Longtime Santa Barbara community leader Jeanne Graffy died last week just days before her 92nd birthday, according to her family.
Graffy served several terms on the Santa Barbara Planning Commission and as a city councilwoman before being elected to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors in 1994, representing the Second District.
Graffy died Sept. 18 at her Santa Barbara home, according to her family.
She and her late husband, Chuck, raised five children: Kurt, Neal, Erin, Colleen and Kerry. Chuck Graffy died in December at age 92.
Graffy, who was a past recipient of Woman of the Year award bestowed by the Santa Barbara Foundation, helped found the Friends of Arroyo Burro group to address creek and ocean pollution at the popular Arroyo Burro Beach County Park.
She worked as government affairs director for the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors in the early 2000s.
Former Mayor Sheila Lodge said she first met Graffy on the Planning Commission in 1973, and “she represented the best in public service.”
Graffy was “very smart, dedicated, thoughtful, and always kept working for what was best for the city as a whole. Her wit was a delight,” Lodge said in an email to Noozhawk.
Lodge said she and many others encouraged Graffy to run for the City Council, and they served together for three terms.
Graffy was dedicated to sound community planning, Lodge said, and led the effort that led to a 1982 City Charter change pronouncing it city policy that “land development won’t exceed its public services and physical and natural resources.”
In an email to Noozhawk, Paul Bradford, Graffy’s former assistant on the Board of Supervisors, said she “exemplified the notion of civility in public discourse.”
“She was extraordinarily thoughtful, always prepared, willing to consider other points of view, yet she resolutely stood her ground on the things that mattered to her,” he said.
Memorial services are pending.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.