Remembering Helen Tirsell, Livermore’s first female mayor

Helen Tirsell, an equal rights advocate and public policy leader who left her mark on Livermore history in the 1970s when she served as the city’s first female mayor, died recently in her modern hometown of Oakland, her family confirmed in an obituary last month. She was 85.

An Iowa native and classically trained concert pianist who moved to the Tri-Valley after her husband was hired on at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Tirsell sat on the Livermore Planning Commission before winning a seat on the City Council in 1974, a four-year term that included two years as the city’s appointed mayor.

“Helen was by all accounts a remarkable lady. She was a champion of civil rights the environment and Livermore’s agriculture,” current Livermore Mayor John Marchand told the Weekly this week.

“The South Livermore Valley Area Plan exists because of the early visionaries like Tirsell, former mayor Archer Futch Harriet Cole and Barbara Stear,” Marchand added. “Helen Tirsell had moved out of Livermore by the time I moved here, but she was a great inspiration for former Livermore Mayor Cathie Brown and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. When she passed away, I adjourned the meeting in her honor. She will be greatly missed.”

“Helen Tirsell was my mentor for a long time,” said former Livermore mayor Dr. Marshall Kamena, who served two years alongside Tirsell on the City Council. “She was very effective, polite and always prepared.”

Born and raised in Greenfield, Iowa, Tirsell studied music at the University of Iowa (bachelor’s) and Drake University (master’s), according to her obituary. She was a classical concert pianist, chorus singer and music teacher.

She met her future husband Glenn Tirsell while he was studying physics at Iowa State University, and three years after they married, the couple moved to Livermore in 1965 when he began working at the Livermore Lab. The Tirsells had two children.

Tirsell would soon become “passionately interested in public policy and public planning” in Livermore, and received appointment to the Planning Commission, according to her obituary. Then in 1974, running with a campaign slogan of “I’m for Helen,” Tirsell earned a seat on the City Council.

She served on the dais from 1974-78, including as mayor in 1976 and 1977 when the position was appointed by fellow council members as opposed to directly elected, according to city officials.

“She left her mark as a pioneer of women’s rights, fiercely passionate about protecting those less fortunate with her huge, feisty heart,” family wrote in her obituary, which also cited that Tirsell was the first woman ever to hold a mayoral post in all of Alameda County.

“An environmental advocate, Helen helped to protect land trusts in the Livermore Hills where more than 50 wineries exist today. She was a huge champion of civil rights and petitioned tirelessly in 1972 for passage of both the Equal Rights Amendment and for Title IX,” the obituary stated.

Kamena recalled developing a close working relationship with Tirsell over hot-button issues where “growth vs, no-growth was at the heart of the disagreement,” as well as a contentious debate over a proposed business license tax increase.

“As president of the Chamber of Commerce, I represented the business community and Helen was the City Council liaison,” Kamena said.

“Helen and I presented a joint proposal that was sensitive to the individual business structures of various categories,” he added. “Companies with high gross earnings, but smaller net profit such as auto dealers, were to pay a smaller rate on their total incomes. Helen convinced the City Council of its merit. New relationships of cooperation were formed and trust followed.”

After serving on the council, Tirsell went back to school and earned another master’s degree at the age of 50 from the Goldman School of Public Policy, attending the University of California at Berkeley at the same time as her daughter Elaine. During this time, the Tirsells moved to Montclair to help with the commute, according to her obituary.

Tirsell would go on to become the assistant to the graduate school dean, handling admissions and running the Sloan Summer Institute at UC Berkeley.

An avid sports fan and active member in groups like the American Association of University Women of California and the Bellevue Women’s Club, Tirsell moved to Lake Merritt after her husband Glenn died unexpectedly in 1997.

“Highly educated on subjects ranging from national politics to the Warriors starting lineup in any given game, Helen was a sharp and witty conversationalist, especially with her children, grandchildren, and their friends. One of her greatest desires was that, ‘… young people will harken to the cause … and keep fighting’ for their passions,” her obituary stated.

Tirsell died in Oakland on Sept. 5 at age 85. A cause of death was not revealed. She is survived by her children Don Tirsell and Elaine Tirsell Barden and their families.