May 11, 2009

Former San Leandro, California Mayor Jack Maltester died Friday, May 1, 2009, at the home in San Leandro where he was born in 1913. Maltester was 95 years old.

In 1962, Maltester became the first Mayor elected directly by the residents of San Leandro instead of the City Council. Maltester was re-elected in 1966, 1970, and 1974, but was forced to leave office after term limits were enacted and he had served as Mayor for 20 years.

While he was Mayor, Maltester served as President of The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) from 1969 to 1970 and introduced a resolution at the 1971 annual conference calling for the US to withdraw from Vietnam. In the resolution, of which he was quite proud, he stated, “I might ask you: Have we left anything up until now to the military experts or have we been running a political war in Vietnam? My city, a small city in California with less than 70,000 people, proposed this resolution and it is supported by the citizens of the community. It is not a resolution of condemnation. It is not offered in rancor. It is a positive statement of principle. To support this position, I believe, is an obligation none of us can ignore in the name of humanity. I ask your vote for an end to this war.”

In addition to the war resolution, USCM CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran said, “Mayor Maltester was most instrumental in leading a group of mayors to meet with President Nixon during his transition as we pushed for the CDBG program, the creation of EPA, General Revenue Sharing, and a number of other initiatives still benefiting cities.”

The last time Mayor Maltester engaged with the Conference of Mayors was in 1995 when he participated in a past presidents panel during the Annual Conference in Miami.

“In his time, Jack was one of the most respected and effective local politicians in the nation, bringing national prominence to San Leandro during his leadership,” stated current San Leandro Mayor Tony Santos. “He played a huge role in shaping the wonderful town of San Leandro that we know and love today. Jack is nothing less than a legend and we will miss him deeply.”