Bertha Knight Landes (1868-1943), elected mayor of Seattle in 1926, became the first woman to lead a major American city. She ran on a platform of "municipal housekeeping," vowing to clean up city government. She advocated municipal ownership of utilities such as City Light and street railways. Her single term ended in 1928, but she remained a civic leader and role model for women. She was a devoted wife to Henry Landes, a University of Washington professor of geology and mother of three children. She saw the community as an extension of the home and played leadership roles in several women's organizations.