Newport’s First Female Mayor and Greatest Reformer
By: William Lobdell
In 1954, Dora Hill, housewife and grandmother, reluctantly buckled to the lobbying of her pastor - who wanted to eliminate corruption within Newport Beach government - and entered the City Council race just 10 minutes before the filing deadline.
Though not taken seriously during the campaign, Dora, a gray-haired dynamo all of five feet tall, went on to win the election in a landslide, garnering the most votes in city history.
Traditionally, the top vote-getter would be appointed mayor, and Dora had a whopping 32% more votes than her next opponent. This put council members in a quandary since they didn’t want a female to head the city. A confidant of Dora’s told the council members that Dora didn’t want the mayoral post, so why not still follow tradition (and not anger women voters) and nominate her to the position that she’d turned down anyway?
Falling into the trap, the council members unanimously voted to nominate Dora Hill for mayor. But then they sat dumbfounded on the dais as she quickly accepted. The lesson: Don’t mess with Dora.
For the next four years, Mayor Hill would lead a remarkable reformation of the city, taking it from a town run by a powerful good, old boys' network that traded heavily in backroom deals and cronyism to the transparent and professional city government that continues at City Hall to this day.
Here are four more things to know about the best mayor in Newport Beach history.
No. 1: A direct line can be drawn from Dora Hill’s deeply held Christian values and her leap into politics. As a founding member of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, she met each Sunday night with her pastor and other church members at a Newport Beach home. It was there she heard about the corruption and cronyism within the city government. Especially galling to her were reports about poorly paid police officers breaking into local stores late at night to supplement their meager paychecks.
The St. Andrew’s crew pushed Dora into running for office, and here’s what she had to say about making decisions on the City Council: “The Christian rules of 1900 years ago must undergird our government. These rules can be applied to our problems. My promise is to do the best I can to solve our problems on the basis of broad general principles rather than indulge in personalities.”
No. 2: As mayor, Dora Hill succeeded despite being surrounded by misogyny. As you can imagine, some people in 1954 had trouble adjusting to the city’s female first mayor in its 48-year history. (She was also California’s only mayor at the time.) The local newspapers reflected this unapologetic sexism. For example, the local newspapers referred to her almost exclusively as Mrs. Edgar Hill.
After Dora was appointed mayor, S.A. Meyers, publisher of the Newport News, wrote rather creepily: “Progress brings changes and also brought Newport Beach its first lady mayoress. Her pictures never do justice to the soft impeachment of sparkling eyes, petal-toned cheeks and alluring lines. Dora Hill is as gracious as she is capable.”
And the Los Angeles Times Mirror ran a lengthy profile of Dora Hill under the headline: “She combines mayor duties and housework.”
But Dora was also a woman of time. She saw herself much like the press did–as a housewife and mother first. She repeatedly said she reluctantly jumped into local politics only because her stint as mayor was temporary and she had been called by God to fulfill her civic and Christian duty to the community.
No. 3: Dora Hill turned out to be the greatest political reformer in city history. First, some background about Newport Beach and its politics. For the first few decades, the tiny city resembled a Wild West town. Balboa had gambling (rigged to favor the house), dancing and drinking (even during Prohibition). The only vice it didn’t have was prostitution because, as the town’s failed madam said, “I couldn’t compete with the local talent.”
The different villages of the city–Balboa, Old Newport (where the Newport Pier is today) and later Balboa Island–basically hated each other and took turns dominating the City Council and therefore city government.
These political machines got councilmen elected and dictated their votes. Many areas of the town went neglected, so the City Council members focused on their section of the city. Cronyism ran rampant, and the outcome of council meetings had been worked ahead of time behind closed doors. One observer called it a benevolent dictatorship, but he added, “it was still a dictatorship.”
And then Dora Hill became mayor. Under her direction, the city enacted a new charter (local constitution) that did two important things: 1) It divided the city into seven districts and mandated that a candidate from each district would be elected to the council by a citywide vote. This ensured the entire city had equal representation; 2) It established a city manager-style government where the City Council made policy, but the city manager ran the daily operations; and 3) The previously elected city clerk and city manager became employees, making it nearly impossible for them to defy the city manager.
In response to the new rules, the council fired the city manager and police chief and replaced them with squeaky clean replacements. All of this destroyed Newport’s political machine forever. Dora Hill had brought sunshine to Newport Beach City Hall.
No. 4: Dora Hill knew when to exit the stage. She served only four years as mayor before stepping down to spend more time as a wife, mother and grandmother. Do you know how rare that is? Many politicians, facing scandal or a tough reelection fight, might reluctantly walk away to “spend more time with their family.” But for Dora Hill, widely popular and a shoo-in for re-election in an era of no term limits, that was actually true.
She spent the rest of her life on Lido Isle, deeply involved in her favorite nonprofits. In 1960, she achieved one more milestone for women: She became the first female to be appointed foreperson of the Orange County Grand Jury. She died in 1983 at the age of 83.
Dora was a shooting star on the Newport Beach political scene. She shined brightly but only for a short time. Still, the light she brought to the city still can be seen today at City Hall. If you appreciate today's well-run city government, Mayor Dora Hill would be the person to thank.
William Lobdell is an award-winning journalist and host of the local history podcast, “Newport Beach in the Rearview Mirror,” which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Subscribe to follow along as he shares some of the most fascinating stories about our beloved town. You can also follow him on Instagram @newport_in_the_rearview_mirror.
*If you want to learn more about Dora Hill, William's podcast has an episode devoted to her.