Bernice Stern

Bernice Friedman Stern (July 25, 1916 – June 29, 2007) was an American politician who served as a member of the King County Council from 1969 to 1980. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented the 4th district and was the first woman elected to the council.^[1][2][3]

Stern was born on July 25, 1916, in Seattle, Washington, to a butcher and a homemaker.^[1][2] Her mother died of cancer when she was a teenager, and her father died a few years later of a heart attack.^[2][4] Stern was an honors student at Broadway Hogh School and active in the Jewish community.^[2][5]

After high school, Stern attended the University of Washington for two years studying Oriental studies because it was "something very easy so I could go out on lots of dates."^[2][4][5] In 1935, she dropped out of college after marrying Edward Friend Stern, a lawyer.^[2][4][5] After their honeymoon, Stern's mother-in-law introduced her to the Seattle chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) and would rise through the ranks.^[1] In 1942, at 26, she became the organization's youngest president.^[2][4][5] Stern was also the head of the Seattle Section and Western Region for NCJW as well as the youngest national officer.^[1][4] While at the NCJW, she was against the council's focus on the new state of Israel, saying, "We should act independently, avoiding centralized control of any kind."^[1][4][6]

Stern was active in other organizations, including the "Grey Ladies" of the Red Cross, but left due to the organization's discrimination against black sailors.^[1][2][4] She also worked with the YWCA on the "Speak Up -- Freedom Needs Exercise" campaign to combat book banning at the Seattle Public Library.^[1][4] Stern was also active in the Women's rights movement of the 1960s and was one of the few women invited to the White House by President John F. Kennedy for a meeting on civil rights to "guarantee human rights to every citizen regardless of color."^[1][2]

In 1968, voters approved the King County Home Rule Charter, which created the King County Executive and the nine-member county council.^[1] Stern ran in the heavily Republican 4th district as a liberal Jewish activist, one of 80 candidates.^[1][5] Her son David, an advertising and public relations executive, help Stern run her campaign.^[7] She won, becoming the first woman elected to the council.^[2][5]

During her tenure, Stern had testy relationships with her colleagues, especially the council member Mike Lowry who defeated her bid to become council chair in 1977.^[1][4] In an interview, Stern said, "I was so [angry] that I had sat there and let that nothing Mike Lowry beat me. He said, 'You can be vice-chairman, and you can be chairman next time.' I said, 'You can go back in your office and don’t come back in here again.'"^[4] In 1978, Stern was unanimously elected council chair.^[2][5][6] She was also chair of the Environmental Planning Committee and the Planning and Community Development Committee.^[6]

In 1979, Stern retired from the council to spend more time with her husband.^[2][5][6]

Stern was married to her husband until he died in 1980 of lung cancer.^[2][5] The couple had two sons, Edward Jr. and David.^[1][2][5] Stern died in 2007 from complications of pneumonia.^[2][5]