Alice Wolf
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|
Alice Wolf | |
|---|---|
 Wolf in July 2012 | |
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 25th Middlesex district | |
| In office 1996–2013 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Flaherty |
| Succeeded by | Marjorie Decker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alice Koerner December 24, 1933 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | January 26, 2023 (aged 89) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Robert (Bob) Wolf (m. 1955) |
| Children | 2 |
Simmons College | |
| Occupation | Legislator |
Alice K. Wolf (née Koerner; December 24, 1933 – January 26, 2023) was an Austrian-born American politician who served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1996 to 2013, representing the 25th Middlesex District.
On March 22, 2012, Wolf announced that she would not seek re-election. Her term ended in January 2013.
She previously served on the
Early life and education
Wolf was born to a Jewish family in 1933 in
Wolf attended the Baldwin Early Learning Center
She graduated from
She later earned a master's degree in public administration at Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University.
Career
Wolf’s career started at the
After
Wolf’s path to civic engagement and elective office began with participation in the Parent-Teacher Association of the Peabody School in Cambridge, where her sons were students. Deep involvement as a parent with school affairs ultimately led to her election in 1974 as a member of the Cambridge School Committee, where she served from January 1974 through January 1982.
Wolf began her long career in public service when she was elected on November 6, 1973, as a member of the Cambridge School Committee, where she served from January 1974 through January 1982. While on the School Committee, she championed community involvement in decision-making (such as the hiring of school principals), was lauded for crafting the first plan for racial desegregation of the city’s schools, and provided leadership in the siting of the city’s high school, the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.
In 1981, near the end of her fourth term on the School Committee, she felt that her efforts to bring about social equality would be better spent on the Cambridge City Council. She ran for the Council in 1981, but narrowly missed a win in a crowded field of 25 candidates.[7]
In 1983, she again ran for election to the Cambridge City Council and was successful. She joined the Council in January 1984.[7]
Cambridge City Council
Wolf’s accomplishments on the Cambridge City Council included the establishment and passage of a number of key laws. In 1984, she sponsored the Cambridge Human Rights Ordinance,[8] that protects Cambridge residents from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, as well as other protected classes. Wolf also led the city initiative to create a domestic partners ordinance, and establish the[9] commission to enforce the ordinance.
In the 1980s, in conjunction with the Cambridge Peace Commission, she created a "peace curriculum," a program of
Wolf led in the creation of the Cambridge Kids Council, which is dedicated to developing policy recommendations and programs aimed at improving the quality of life for children, youth and families in Cambridge.
The Cambridge City Council is elected by
Mayor
Wolf served as the mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts from January 1990 to January 1992. She was elected five times to the Council, serving from 1984 through 1994.
Wolf was the sponsor of the first Mayor's Gay Pride Breakfast, which has become an annual Cambridge event. At a subsequent Gay Pride Breakfast, she was named an "honorary lesbian."
During the era of rent control in Massachusetts, Cambridge prohibited any apartment from being vacant for more than 120 days.[11] Those who violated the law were subject to a $500 a day fine and jail time.[11] Because of the low rents owner John McAdams was receiving, he was unable to repair several of his apartments on Broadway to make them legally habitable.[11] When they sat vacant longer than 120 days, four families then moved into the apartments, without McAdams' knowledge or consent.[11] Wolf said she recognized that squatting in the apartments was "an illegal action," but supported the squatters and visited them in the apartments.[11]
Scheme Z
Wolf led Cambridge in its opposition to
State representative
In the fall of 1996, Wolf successfully ran for a seat on the
Wolf served as the House Chair of the Committee on Elder Affairs and on the Women’s Legislative Caucus. She was recognized for her advocacy through numerous honors and awards including the Executive Office of Health and Human Services Department of Mental Health 2010 Certificate of Appreciation; the 2009 School-Based Health Center Legislative Champion Award; the 2007 NOW Legislator of the Year; the 2007 Byron Rushing Freedom of Religion Award from the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry; the 2006 Massachusetts Family Planning Association Leadership Award; the 2005 Champions of Children Award from Massachusetts Advocates for Children; and the 2005 Early Education Leadership Award from the Massachusetts Association of Community Partnerships for Children.
