SALT LAKE CITY — She was the first woman elected to the Midvale City Council and later became the city's only female mayor.
On Thursday, Mayor Johann Seghini was honored as the 2014 recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Award from the Utah Democratic Party during a luncheon at the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek.
"Eleanor Roosevelt had the passion, the heart, the sensitivity and the guts to do the right thing and to inspire others to do the same," said 2013 winner Sen. Pat Jones, D-Holladay, adding that Seghini is a "fitting" choice for the honor.
Seghini, 77, a lifelong Midvale resident, said she was especially honored to receive the award as a mayor, which is a nonpartisan elected office.
"Being nonpartisan means that I'm responsible for letting every person in my community know that every one of them is part of a party called 'People From Midvale,'" she said. "I have to make sure everybody in my community feels like they are part of that party."
Midvale City Councilman Robert Hale noted that in addition to serving as mayor, Seghini has been part of 33 boards, councils and committees.
"Each position that Mayor Seghini has taken on has been to serve her family, and that is her community," Hale said.
Seghini has often been described by her colleagues as a part-time mayor by ordinance but a full-time mayor by committment.
"She's respected at every level of government — cities, counties, state and federal agencies she's worked with," Hale said.
First elected as mayor in 1998, Seghini is now in her fourth — and likely final — term. She spent 36 years as an educator in the Jordan School District, including 12 years as an elementary school teacher.
"By working together, we can make a difference in the way our children are served, our elders are served, our minorities and majorities are served," Seghini said. "We're working together as a huge neighborhood called Midvale."
The Utah Democratic Party's Eleanor Roosevelt Award is now in its 21st year honoring women in politics.
Email: jpage@deseretnews.com
Twitter: jaredpage