Elaine Gordon (1931 – February 25, 2000) was an American politician. She served in theFlorida House of Representatives from 1972 to 1994[1][2] as aDemocrat.[3]
She was born inThe Bronx,New York and moved toFlorida in 1964. During the constitutional revision session for the state in 1968, she was legislative assistant toGeorge Firestone. She was elected to the Florida House of Representatives for NorthMiami-Dade County in 1972. She sponsored the bills which created theFlorida Commission on the Status of Women, the 1989hate crime law and the Patients Bill of Rights. She helped introduce legislation that protected women and children by enforcing child support and protecting againstdomestic violence. Gordon served as Speaker Pro-Tempore (acting speaker) for the state assembly. In 1992, she was named Dean of the Florida House. She retired from the Florida legislature in 1994.[4][1]
She worked on the unsuccessful ratification of theEqual Rights Amendment in Florida; although the amendment passed in the House of Representatives several times, it was defeated in theFlorida Senate.[1]
After her divorce, Gordon was unable to get a credit card in her name since she was a woman. As a result, she campaigned with American feminist and journalistNikki Beare to found a statewide feminist credit union.[5] She worked with Beare and Elaine Bloom on WKAT Radio with a feminist radio show titledWomen's Powerline.[6]
Gordon was a founding member of theNational Organization for Women (NOW) and of the Florida Women's Political Caucus.[1] In 1982, she became the first person inducted into theFlorida Women's Hall of Fame.[1] She was the first recipient of the Humanitarian Award from theUnited Way of Florida.[4] After leaving politics, she served as assistant vice-president atFlorida International University.[1]
She died ofnon-Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 68.[1]
In 1999, Florida International University established the Elaine Gordon Scholarship in her honor.[7] She was the mother of television producerJ. Brian Gadinsky.[8]
She eventually struck back by teaming withNikki Beare, another Miami women's rights activist, to start "a statewide feminist credit union."
nikki beare.