In 1992, Huntington voters went to the polls and did something they had never done before. They elected a woman as mayor. Later, they awarded Jean Dean a second term as mayor.
Born in London, England, Dean came to Huntington in 1956. In 1959, she became a naturalized American citizen (while still maintaining her British accent). Initially hired as executive secretary to the Huntington city manager, she steadily climbed the ladder for 48 years at City Hall, becoming assistant city manager and, after that, acting city manager.
When the city switched from the council-manager style government to a “strong mayor” charter, Dean became the number two person in Mayor Bobby Nelson’s administration. Then she and Nelson had a highly publicized falling out, prompting her to exit his administration and, two weeks later, announce her candidacy for mayor.
I realized that I could do a very good job of being mayor,” she said in a 1996 interview. “I wanted to prove that I could do it.”
And prove it she did.
When she filed for the mayor’s race, Dean was hoping to run against her former boss at City Hall, but that much-anticipated showdown between the two never materialized. Nelson was defeated in the Democratic primary by former City Manager Steve Williams. Dean then went on to defeat Williams in the general election by a margin of 8,166 votes to 4,986.
As mayor, Dean had her full share of critics, but when she announced her bid for a third term, many people viewed her as unbeatable. A young man named David Felinton would show just how wrong that view was.
