Rosalind Wiener Wyman | |
|---|---|
 Wyman in 1964 | |
| Chair of the1984 Democratic National Convention | |
| In office July 16, 1984 – July 19, 1984 | |
| Member of theLos Angeles City Council from District 5 | |
| In office 1953–1965 | |
| Preceded by | George P. Cronk |
| Succeeded by | Edmund D. Edelman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rosalind Wiener (1930-10-04)October 4, 1930 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | October 26, 2022(2022-10-26) (aged 92) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of Southern California (BS) |
Rosalind Wiener Wyman (October 4, 1930 – October 26, 2022) was an American politician,Los Angeles City Councilmember, and CaliforniaDemocratic political figure who, at 22 years old, was the youngest person ever elected to the Los Angeles City Council,[1][2] and only the second woman to serve there. Her City Council tenure ran 12 years, representing the city's Fifth District.[3] Wyman was highly influential in bringing theBrooklyn Dodgers from New York toChavez Ravine, Los Angeles.[4][5][1][6][7] She helped lead the successful campaigns of U.S. SenatorDianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and in 2019, was reported to be California's oldestDNC delegate.[4]
She also served on theUNESCO Commission[8][5] and sat on executive boards ranging from theNational Endowment for the Arts to theLos Angeles County Arts Commission[2] to theAmerican Friends of the Hebrew University Board; she also acted as chairperson for a variety of entities, including the Community Relations Committee of the Los Angeles Jewish Community Council[7] and the National Congressional Committee Dinner.[9] She was known for having been a vigorous proponent of multi-faith religious tolerance efforts.[10]
Rosalind Wiener was born October 4, 1930, in Los Angeles to Oscar and Sarah (née Selten) Wiener. Her father was a Russian immigrant who came to the country as a stowaway; after arriving, he put himself through pharmacy school.[11] Her Chicago-born mother became a pharmacist as well, despite never pursuing higher education, so she could co-run the drugstore the family had at 9th Street andWestern Avenue (in today'sKoreatown),[12][13][11] which included a 22-seat lunch counter.[11] Her mother had also worked as a volunteer at the juvenile hall in Los Angeles, where a room was named in her honor. She also served as a precinct captain forFranklin Delano Roosevelt's first presidential campaign.[3][14] Rosalind learned how to add by helping work her parents' cash register and serving ice cream to patrons.[11]
Wiener Wyman consistently ran for office in grade school, earning a position while atLos Angeles High School.[11] One of her early political inspirations wasCongresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas, and while still in high school, she chose to do a report on her.[11] Rosalind graduated in 1948, subsequently attending theUniversity of Southern California. During this time, she was able to seek out Gahagan Douglas and volunteer on her Senate campaign.[14] She graduated from USC in 1952[15] with a Bachelor of Science degree inpublic administration.[7][5][3]After college, she gained employment as a recreation director and made plans to go to law school but before that could happen, she deferred enrollment to campaign forAdlai Stevenson,[3] and was subsequently elected[16] to theCity Council in 1953.[7][17][18][19]
Wiener Wyman married attorney Eugene Wyman in 1954, and they had three children: Betty Lynn, Robert, and Brad. The family wereConservative Jews.[7][20] Eugene Wyman, who was also influential in national Democratic politics, died of a heart attack in January 1973.[21]
Wiener Wyman died on the evening of October 26, 2022, at her home in Bel Air. She was 92 years old.[22]
In 1953, Rosalind Wiener campaigned in the5th District to succeed CouncilmanGeorge P. Cronk, with the aid of a swarm of University of Southern California students, and she "pulled a surprise" to finish first in the primary election, ahead of public accountant Elmer Marshrey.[23] In the final, she won just 52% of the vote and took her seat for a four-year term as the youngest council member ever elected and only the second woman—the first having beenEstelle Lawton Lindsey in 1915.[19]
She was reelected in the primaries in 1957 and 1961. She was soundly beaten, though, byEdmund D. Edelman in her fourth council campaign of 1965. One writer opined that it was Wyman's stand on the council to turn overChavez Ravine to the Dodgers, and the resulting expulsion of displaced residents, most of themMexican-Americans, that was "a major—if not decisive— reason" for her loss.[19]
Another said it was "a bitter battle with MayorSam Yorty" that "brought about her defeat."[24] She had become a vocal critic of Yorty, to the extent that a columnist wrote, 'their vendetta has replaced theLa Brea Tar Pits as one of our major tourist attractions.' "[19]
In 1975, after she was widowed, she campaigned to win back her old seat, "but the race turned ugly when Wyman was attacked [...] as an out-of-touch imperialist, more impressed with her national endorsements than with local issues." Wyman finished third, after Fran Savitch (Mayor Bradley's choice) andZev Yaroslavsky, the eventual winner.[19]
The first resolution Wyman introduced in the council a week after she was seated in 1953 called on theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission to permit the localAmerican Legion to stage a baseball game in the Coliseum as a demonstration that the venue would be "a proper place to stagemajor league baseball."[25] In 1958 she was named the City Council's first representative on the Coliseum Commission as a result of areferendum vote by citizens that the council should be represented along with the city Recreation and Parks Department, the county Board of Supervisors, and the state's 6th Agricultural District. At that time the Dodgers were preparing the stadium to use as a temporary field before Chavez Ravine was ready.[26]
During her tenure, Wyman worked to banhorror comics from public sale in drugstores and "other places frequented by children".[27] She also urged the abolition of commissions with any authority over departments and installing "appeal and advisory boards" in their place.[28]
Wyman was chosen "Woman of the Year" for 1958 by theLos Angeles Times.[20] By the end of her third term, Wyman had emerged as enough of a leader on the council that she was elected president pro tem.[19]
Wyman remained attached to theDodgers and purchased eight season tickets directly through ownerWalter O'Malley, paid for by her husband's law firm. After he died, she had to sue the firm to get them back.[19]
In 1973, Wyman served as Chairperson of the National Congressional Committee Dinner.[9] In 1974, she was named to head fundraising for the Democratic Congressional campaigns, and she served as chair and chief executive officer of the1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco which nominatedGeraldine Ferraro forVice-President of the United States, the first woman named as a major party candidate at that level.[4][3] She co-chaired the senatorial campaigns ofDianne Feinstein. She was employed as motion-picture executive and was a consultant toLos Angeles MayorTom Bradley.[7]
In 1988 and 1989, Wyman served as chair of the benefit Singers Salute the Songwriters, with funds going to theBetty Clooney Foundation for Brain Injuries.[29] In January 2015, she was appointed to serve on theLos Angeles County Arts Commission.[2]
As of 2019, Wyman was California's oldest Democratic National Convention delegate.[4]
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| Preceded by | Los Angeles City Council 5th District 1953–1966 | Succeeded by |