Oregon University.

For more information on the Stories of Southern Oregon project, visit https://storiesofsouthernoregon.com

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