Alameda portrait and commercial photographer Steve Hathaway, who has shot the likes of Willie Mays and Willie Brown, among many other Bay Area celebs, just unveiled his latest photo feat—a glossy 183-page, yearbook-style work entitled Mayors Across America: Portraits Outside the Office.
[1]The book chronicles the unconventional lots in life and uniquely human sides of mayors across all 50 states, whose backstories came to life over a period of seven years as Hathaway tracked down those whom he found fascinating, if not eclectic.
A special signing event, featuring Hathaway and six mayors or former mayors among the 90 who made it into the book, took place on March 26 in the ornate Alameda Theatre lobby, hosted by community supporter Kyle Conner, who operates the historic theater.
Included in the compendium of those with singular life experiences is that of Judy Cochran, past Mayor of Livingston, Texas and owner of a ranch on the Trinity River, who set out on a three-year grudge match to find the culprit that ate her miniature horse. She determined who would pay in September 2018 when, at age 73, she spied a 580-pound, 28-foot-long alligator she believed to be the likely culprit. She promptly shot and later stuffed the gator as a testament to her sense of frontier justice.
[2]Others in the book have notable personal backstories as well, including Karyl Matsumoto, former Mayor of South San Francisco, who was born during World War II in Manzanar, the infamous Japanese internment camp; Kent Mitchell of Portola Valley, California, who was an Olympic medalist in rowing in 1960 (bronze) and 1964 (gold); and “Farmer” John Muller, past Mayor of Half Moon Bay, a U.S. Navy Vietnam veteran who engaged in classified recon operations off the coast of Russia and is the recently retired owner of Farmer John’s Pumpkin Farm, just off of Highway 1.
The book’s genesis, something of a story unto itself, began back in 1975 when Hathaway, an Alameda native, heard about Alameda’s first elected Mayor, Chuck Corica, now memorialized by Alameda’s Corica Park Golf Course. Hathaway’s brother mentioned that Corica was a barber, which he found to be of note, and the future book author thought, “I wonder what other mayors do?”
That casual, fleeting seed of curiosity lay fallow in his mind for almost four decades until a chance encounter with his friend, Tom Weir, former sports columnist for USA Today and one of the book’s two co-authors, remarked, “I like your idea.”
Hathaway replied, “What idea?”
The seedleaf in his brain then hit first light as Weir suggested, “You take the photos, and I’ll write the stories.” And Hathaway’s marathon cross-country quest began.
After landing a handful of local mayors, starting with Farmer John, Hathaway’s first out-of-state gamble was to find a mayor who ran a casino. He drew multiple dead hands at first, then hit the jackpot in Yerington, Nevada, where he met with Lucky Club Casino owner, George Dini, whose grandfather opened the place in 1933. Dini purchased it from his father in 2007.
In a sad turn of fate, Weir succumbed to ALS in 2023, leaving a batch of partly finished write-ups, and it looked as though the project would never see the light of day.
Fortunately for Hathaway and the reading public, however, Hathaway had another buddy in the gristmill world, the South Pasadena Review editor in chief, who agreed to take over the writing chore of melding his wordcraft with that of Weir, and the book was on its way again.
Looking back on his sojourn and achievement, Hathaway values that he and his cohorts could personalize the mayors, bring them to life, and get to know them as unique individuals, instead of officious policy wonks and bureaucrats.
Reflecting on the many journeys as much as the ultimate destination of getting the photos shot and the book written and published, Hathaway marvels at the process. “Imagine someone traveling to all 50 states in the first place. Have you done that? And then there’s having met so many wonderful people dedicated to their communities.”
A library of Steve Hathaway’s work is available on Instagram [3]. To purchase a copy of Mayors Across America: Portraits Outside the Office, email Hathaway at [email protected].
Larry Freeman is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post [4]. Contact him via [email protected] [5].