FARRELL, Carolyn

FARRELL, Carolyn Kathlene (Sister). (Des Moines, IA-- ). MAYOR. In 1977 Sister Farrell, a former principal of St. Patrick's Elementary School and director of continuing education and summer school at CLARKE COLLEGE, was the first nun to be elected to the Dubuque City Council. In 1980 she was appointed mayor of Dubuque during the time when council members chose the city's chief executive. Her service was at a time of economic trouble for the city. Jobs were lost in the meatpacking and manufacturing areas. She worked with other community leaders to improve transportation by pushing for a new bridge to Wisconsin and widening U.S. 61.

In 1980 a question of whether she could remain as mayor arose. Pope John Paul II asked Father Robert Drinan, a member of the United States Congress, to resign. Sister Farrell was asked whether the pop's decision affected her as well. She replied that the directive applied only to clerics and since she was not a cleric it had no effect upon her. She finished out her two year term but did not run again. The pope's statement was later clarified to applied to religious sisters.

Farrell served as a member of the Dubuque Civil Service Commission. In that role, she helped choose and develop tests for police officers and firefighters which did not discriminate against women. Governor's Task Force for Iowa 2000, and as a board member of the Dubuque Child Care Center, Dubuque Fine Arts Society, and the League of Iowa Municipalities.