RIP: Rosalie O'Mahony (1930-2021)

Word of Rosalie O'Mahony's passing last Saturday filtered out to the insiders this week and made it to the Daily Journal front page yesterday.  In the DJ piece Rosalie was remembered as:

More than two decades after beginning her teaching career in the county, O’Mahony set her eyes on city policy, running for a seat on the Burlingame City Council. She won her race in 1989 and went on to serve as mayor five times before exiting the council in 2009.  Those who knew and worked with O’Mahony said she was always a fair and thoughtful policymaker who stood firmly by her decisions.

Current Burlingame Mayor Ann Keighran called O’Mahony the “queen of infrastructure,” and a “trailblazer.”  “She’s one of the few politicians that really made her decisions based on her principles rather than political expediency,” Keighran said. “She would rather fix sewers and balance finances than make any headlines.”

As I pondered her legacy over the last week, a few memories came to mind.  As Mayor Keighran noted, Rosalie paid close attention to the fixed assets of the city which I strongly supported.  She appreciated that the infrastructure was one of the core missions of the city and understood it deeply.  The quote, in her accent, was something like "You need to understand how much of the city is underground."  Her focus on the finances could sometimes cause me to disagree with her such as when she favored merging our police department with nearby cities' to save money.  That idea missed some of the nuance of local control and good local presence.  There were other areas as well and the history makes for interesting reading here.

The most vivid memory was the night of the Council vote on the original Safeway design.  Newcomers to town won't remember the long saga but they can always trip down 74 steps of memory lane in the Safeway category here.  It was a long meeting and each councilmember had invested plenty of time and energy understanding the plans.  Prior comments seemed to indicate 2 for and 2 against; it was anybody's guess how Rosalie would vote.  In the end, she voted against the poorly designed, big box, solid-blank-wall-on-Primrose proposal and Safeway went back to the drawing board with the exceptionally fine results that reflect well on the downtown to this day.

Lastly, there was always something comforting about seeing Rosalie's pale yellow Camaro toodling around town.  I'm guessing it was a '68 or '69 and it hinted of the Rosalie book being a bit different than the cover.  RIP.

A funeral mass, honoring the life of O’Mahony, will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, at St. Catherine’s Church. Rather than flowers, her loved ones ask that those interested in giving make donations to the St. Vincent DePaul Society or a charity of choice.

Here she is in 2006 at the annual Christmas tree lighting and parade.

Comments

[Winnie]

RIP Rosalie.
Thank you for your service.
I'm reminded of a Bill Clinton quote about Tip O'Neil (I think) but it is true of Rosalie. "She could disagree with you without being disagreeable"
She had that personal touch that not only remembered your name but your children's names.

[hollyroller@gmail.com]

O'Mahony maybe the last representative that truly was an advocate for her "People." In my experiences with her you could "tell from the start" this Women is Ethical, Honorable, and spoke truth to "Power."
Rosalie will be missed.

[Joe]

Well, best case, she would be the second-to-last one ... wink, wink ...

The Chronicle obit is here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sfgate/name/rosalie-o-mahony-obituary?pid=199836730

[Jennifer Pfaff]

Thanks for posting, Joe, Winnie, Holly. I was also thinking back about how certain decisions of hers really made a difference over time… In particular, the importance of Bayfront zoning with hotels as an essential (and largely) reliable TOT revenue source; the care taken to redirect the design of the mid-1990s main library seismic project and addition. Because of her leadership on Council at the time, the community ended up with an award-winning design that preserved the historic façade, with a large addition that blends pretty seamlessly.

I think she also steered the California Drive Firehouse ...though I'm pretty sure it is a completely new structure-top to bottom- the old late 1920s plans were used but enlarged for modern firetruck equipment.

Though the Safeway meeting was a real "nail-biter classic" (thanks for the memories, Joe) it would be hard to forget a 1990s packed chamber meeting where she mercilessly took on Caltrans for not having done their CEQA history related homework regarding the significance of the El Camino Trees;

and though controversial at the time (because of costs) she committed 200+K funds (this was a lot of $$$, at the time) to restore and rehabilitate the old Greyhound Bus Depot on Howard at California Drive. This was used on and off for seminars and classes, but was eventually the second location of Sam’s Sandwiches for a decade or so, and now a temporary outpost for the Parks and Recs folks).

The Broadway grade separation was a huge infrastructure project she (and others) have talked about for literally decades. I’ll bet she thought she might live to see that one completely funded, and started, too; she was so determined.

Not only did she accomplish all this (and more), she remained relevant long after she’d left the Council,involving herself in all the oversight committees, and also other community issues and personal passions.

We've lost a big jewel on Burlingame's crown; she was a force to be reckoned with--'no doubt about it.

[Joe]

This morning's service at St. Catherine's was an appropriate send-off for Rosalie. She attended Mass at OLA and St. Catherine's, and the priestly duties were split with Fr. James Stump from OLA saying the Mass and Fr. John Ryan from St. C's doing the closing Final Commendation.

Mayor Ann O'Brien Keighran gave a lovely homily that reminded everyone of some ROM history that many of us had forgotten. Rosalie's long time friend Pat Kinsella gave a great rendition of "Rose of Tralee"--both drawing applause.

As I told Syed Murtuza, the Director of Public works and a dear friend of "The Queen of Infrastructure", I think Rosalie would have liked seeing the two big excavators from the El Camino roadway project parked next to the church. It felt like they were there in her honor.