Mary K. Shell - Supervisor Shell

Supervisor Shell

In 1985, Shell vacated the office of mayor, having been elected to the first of three four-year terms on the also nonpartisan Kern County Board of Supervisors. As a supervisor, she also served two years as chairman of the agriculture committee of the California State Association of Counties and as a subcommittee chairman of the National Association of Counties Agriculture Committee. She represented Kern County on the San Joaquin Valley air pollution control district. After her tenure as a county supervisor, Shell did consulting work for individuals having difficulty with government bureaucracy and regulations.

In her first election as supervisor from a predominantly minority district in southeastern Bakersfield, Shell defeated Richard Ybarra, a son-in-law of Hispanic labor organizer Cesar Chavez, 52.4-47.5 percent. She was unopposed in 1988. In 1992, after redistricting, her district became even more prominently Hispanic and Democratic in orientation with the inclusion of the Arvin and Lamont neighborhoods. Shell still polled 61.2 percent of the vote against Ray Gonzales and another candidate. She did not seek a fourth term in 1996, and the position went to Peter "Pete" Parra.

While in office, she personally hosted many social gatherings and joined constituents in cleaning up litter-strewn lots. Out of office, she did consulting work for individuals and companies having problems with the bureaucracy of government.