Print Thirty-five years ago, Maureen O’Connor who had campaigned on a promise to bring political reform and a renewed commitment to growth management to City Hall was elected mayor of San Diego. O’Connor, who was first elected to the City Council in 1971 at age 25, served as mayor from 1986 to 1992. She was the first woman to hold the city’s top post. O’Connor elected mayor By Rick Shaughnessy and Mark Ragan, Tribune Staff Writers Advertisement Fresh from defeating Bill Cleator in the city’s sixth mayoral election in three years, Maureen O’Connor immediately vowed to fulfill her campaign pledge to “retake City Hall from special interests.”