In 1979 , McCready was appointed to the position of mayor in Portland upon Neil Goldschmidt 's resignation to become United States Secretary of Transportation in the Carter Administration . She assumed office as mayor on September 5 , 1979 . She was the second of three women to hold the post . McCready was mayor during the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens when Portland was blanketed by ash on three occasions , and eventually threatened businesses with fines if they failed to remove the ash from their parking lots . She was defeated in the May 1980 primary by Frank Ivancie , whose succession to the office took effect on November 24 , at which point McCready retired from politics
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
Connie McCready