At 36, MaryAnne Pintar is a seasoned veteran of mayoral politics. During the past decade, she was San Diego Mayor Susan Golding’s press secretary, then deputy chief of staff and, ultimately, chief of staff. Later, as an independent consultant, she drafted current San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy’s inaugural and first State of the City speech.

Four years ago, she worked on Peter Q. Davis’ mayoral campaign. Although Davis didn’t make it into the runoff, Pintar nevertheless is working on mayoral issues this fall. She is a fund-raiser and media relations representative for the strong mayor initiative on the November ballot.

Pintar’s ascent from mayoral neophyte to government guru began in 1994, when Golding hired the SDSU journalism graduate to be the mayor’s press secretary. At the time, Pintar never had worked as a spokeswoman. Seemingly unflappable, Pintar confesses that her nerves took a toll on her early in her career, as she wondered how journalists would interpret her statements. Pintar weathered the stress of working in an office she describes as “crazy busy all the time” and went on to master the art of multitasking.

During her years with Golding, Pintar found time to earn a master’s of science degree in communications from SDSU. She had a baby in October 1997 but returned to work when Golding allowed Pintar and two of her coworkers to bring their babies and nannies to the office. After leaving the mayor’s office, she returned to Golding’s staff in the mayor’s final year. Today, she operates Pintar Communications from a home office, where she can be closer to her husband, attorney Ted Pintar, and her daughters, Sophia, 6, and Samantha, 4.

By Pintar’s standards, she’s well below her maximum professional speed. “When the kids are both in school full-time,” she says, “I’ll pick up the pace a little bit.”

— Lynne Carrier