Virginia Mae Days :
Morgan Hill ' s First Woman Mayor Made History
By Jordan Rosenfeld
“ We are what we repeatedly do . Excellence then , is not an act , but a habit .”
-Aristotle
Today , we ’ re lucky to see more women holding leadership positions , fewer “ firsts ” and more consistent diversity in business and politics . In 1972 , however , when attorney Virginia Mae Days was elected as Mayor of Morgan Hill , she was the first woman to hold the position , and the first Latina , making history twice over with her election . She would also become the first Latina to head up the California Department of Veterans Affairs ( CalVet ), in 1975 .
Days , born on June 25 , 1934 , came from a large family that moved to Morgan Hill in 1947 . Perhaps having been born during The Great Depression gave her extra drive to achieve her goals . With her sights set on becoming an attorney , she attended a year at San José State College ( now San José State University ) until it became clear that her tuition was too steep for her parents to afford . She then took matters into her own hands and joined the U . S . Navy , served in the Korean War , and stayed in the Navy until 1957 . She was then able to attend college on the G . I . Bill , and finally achieved her dream of a law degree from U . C . Berkeley School of Law in 1964 .
Days then set up her law practice in Morgan Hill but soon established a new goal to enter politics . “ You get interested in something as a lawyer , such as municipal law ; then that leads you to participation in municipal government ; and that leads to all other kinds of involvement ,” she said , according to Linnie Lee , writing for Morgan Hill Life .
She proudly served on the Morgan Hill Planning Commission , was elected to the city council in 1970 and then made history when she was elected mayor in 1972 . She must have been doing something right , as she served for three terms , through 1978 . Morgan Hill has since had only three other women mayors .
She used her positions of influence to push for social change in her community , leading her to get involved with such organizations as the Regional Criminal Justice Planning Board , the Santa Clara County Drug Abuse Committee , and as the Santa Clara County Representative to the Inter-City Council .
While others called her a pioneer , or “ trailblazer ” as Governor Jerry Brown referred to her for being one of the first women to hold several of her political positions , Days did not see herself in this way . She told The Hanford Sentinel that she never received any pushback for being a woman in male-dominated fields , adding , “ I just never considered myself a pioneer .”
Yet her work and character stood out , and in 1975 , Governor Brown appointed Days to be the seventh director of CalVet , then a part of the state ’ s Department of Consumer affairs .
Her achievements were many . She was instrumental in convincing the State Department of Finance not to close the Veterans Home of California Yountville in 1976 , and in 1977 ,
58 SPRING 2023 gmhTODAY Magazine gmhtoday . com