Wolf worked on many progressive issues and on countless bills. During her tenure, she worked to promote gender equality, GLBT rights, marriage equality, minority and immigrant rights, environmental causes, education, health care, reproductive rights, affordable housing, education and senior issues. She served as the House Chair of the Committee on Elder Affairs and of the Women’s Legislative Caucus. Wolf’s perseverance and hard work on behalf of those she represented was widely recognized. When faced with barriers to progressive legislation, she identified allies, worked within coalitions, and created strategies to move forward.
Wolf worked closely with activists and other leaders in their efforts to ensure that the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, which legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, was not the subject of a public referendum. As a House whip, she persuaded legislators to vote against bringing the matter before a legislative constitutional convention.
Bottle bill
Wolf’s legislative legacy includes her work to update the state’s bottle bill. The Bottle Bill Update passed the Senate in 2012, but was not passed by the House. Efforts to update the Massachusetts Bottle Bill through a statewide ballot initiative in 2014 were defeated, with more than 70 percent of the voters voting against it.[12]
Death
Wolf died after a short battle with leukemia at her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 26, 2023, at the age of 89.[13][14]
Education
- BS, Simmons College (Massachusetts), 1955
- MPA, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, 1978
- Doctor of Education (Honorary), Wheelock College, 2001
Elected office
- Representative, Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1996-2012
- Member, Massachusetts Democratic Party State Committeewoman, 1984–present
- Member, Democratic Ward and City Committee, 1972–present
- Member, Cambridge City Council, 1984-1994
- Mayor, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1990-1992
- Member, Cambridge School Committee, 1974-1982
- Delegate to Democratic National Conventions in 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2008, and 2016[15]
Other public office
- Massachusetts Municipal Association and Governor's Local Advisory Council, 1988-1993
- Chair/Vice-Chair/Board Representative, Cities and Education Task Force, 1989-1992
- Human Development Steering Committee, 1985-1989
Other professional careers
- Senior Advisor, Massachusetts Advocates for Children, 2015–present
- Consultant, Tufts University Center on Hunger, Poverty and Nutrition Policy, 1994-1996
- Lecturer, Harvard Medical School, 1994-1996
- Personnel Director, Computer Corporation of America, 1968-1976
- University of Massachusetts, Boston, Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, Distinguished Public Service Fellow 2018-2020[16]
Memberships
- Member/Co-Chair, Family Center Committee, Cambridge Kid's Council, 1994-1996
- Member, Low Income Working Circle, 1994-1996
- Member, Radcliffe College Public Policy Institute, 1994-1996
- Member, Women's and Children's Health Clerkship, 1994-1996
- Fellow, Harvard University Institute of Politics, 1994
- Member, Women in Municipal Government, 1989-1994
- Member, Massachusetts Municipal Association, 1985-1994
- Board of Directors, National League of Cities, 1985-1994
References
- ^ "The Mayors of Cambridge since 1846". Rwinters.com. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "Baldwiin Early Learning Center North Home". Archived from the original on December 28, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
- ^ "Simmons University". Simmons.edu. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "SAGE: Semi-Automatic Ground Environment Air Defense System". Ll.mit.edu.
- ^ "BASEBALL: AN AUTOMATIC QUESTION-ANSWERER" (PDF). Stanford.edu. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "Rocket Software Announces Acquisition of Computer Corporation of America — Rocket M204". Archived from the original on September 22, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- ^ a b "PR Council 1981" (PDF). Rwinters.com. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ "Municode Library". Library.municode.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ "Gender Identity and the Law Public Accommodation Training". Cambridgema.gov. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ "Adoption of Plan e - Election Commission - City of Cambridge, Massachusetts". Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Stroud, Ellen (July 5, 1990). "Opposing illegal vacancies". The Cambridge Chronicle. pp. 1, 7.
- ^ Dorfan, Jessica; Tajuddin, Inaara (November 5, 2014). "Mass. activists groups respond to results of ballot questions". The Daily Free Press. Boston University. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
- ^ "Alice K. Wolf". Legacy. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ "Former Cambridge mayor Alice Wolf, an advocate for refugees and LGBT equality, dies at 89". The Boston Globe. January 28, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ Archives of the Cambridge Massachusetts City Democratic Committee
- ^ "Distinguished Public Service Fellows Program - UMass Boston". www.umb.edu. Retrieved January 23, 2023.