Loni Hancock (born Ilona Harrington; April 10, 1940) is an American politician and a former member of the California State Senate. A Democrat, she represented the 9th Senate District, which encompasses the northern East Bay. Hancock has been a fixture of East Bay politics for decades, and has lived in Berkeley since 1964. Before her election to the State Senate in 2008, she served in the California State Assembly, representing the 14th Assembly District. She was also the second female (first elected female) Mayor of Berkeley and served in the administrations of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Berkeley City Council Member and Mayor Hancock served Berkeley as a member of the Berkeley City Council from 1971 to 1979. One of Hancock's achievements as a member of the council was the preservation of the Berkeley marina from development. She helped conduct a study by a group of students from the University of California, Berkeley that showed that major development in the marina area would threaten the wildlife in the area. Hancock was the first woman to be elected the Mayor of Berkeley, California, succeeding Gus Newport in 1986. Serving as mayor for two terms, she balanced seven straight city budgets, forged a historic agreement between the city and the University of California, began the revitalization of downtown Berkeley, led efforts to secure additional open space, launched a Bio-Tech Academy at Berkeley High School (in partnership with Bayer), and managed to repair many potholes in Berkeley streets during a very short period prior to her second election as Mayor. Roles in Presidential administrations Senator Hancock also served as President Jimmy Carter's Regional Director for ACTION, overseeing a host of domestic volunteer programs including VISTA, Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions and Retired Senior Volunteer Program. In 1994, Hancock left her position as mayor of Berkeley to serve in the administration of President Bill Clinton. Hancock headed the Western Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Education. Working with schools, communities, state and local governments, she helped launch many of Clinton's education initiatives. California State Assembly Hancock chaired the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources. She led the committee to pass environmental legislation that protects open space, expands recycling programs, and promotes healthy city-infill strategies in the state. Hancock also chaired the Assembly Select Committee on Bridging the Achievement Gap, which worked to reduce high dropout rates, improve school-to-career programs, and provide oversight of the