{{Short description|German-American politician (1928–2015)}} {{Use American English|date=November 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder |name = Eva Galambos |birth_name = Eva Cohn |birth_place = Berlin, Germany |office = 1st Mayor of Sandy Springs |term_start = December 1, 2005 |term_end = January 7, 2014 |predecessor = Position created |successor = Rusty Paul |education = University of Georgia (BBA)<br>University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (MA)<br>Georgia State University (PhD) |birth_date = July 1, 1928 |death_date = April 19, 2015 (aged 86) |death_place = Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |known_for = First mayor of Sandy Springs, Georgia, U.S. }} '''Eva Cohn Galambos''' (July 1, 1928 – April 19, 2015) was a German-born American economist and a politician who served as the first mayor of Sandy Springs, Georgia. She served as the city's inaugural Mayor from December 1, 2005, until January 7, 2014, when Rusty Paul took office as the city's second mayor.
==Early life and education== Eva Cohn was born in Berlin, Germany, and her father was a judge. He was ousted from his position, along with other prominent Jews, in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power. The family then moved to Genoa, Italy, where they lived for six years before moving to the United States and settling in Athens, Georgia, where her father got a job at the University of Georgia with the help of prominent alumnus Harold Hirsch. Galambos attended Athens High School and graduated as valedictorian in 1944. She later graduated from the University of Georgia in 1948 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Later in life she earned a master's degree (M.A.) in labor and industrial relations from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in economics from Georgia State University.<ref name=Guide2005>{{cite news |title=Northside Voters Guide 2005 |work=The Atlanta Journal - Constitution |date=November 6, 2005 |id={{ProQuest|337210422}} }}</ref> She was the recipient of the 2011 Andrew Young School Distinguished Alumni Award from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University.<ref name="AJC">{{cite web|title=Sandy Springs 'founding mother,' first mayor Eva Galambos dies|publisher=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|author=Mike Morris|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/sandy-springs-founding-mother-first-mayor-eva-galambos-dies/sC9M8mpqakNCnknHeD1NLI/|date=April 19, 2015|accessdate=May 31, 2018 |id={{ProQuest|1674115387}} }}</ref>
==Labor activism== An activist for workers, Galambos landed her first professional job as Associate Editor of the Atlanta Journal of Labor, writing local copy to interest the union members.<ref name="OBIT">{{cite web|title=Eva Cohn GALAMBOS|publisher=Atlanta Journal-Constitution obituaries|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/atlanta/obituary.aspx?n=eva-cohn-galambos&pid=174680707&fhid=5442|date=April 21, 2015|accessdate=May 31, 2018}}</ref> When ending rent control came up for discussion in the Atlanta City Council in 1950, Galambos noted it was still difficult to find affordable housing in Atlanta.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-800-jame-counci/177069449/ |title=800 Jam Council Hearing Chamber |work=The Atlanta Constitution |date=April 6, 1950 |page=1 |via=newspapers.com }}</ref> While "thanked" for her research, the practice, adopted in New York, was not enacted in a Southern city more sensitive to issues of government overreach.<ref name="OBIT" /> Galambos later obtained a position, working on behalf of the International Association of Machinists.
She was a labor economist for many years, teaching at Clark Atlanta University and Georgia State University.
==Politics== Galambos played a central role in the thirty year effort to incorporate Sandy Springs as an independent city, culminating in her election as its first mayor in November 2005.<ref name=Tucker2007>{{cite journal |title=Urban Rebirth |first=Katheryn Hayes |last=Tucker |journal=Georgia Trend |volume=22 |issue=5 |date=January 1, 2007 |page=121 |id={{ProQuest|234280535}} }}</ref> From 1975 to 2005, she served as president of the Committee for Sandy Springs, the organization leading the effort for incorporation.<ref name=Hunt2009>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-at-81-mayor-st/177067665/ |title=At 81, mayor still works hard for Sandy Springs |first=April |last=Hunt |work=The Atlanta Constitution |date=December 21, 2009 |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-at-81-mayor-st/177067665/ A1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-mayor-still-goi/177068088/ A7] |via=newspapers.com }}</ref> Residents of Sandy Springs, a suburban community north of Atlanta, had felt that they contributed substantial resources to Fulton County without receiving adequate services in return. Initially motivated by a desire to avoid annexation by Atlanta, the push for incorporation grew into a broader movement for local control and self-governance. However, state laws barring new cities from forming within three miles of existing municipalities prevented Sandy Springs from incorporating, and attempts to change the law was consistently blocked by the Democratic-controlled Georgia House of Representatives. This changed when the Legislature shifted to Republican control in 2005.<ref name=Tucker2007/> Galambos was also a co-founder and former secretary of Sandy Springs Revitalization; founder of Sandy Springs Clean and Beautiful; chairwoman of the services committee for the Sandy Springs Council of Neighborhoods; former chairwoman of the Fulton County Public Housing Authority; and founder of Sandy Springs Civic Roundtable.<ref name=Guide2005/>
==Personal life== Galambos met her husband John while they were both undergraduates at the University of Georgia. In 1960, they moved to Sandy Springs and had three children.<ref name=Hunt2009/> She died of cancer on April 19, 2015, at the age of 86.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Eva-Galambos&lc=7119&pid=174675443&mid=6409186|title=Eva Galambos Obituary - Sandy Springs Chapel - Sandy Springs GA|work=dignitymemorial.com|accessdate=21 April 2015}}</ref> Her funeral was held at Temple Kehillat Chaim in Roswell, Georgia on April 21, 2015.<ref name="AJC" />
==Bibliography== * {{cite book | title=What's in a Name? | publisher=Northwest Pub | author=Eva Galambos | year=1996 | isbn=9780761004585}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{cite news|url=http://sandyspringsga.org/City-Government/Mayor-s-Office|title=Mayor Eva Galambos|accessdate=April 21, 2015|publisher=City of Sandy Springs|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207175223/http://sandyspringsga.org/City-Government/Mayor-s-Office|archivedate=December 7, 2013}} {{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{Succession box |before=Inaugural Mayor |title=Mayor of Sandy Springs, Georgia |years=2005–2014 |after=Rusty Paul }} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galambos, Eva}} Category:1928 births Category:2015 deaths Category:Mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Women mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Jewish American people in Georgia (U.S. state) politics Category:Jewish American mayors Category:Jewish American women in politics Category:University of Georgia alumni Category:Georgia State University alumni Category:University of Illinois System alumni Category:Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Category:People from Sandy Springs, Georgia Category:Politicians from Berlin Category:Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Italy Category:German emigrants to Italy