Rosalind Wiener Wyman
Encyclopedia
Rosalind Wiener Wyman is a California political figure who was the youngest person ever elected to the Los Angeles City Council and the second woman to serve there. She was influential in bringing the baseball Dodgers from Brooklyn, New York, to their new home in Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles. She has been active in national Democratic Party politics.
(in today's Koreatown). Sarah Wiener volunteered at juvenile hall in Los Angeles, where a room was named in her honor. Rosalind had a brother, George, thirteen years older than she, who died in 1972. Rosalind was graduated from Los Angeles High School
in 1948 and from the University of Southern California
in 1952, with a bachelor of science
degree in public administration
. She was a recreation director and had plans to go to law school before being elected to the City Council in 1953.
Wiener was married to attorney Eugene Wyman in 1954, and they had three children—Betty Lynn, Robert Alan and Brad Hibbs. She is a Conservative Jew. Her husband, who, like his wife, was influential in national Democratic politics, died of a heart attack in January 1973.
In the 1950s Los Angeles City Council District 5 was part of the Wilshire Boulevard area, extending to Westwood and West Los Angeles. In 1965 it covered an area from Fairfax Avenue
to the San Diego Freeway
and from Bel-Air and Beverly Hills south to Washington Boulevard.
In 1953, Rosalind Wiener campaigned in the 5th District to succeed Councilman George 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. 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 been Estelle Lawton Lindsey
in 1915.
She was reelected in the primaries in 1957 and 1961. She was soundly beaten, though, by Edmund D. Edelman
in the final election of 1965. One writer opined that it was Wyman's stand on the council to turn over Chavez Ravine
to the baseball Dodgers, and the resulting expulsion of displaced residents, most of them Mexican-Americans, that was "a major—if not decisive— reason" for her loss. Another said it was "a bitter battle with Mayor Sam Yorty" that "brought about her defeat."
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 Yorty's choice) and Zev Yaroslavsky
, the eventual winner.
to stage a baseball game in the Coliseum as a demonstration that the venue would be "a proper place to stage major league baseball." In 1958 she was named the City Council's first representative on the Coliseum Commission as a result of a referendum
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.
Honor. Wyman was chosen "Woman of the Year" for 1958 by the Los Angeles Times.
Feud. She was "so critical of [Mayor] Sam Yorty that a columnist wrote, 'their vendetta has replaced the La Brea Tar Pits
as one of our major tourist attractions.' "
Leader. 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.
Baseball. She remained attached to the Dodgers and purchased eight season tickets directly through owner Walter O'Malley
, paid for by her husband's law firm. After he died, she had to sue the firm to get them back.
Comic books. She worked to ban "horror comic books" from public sale in drugstores and "other places frequented by children."
Commissions. She urged the abolition of commissions with any authority over departments and installing "appeal and advisory boards" in their place.
in San Francisco. She co-chaired the senatorial campaigns of Dianne Feinstein
. She was employed as motion picture executive and was a consultant to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley
.
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Biography
Rosalind Wiener was born October 4, 1930, in Los Angeles to Oscar and Sarah Selten Wiener. Her father was a pharmacist, and her mother also studied pharmacy so she could help run a drugstore with her husband at 9th Street and Western AvenueWestern Avenue
Western Avenue, some 10 miles in length, is one of the major roads leading out of London, England. It is part of the A40, leaving the city in a north-westerly direction...
(in today's Koreatown). Sarah Wiener volunteered at juvenile hall in Los Angeles, where a room was named in her honor. Rosalind had a brother, George, thirteen years older than she, who died in 1972. Rosalind was graduated from Los Angeles High School
Los Angeles High School
Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are blue and white and the teams are called the Romans....
in 1948 and from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in 1952, with a bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in public administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
. She was a recreation director and had plans to go to law school before being elected to the City Council in 1953.
Wiener was married to attorney Eugene Wyman in 1954, and they had three children—Betty Lynn, Robert Alan and Brad Hibbs. She is a Conservative Jew. Her husband, who, like his wife, was influential in national Democratic politics, died of a heart attack in January 1973.
