John Francis "Jack" Shelley (September 3, 1905 – September 1, 1974) was a U.S. politician. He served as the 35th mayor of San Francisco, from 1964 to 1968, the first Democrat elected to the office in 50 years, and the first in an unbroken line of Democratic mayors that lasts to the present .

Shelley earned a law degree from the University of San Francisco

University of San Francisco

The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...

 in 1932. He served in the United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 during World War II and was a member of the California State Senate

California State Senate

The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...

 from 1938 to 1946. He ran an unsuccessful race for the Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant governor

A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...

's office against Goodwin Knight

Goodwin Knight

Goodwin Jess Knight , known as "Goodie Knight", was a U.S. politician who was the 31st Governor of California from 1953 until 1959.-Early life:...

 in 1946. Shelley would then make his mark as a leader of the California delegation to the 1948 Democratic National Convention

1948 Democratic National Convention

The 1948 Democratic National Convention was held at Convention Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 12 to July 14, and resulted in the nominations of incumbent Harry S Truman for President and U.S. Senator Alben W...

, when he would help marshal his state's votes to support a strong civil rights plank. Shelley entered the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 in 1949 and served until 1964, when he ran for mayor of San Francisco and won by a 12-point margin against his opponent, Harold Dobbs

Harold Dobbs

Harold Dobbs was an influential leader in San Francisco, California. Born 1918, Dobbs was president of the city's board of supervisors, as well as founder and co-founder of several restaurants such as Mel's Drive-In and The Red Roof....

.

Relations with the FBI

Prior to his election as U.S. Congressman, Jack Shelley was included in the FBI's Custodial Detention (DETCOM) files. The FBI's "Detcom program" "was concerned with the individuals 'to be given priority arrest in the event of . . . an emergency.' Priority under the Detcom program was given to 'all top functionaries, all key figures, all individuals tabbed under the Comsab program,' and 'any other individual who, though he does not fall in the above groups, should be given priority arrest because of some peculiar circumstances.'

A memo by Warren Olney III alerts FBI Director Hoover to the fact that Jack Shelley was recently elected and remains targeted, along with one other California Congressman, to be arrested by the FBI as a security risk in case of a Soviet attack. A July 23, 1962 FBI search slip on Shelley is check-marked for “subversive references only” and remains heavily redacted, i.e., with numerous unreleased documents.

Mayor of San Francisco

Shelley's term as mayor was filled with challenges, including strikes over discriminatory hiring practices against African-Americans at the Palace Hotel, a public nurse strike in 1966, and a threatened San Francisco Symphony Orchestra strike in 1967. Shelley was mayor during the Summer of Love

Summer of Love

The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people converged on the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, creating a cultural and political rebellion...

, a time of radicalism in the Haight-Ashbury and turmoil throughout the city. The Black rage toward "Auto Row" on Van Ness Avenue. Shelley was faced with riots in Bayview-Hunters Point on September 27, 1966, after a white police officer fatally shot a black youth accused of auto theft. Shelley declared a state of emergency in the city for six days. After the riots ended, Shelley took several public steps to improve relations between city government and the African-American community. He appointed the city and county's first African-American supervisor, Terry Francois. Shelley took an aggressive stance against several prominent anti-development mobilizations during his tenure, including movements in opposition to development at the Yerba Buena Gardens

Yerba Buena Gardens

Yerba Buena Gardens is the name for two blocks of public parks located between Third and Fourth, Mission and Folsom Streets in downtown San Francisco, California. The first block bordered by Mission and Howard Streets was opened in 1993. The second block, between Howard and Folsom Streets was...

 and in the Western Addition. Shelley bowed out of running for a second term in office; his stated reasons were health-related, but it was thought that prominent political forces in the city's establishment wanted a more stringently pro-development mayor in office.

Family

Shelley's son, Kevin Shelley, was a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 1990 to 1996, a member of the California State Assembly

California State Assembly

The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...

 from 1997 to 2003 and served as California's Secretary of State

California Secretary of State

The Secretary of State of California is the chief elections officer of that U.S. state. The Secretary of State is also responsible for the California State Archives, as well as chartering corporations. The Secretary of State is elected to four year terms, concurrent with the other constitutional...

 from 2003 to 2005.

Shelley is not to be confused with Jack Shelly of New Cumberland, Pennsylvania.