Barbara Boggs Sigmund (1939-1990) was the first woman elected mayor of Princeton when she won the 1983 election.
During her term, Sigmund was involved in issues of affordable housing and urban development. She previously served on the Princeton County Board and the Mercer County Board of Freeholders, where she served as president in 1979 and 1980.
Sigmund grew up in a politically oriented family. Her father, former Congressman Hale Boggs, was a Democrat from Louisiana. He died in a shocking plane crash in 1972 in the midst of his term as House Majority Leader. Her mother, Corinne Lindy Claiborne Boggs, succeeded him in Congress. Before his death, Sigmund’s father served for 31 years, and her mother continued the family legacy for another 20 years.
In 1974, Sigmund joined the staff of the Center for American Women and Politics at the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers University. Princeton University honored her by establishing the Barbara Boggs Sigmund Symposium on Women and Poverty in 2001. Sigmund suffered from cancer for many years of her life and was widely known for her iconic blindfold.
