The first and only female mayor of Greeley, Dorothy Zabka, began her professional career at the age of 11 working for her family’s business, Martin Produce. By age 23, Zabka took over the family business when her father died in 1947. Under her direction, Martin Produce specialized in growing, packaging, and shipping onions and potatoes with several warehouses and 15 farms under Zabka’s purview.
In 1965, Greeley elected Zabka as the city’s first female mayor. During her tenure in office, Zabka instituted the building of new highway bypasses around Greeley and worked to equalize the property taxes of all Greeley citizens. Zabka’s second mayoral term saw many additional changes to Greeley. Perhaps most significantly, the city voted to legalize the sale of alcohol in 1969, a huge departure from its founding as a dry town, the Union Colony, in 1870 under Nathan Meeker.

Mayor Dorothy Martin Zabka stands behind a podium during the Freemason cornerstone ceremony for the Civic Center Complex. Standing on her left are eight men including Ben Cruce, C. Gregory, Dick Boettcher, Barton Buss and Irving Cannon.
COGM~1971.60.0003
Zabka ran unsuccessfully for a third mayoral term in 1969 as well as for State Senator in 1970. Though she was defeated during her last two elections, Zabka left a positive legacy in Greeley.
She passed away in October 2015 at 91 years old.
Originally published in the Greeley Tribune in 2018.
By Katherine McDaniel, former Exhibits Preparator