MY TURN-A look at Women in History-would not be complete without talking with a true Los Angeles pioneer, leader… the person almost singularly responsible for the Dodgers coming to Los Angeles and patron of the arts … Rosalind Weiner Wyman. (Photo)
I was particularly excited about interviewing “Roz” as she is known to all. When I was in High School, I was part of the Forensic Team and attended a Student Congress at City Hall. Roz Weiner, age 22 had just been elected to the Fifth District—- the first woman in 37 years, and the first of Jewish faith in 57 years… to the Los Angeles City Council.
She addressed this group of High School students from all over the City and even though I don’t remember what she said, I do remember thinking, after listening to her, that I was going to be the first Lady Mayor of the City of Los Angeles. There is still time!
Isn’t it interesting how people wander in and out of our lives, sometimes unknowingly giving us a path? Now I had a chance to thank her for pointing me in the direction of activism. I also appreciated the chance to ask the questions on her take about women in politics and her views of Los Angeles today at from the viewpoint of 84.
She likes to say that she was “born a democrat”-Her mother Sarah, was a political activist and very involved with Franklin Roosevelt and his policies. The weekly poker games her Mother hosted always had a percentage of the “pot” going towards political fund raising.
Roz was active in student government at LA High School and became part of the Democratic Committee while at USC. The Committee was interviewing candidates for the Westside to determine who support for City Council and weren’t happy with any of applicants. Someone suggested that Roz should run since she was knowledgeable and certainly not afraid to speak her mind. A characteristic which is still holds true.
She came home and told her parents. Her Dad told her that politics was a dirty business and she shouldn’t do it and her Mom told her to go for it. She filed the last day. This was the fifties so getting the word out was a huge challenge. She raised all of $1500 and her supporters, led by her mother, were very creative. They made signs and door hangers, managed to get donations of giveaways where they pasted her name. She walked every precinct especially on Monday nights when most people were home in order to watch “I love Lucy.”
There were seven people running for the office and she came in first in the Primary. The head vote counter at the City Clerk’s office thought the call in from the precincts was in error. He had never heard of her. She didn’t even have a biography. She went on to win the final election and even gained some more financial support along the way.
Needless to say her fellow Councilmen were not thrilled to have her join them. She said that she did finally convince them that she knew what she was doing and was the first woman to be elected Mayor Pro Tempore as well as “Acting Mayor.”
Why the Dodgers? In the fifties Los Angeles was a bedroom community known for Hollywood but not much else. When she tried to recruit businesses to LA, one of the first questions was “What sporting teams do you have?” All the National teams were east of the Mississippi and hadn’t made a move in 54 years.
She convinced Walter O’ Malley (photo) that he should bring the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles. Not only did he do that—- but he built Dodger Stadium and financed it. There was no City money involved. She is still an avid Dodger fan and rarely misses a home game.
The backlash to this achievement was from the people who lost their homes because of the stadium location in Chavez Ravine and some say that was primarily responsible for her losing her fourth term election, along with opposit ion from then Mayor Sam Yorty.
Along the way she had married, Attorney Gene Wyman and had three children. Women also voted against her fourth term because they thought she should stay at home. Remember this was the time of “Father knows Best”. She was a young widow still in her forties with three children to raise. During that time and subsequently, she was her Mother’s daughter and never gave up on her public service .
Roz has been an activist all of her life. I asked her what she considered her greatest accomplishment as a Council member other than recruiting the Dodgers? She replied that parks, arts and recreational facilities were very important. Developing “pocket” parks, pushing a Parks Bond issue, building recreational centers and supporting the arts were her passions. She helped push the development of Fox’s back lot into Century City; and chaired the 1984 Democratic Convention.
She was both touched and proud that the Palms Recreation Center was named for her on her 82nd birthday. It is now known as the Rosalind Wyman Recreational Center.
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Roz Wyman has received numerous awards and sits on many prestigious committees, all of which can be read on the Web. I was interested in her view of the state of women in politics today; the state of Los Angeles; and her views on local government .
She told me rather wistfully that women rights, which she and others fought so hard for, have taken a step backwards. She bemoaned the fact that States were trying to keep people from voting instead of making efforts to involve more voters. At the same time she lauded efforts of groups Like Emily’s List and the Feminine Majority. When she was starting out there was only the non-partisan League of Women’s Voters.
She also felt that President Obama had accomplished really important things for both men and women in his first two years and wondered why his efforts weren’t trumpeted more by Democrats.
One of the keys to running for office today is the ability to raise funds. Women are not very good at doing that. She has been one of the chief fundraisers for the Democratic party and was key to the elections of both of California's Senators, Boxer and Feinstein. When asked for political donations she would bristle when a woman would say, “I have to ask my husband.”
She commented that Nancy Pelosi was one of the very best fund raisers…she seldom came away without a pledge. She would like see more women run for office. She also noted that she was very afraid of the Republican’s announced budget. She suggested that the Democrats hire one of the ad agencies with the most memorable portfolio and devise an ad saying “If you want to lose your Social Security Benefits and Medicare… vote Republican!” and run it in every State.
When it comes to local government Wyman doesn’t get as actively involved . In her opinion, the biggest problems for the City are “traffic” and lack of proper zoning. She was most enthusiastic about the revitalized Downtown. She thinks that Mayor Eric Garcetti, is doing a fine job and is a great face reflecting the vitality and creativity of this City. She also mentioned that his wife was an outstanding “first lady” and was doing important work for the City.
Driving home after the interview in the traffic…I thought that the contributions made by people Like Rosalind Weiner Wyman cannot be measured. She was a firebrand at 22…and still is at 84. It proves that indeed age is “a state of mind” that we should encourage and search for more Rosalind Wymans’ in this younger generation, and I also had the chance to say, “thank you” to someone who unknowingly influenced my life.
As always comments are welcome.
(Denyse Selesnick is a featured CityWatch columnist. She is a former Publisher/journalist/international event organizer. Denyse can be reached at: [email protected])
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 28
Pub: Apr 3, 2015
