Midge Costanza
Midge Costanza | |
---|---|
Director of the Office of Public Liaison | |
In office January 20, 1977 – September 1, 1978 | |
President | Jimmy Carter |
Preceded by | William Baroody |
Succeeded by | Anne Wexler |
Personal details | |
Born | Margaret Costanza November 28, 1932 LeRoy, New York, U.S. |
Died | March 23, 2010 San Diego, California, U.S. | (aged 77)
Political party | Democratic |
Margaret "Midge" Costanza (November 28, 1932 – March 23, 2010) was an
Early life and family
Costanza was born to Philip Costanza and Concetta Granata Costanza on November 28, 1932, in
Political career
Activist, councilwoman, and vice-mayor of Rochester
Taking an interest in politics, Costanza volunteered on W. Averell Harriman's campaign for governor in 1954 and soon became the Monroe County, New York, executive director of Robert F. Kennedy's Senate campaign in 1964. She served as a Democratic National Committee member from 1972 until 1977.
In 1973 she ran for an at-large seat on the Rochester city council, becoming Rochester's first
Congressional aspirations
Costanza lost a race for the United States House of Representatives in 1974 to the popular Republican incumbent. In 1976 when Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter ran for President of the United States, Costanza served as co-chair of his New York campaign operation and gave a seconding speech for him at the Democratic National Convention (Carter had been a volunteer in Costanza's congressional campaign two years prior).[1]
Woman in the White House
Upon Carter's election Costanza was named
Costanza went on to arrange discussions between the NGTF co-directors and senior officials of the administration. Public disagreements with some of the president's policies caused controversy and saw Costanza's role in the White House diminished. As her successor Anne Wexler described it: "OPL under Costanza had functioned as an office providing responsiveness to interest groups, a form of White House case work, but had not taken enough initiative to enlist group support by building coalitions that would move the president’s program on Capitol Hill."[5] Affirming her support for Carter, she resigned from his administration effective September 1, 1978.[6]
Costanza had been popular with
Career and activism after the White House
Costanza became executive director of her friend
Moving to
Costanza became a professor at
Honor
Midge Costanza was nominated and inducted into the San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame in 2011 by Women's Museum of California, Commission on the Status of Women, University of California, San Diego Women's Center, and San Diego State University Women's Studies.
Death
Costanza died of
Midge Costanza was nominated and inducted into the San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame in 2011 for the title of Trailblazer, meaning, women who have paved the way for other women, or were the first in their field. The annual Women's Hall of Fame induction is co-hosted by Women's Museum of California (Located in San Diego), Commission on the Status of Women, UC San Diego Women's Center, and San Diego State Women's Studies.[12]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Midge Costanza (1932-2010)." www.glbtqarchive.com. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
- ^ "100,000 Join March for Extension of Deadline for Rights Amendment". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
- ^ Mattingly, Doreen. A Feminist in the White House: Midge Costanza, the Carter Years, and America's Culture Wars.
- S2CID 2018246.
- ^ "White House Transition Project Institutional Memory Series: The White House Office of Public Liaison" (PDF). p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
- ^ "Assistant to the President for Public Liaison Exchange of Letters on the Resignation of Margaret Costanza". 1978-07-31. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ^ Hillquest website (cache) Archived 2008-12-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Denver Post archives
- ^ "The Midge Costanza Institute". Archived from the original on 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
- ^ "San Diego Gay and Lesbian News".
- ^ John Marelius (March 23, 2010). "Carter aide Midge Costanza dies at 77". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ^ "San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame". Ashley Gardner. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
External links
- The Midge Costanza Institute
- Former Carter aide dies at Bay Ledger
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Margaret "Midge" Costanza papers (American English) , Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester