Santa Barbara Former Mayor Shiffman Dies
David T. Shiffman, who served longer than any mayor in Santa Barbara’s history, has died at his home there after a long illness. He was 60.
Shiffman, who was mayor from 1973 to 1981, died Tuesday. The family did not announce the cause of death.
In his eight-year tenure he championed protection of Indian burial grounds, sought federal legislation curbing violence on television and opposed efforts to limit Santa Barbara’s population to 85,000.
Attained Longest Tenure
Shiffman was not the only two-term mayor in city history, but because the council decided to change the expiration date of municipal government terms from April to November in 1981, Shiffman attained the longest tenure of any Santa Barbara mayor since the city incorporated in 1850.
The former mayor served in the Army under Gen. George S. Patton in World War II, then earned a degree in business administration and industrial management at UCLA.
He had stepped down in August as chief executive of Sloan Technology because of illness.
Shiffman is survived by his wife, Martha, two sons, a daughter, a sister and two grandchildren.
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