Adlene Harrison

{{Short description|American politician (1923–2022)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}

{{Infobox officeholder|

| image =

| order =

| office = Mayor of Dallas

| term_label = Acting

| term = 1976

| predecessor = Wes Wise

| successor = Robert Folsom

| birth_date = {{birth date|1923|11|19}}

| birth_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2022|2|19|1923|11|19}}

| death_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S.

| alma_mater = University of Missouri

| profession =

| residence =

| spouse =

| religion =

| party = Democratic

}}

Adlene Nathanson Harrison (November 19, 1923 – February 19, 2022) was an American politician who served on the Dallas City Council from 1973 to 1977,{{cite news |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/11/21/dallas-first-female-mayor-is-as-ornery-as-ever-even-at-age-95/ |title=Dallas' first female mayor is as ornery as ever — even at age 95 |first=Sharon |last=Grigsby |date=November 21, 2018 |access-date=June 6, 2020 |work=The Dallas Morning News |language=en}} and was acting mayor of Dallas in 1976.{{cite web |title=History of Dallas Mayors |url=https://dallascityhall.com/government/citysecretary/archives/Pages/Archives_mayors.aspx |website=dallascityhall.com |publisher=City of Dallas Municipal Archives |access-date=22 May 2021}}{{Cite web|title=Adlene Harrison|url=http://texaslegacy.org/narrator/adlene-harrison/|access-date=2020-06-06|website=Texas Legacy|language=en}} Harrison was elected as city councilwoman three times.{{Cite web |date=February 21, 2021 |title=Dallas' First Woman Mayor Adlene Harrison Passes Away At 98 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/dallas-first-woman-mayor-adlene-harrison-passes-away-98/ |access-date=March 21, 2024 |website=CBS News Texas.}} She also served as regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency from 1977 to 1981 and as the first chair of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Board. She was the first Jewish woman to serve as Mayor of a major U.S. city.{{cite web |title=Adlene Harrison becomes first Jewish female big-city mayor |url=https://jwa.org/thisweek/feb/11/1976/adlene-harrison |website=Jewish Women's Archive |language=en}} She was Dallas' first Jewish mayor and first female mayor; Annette Strauss would follow her in both categories.{{cite web |url=http://smu.edu/newsinfo/releases/00229.html |title=SMU Women's Symposium Honors Five Dallas-Area Women |first=Janet |last=Ragland |date=February 27, 2001 |website=SMU.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204103932/http://www.smu.edu/newsinfo/releases/00229.html |archive-date=December 4, 2008}} Harrison, a Democratic city councilwoman, succeeded Wes Wise as mayor when he resigned to run for the United States Congress. Harrison was generally referred to as being a proponent for urban Populism.{{Cite web |last=Atkinson |first=Jim |date=January 1, 1977 |title=The Mayor's Race: Bob and Adlene and Garry and…? |url=https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1977/january/the-mayors-race-bob-and-adlene-and-garry-and/ |access-date=March 21, 2024 |website=D Magazine}} Her acting mayoral term had focuses in expanding her existing environmental policy work as well as seeking the growth of municipal historical preservation efforts.{{Cite web |date=February 11, 1976 |title=Adlene Harrison becomes first Jewish female big-city mayor |url=https://jwa.org/thisweek/feb/11/1976/adlene-harrison |access-date=March 21, 2024 |website=Jewish Women's Archive}} While Harrison seriously considered running for mayor in the following election cycle, she ultimately decided that her political efforts were needed elsewhere, such as in her following positions within Environmental Protection Agency.{{Cite web |last=Todd |first=David |date=October 17, 2000 |title=Adlene Harrison Interview, Part 1 of 2 |url=https://digitalcollections.briscoecenter.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A2963 |access-date=April 21, 2024 |website=Briscoe Center Digital Collections}} She served until the election of a new mayor, Robert Folsom, at the end of the year.

Harrison died on February 19, 2022, at the age of 98.{{cite news |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/obituaries/2022/02/19/adlene-harrison-first-woman-to-serve-as-dallas-mayor-dies-at-98/ |title=Adlene Harrison, first woman to serve as Dallas mayor, dies at 98 |first=Everton Jr. |last=Bailey |date=February 19, 2022 |work=The Dallas Morning News |access-date=February 20, 2022}}