AliasesMargaret T. HanceMargaret HanceMayor HanceBirth 1923-07-02Death1990-04-29BirthplaceSpirit Lake, IowaAffiliationsGirl ScoutsRepublican PartyOccupationsMayor of PhoenixPhoenix City CouncilmemberBiographical NoteIn 1926, Margaret moved to Mesa, Arizona with her family- moving again in 1930 to Phoenix where her father was the vice-president of Valley National Bank. She attended the University of Arizona from 1942 to 1944 and graduated from Scripps College in 1945. She married her husband, Richard Hance, an aviation cadet at Luke Army-Air Force Base, in August 1945.
While raising the couple's three children, Margaret volunteered with the Cub Scouts, Little League, PTA, and her church. She also worked with the United Fund, the Fiesta Bowl Committee, St. Luke's Hospital, the March of Dimes, the Girl Scouts, St. Joseph's Hospital, the Harrington Arthritis Center, the Arizona Kidney Foundation, the Junior League of Phoenix, and the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Board. She eventually worked for KTVK, producing documentaries and the Holiday World Travel radio show. After the death of her husband in 1970, Margaret set her sights on government work.
Margaret won a seat on the Phoenix city council in 1971 and served until 1976. In 1975, she ran for mayor of Phoenix, winning the seat and becoming Phoenix's first female mayor. She served 4 two-year terms as mayor and in 1983, announced she would not seek re-election. During her tenure as the mayor of Phoenix, she focused on the redevelopment and revitalization of downtown, repealed a food sales tax, and created the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. She also obtained funding for the Papago Freeway (Interstate 10) and Piewstewa Freeway (State Route 51, then the Squaw Peak Parkway), and expanded Sky Harbor Airport with a third terminal.
After serving as mayor, Margaret served on the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and the Presidential Federalism Advisory Committee under President Reagan. She also directed the Jon Kyle for Congress Committee and the Fund for America's Future, which eventually became George H. W. Bush's presidential campaign. She chaired the Bush campaign in Arizona.
Margaret was awarded the Advertising Club's Woman of the Year, the Don Bolles Memorial Award from the Arizona Kachina Club, the Salvation Army's Centennial Award, the University of Arizona's Alumni Achievement Award, and was inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame in 1991.
Margaret died on April 29, 1990, after a battle with cancer. Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown Phoenix is named after her.