Elections
See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1953 and after.In the 1950s Los Angeles City Council District 5 was part of the Wilshire Boulevard area, extending to Westwood and West Los Angeles. In 1965 it covered an area from Fairfax Avenue
Fairfax Avenue
Fairfax Avenue is a street on north central Los Angeles, California. It runs from La Cienega Boulevard with Culver City at its southern end to Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood on its northern end.Fairfax Avenue forms the western boundary of Hancock Park as well as Park La Brea, an 160 acre ,...
to the San Diego Freeway
San Diego Freeway
The San Diego Freeway is a named freeway in Southern California. It refers to the following two segments:*Interstate 5 in California, from the Mexico – United States border at the San Ysidro district of San Diego to Interstate 405 in Irvine...
and from Bel-Air and Beverly Hills south to Washington Boulevard.
In 1953, Rosalind Wiener campaigned in the 5th District to succeed Councilman George P. Cronk
George P. Cronk
Not to be confused with George H. Moore, Los Angeles City Council member, 1943–1951.George Parkman Cronk , who went by George P. Cronk, was an insurance man who was on the Los Angeles City Council from 1945 to 1952.-Biography:...
, 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. 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 been Estelle Lawton Lindsey
Estelle Lawton Lindsey
Estelle Lawton Lindsey was a 20th Century journalist who was also the first female City Council member in Los Angeles, California, the first woman to preside over the City Council there and the first woman to act as mayor in any American city of comparable size.-Biography:Estelle Lawton was...
in 1915.
She was reelected in the primaries in 1957 and 1961. She was soundly beaten, though, by Edmund D. Edelman
Edmund D. Edelman
Edmund D. Edelman was a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1965 to 1974 and of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from 1975 to 1994...
in the final election of 1965. One writer opined that it was Wyman's stand on the council to turn over Chavez Ravine
Chávez Ravine
Chavez Ravine is an area in Sulfir Canyon that is the current site of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.It was named after Julian Chavez, a Los Angeles Councilman in the 19th century.-History:...
to the baseball Dodgers, and the resulting expulsion of displaced residents, most of them Mexican-Americans, that was "a major—if not decisive— reason" for her loss. Another said it was "a bitter battle with Mayor Sam Yorty" that "brought about her defeat."
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 Yorty's choice) and Zev Yaroslavsky
Zev Yaroslavsky
Zev Yaroslavsky is a Los Angeles County politician. He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1975 until 1994, when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was preceded in both offices by Edmund D...
, the eventual winner.
Highlights
Coliseum. The first resolution she introduced in the council a week after she was seated in 1953 called on the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission to permit the local American LegionAmerican Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
to stage a baseball game in the Coliseum as a demonstration that the venue would be "a proper place to stage major league baseball." In 1958 she was named the City Council's first representative on the Coliseum Commission as a result of a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
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.
Honor. Wyman was chosen "Woman of the Year" for 1958 by the Los Angeles Times.
Feud. She was "so critical of [Mayor] Sam Yorty that a columnist wrote, 'their vendetta has replaced the La Brea Tar Pits
La Brea Tar Pits
The La Brea Tar Pits are a cluster of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed, in the urban heart of Los Angeles. Asphaltum or tar has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years. The tar is often covered with water...
as one of our major tourist attractions.' "
Leader. 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.
Baseball. She remained attached to the Dodgers and purchased eight season tickets directly through owner Walter O'Malley
Walter O'Malley
Walter Francis O'Malley was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from to . He served as Brooklyn Dodgers chief legal counsel when Jackie Robinson broke the racial color barrier in...
, paid for by her husband's law firm. After he died, she had to sue the firm to get them back.
Comic books. She worked to ban "horror comic books" from public sale in drugstores and "other places frequented by children."
Commissions. She urged the abolition of commissions with any authority over departments and installing "appeal and advisory boards" in their place.
Post-council
In 1974 Wyman was named to head fund-raising for the Democratic Congressional campaigns, and she was chair and chief executive officer of the 1984 Democratic National Convention1984 Democratic National Convention
The 1984 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California from July 16 to July 19, 1984, to select a candidate for the 1984 United States presidential election. At the convention Walter Mondale was nominated for President and Geraldine...
in San Francisco. She co-chaired the senatorial campaigns of Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
. She was employed as motion picture executive and was a consultant to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley
Tom Bradley (politician)
Thomas J. "Tom" Bradley was the 38th Mayor of Los Angeles, California, serving in that office from 1973 to 1993. He was the first and to date only African American mayor of Los Angeles...
.
External links
- http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/06/dodgers-bankruptcy-very-very-sad-says-roz-wyman-who-helped-bring-team-to-la.html Photograph of Rosalind Wyman at Los Angeles Times, June 27, 2011
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