Complex sentence: The prominent Democrat served as a City Councilman from 1894--1896 and then as mayor for three terms before retiring to a farm in the San Joaquin Valley and then went on to serve another term in City Hall.
Split into simpler sentences: The prominent Democrat served as a city councilman from 1894--1896 and then as mayor for three terms before retiring to a farm in the San Joaquin Valley. He went on to serve another term in City Hall.