Ruth Messinger: Difference between revisions

Ruth Messinger
Ruth Messinger
	Messinger in 2012
24th Borough President of Manhattan
	In office; January 1, 1990 – December 31, 1997
Preceded by	David Dinkins
Succeeded by	C. Virginia Fields
Member of the New York City Council for the 4th district
	In office; January 1st, 1978 – December 31st, 1988
Preceded by	Henry T. Berger
Succeeded by	Ronnie Eldridge
Personal details
Born	November 6, 1940 (age 84); New York City, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Other political; affiliations	Democratic Socialists of America
Spouse	Andrew Lachman
Children	3
Education	Harvard University (BA); University of Oklahoma (MSW)

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Ruth Wyler Messinger (born November 6, 1940)^[3] is a former American political leader in New York City and a member of the Democratic Party. She was the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City in 1997, losing to incumbent mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Biography

Life

Born and raised in New York, Messinger attended the Brearley School. She graduated from Radcliffe College of Harvard University in 1962,^[4] and received a Master of Social Work from the University of Oklahoma in 1964. She is married to Andrew Lachman, her second husband, and has three children. She was formerly the President and CEO of American Jewish World Service, an international development agency.^{[citation needed]}

Politics

Messinger was a delegate to the 1980 Democratic National Convention and served on the New York City Council from 1978 to 1989, representing the Upper West Side of Manhattan. In the City Council, she proposed extending rent control from individuals to businesses. From 1990 to 1998, she served as Manhattan borough president, an office she gave up to unsuccessfully run for mayor in the 1997 election. Her candidacy made her the city's first female Democratic mayoral candidate.^[5]

A political liberal, Messinger was known for her advocacy on behalf of public schools, efforts to achieve compromise between developers and neighborhood activists, and her aggressive media work. She is pro-choice and opposes the death penalty. During her 1997 campaign, she was nearly forced into a Democratic primary runoff with Reverend Al Sharpton, but avoided it by receiving 40% of the vote during a recount. She ultimately lost to Giuliani but received more than 500,000 votes.^[5]

In 2005, Messinger endorsed Fernando Ferrer for mayor in the 2005 mayoral election. Ferrer had briefly run against her for mayor in 1997, before dropping out to endorse her and then run for reelection as Bronx borough president.^{[citation needed]}

Post-political career

From 1998 until 2016 she was President and CEO of American Jewish World Service before transitioning to an Ambassador role with the organization.^[6]

In late 2005, following a high-profile year that included the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, The Forward, a Jewish newspaper based in New York City, named her to the top of its annual "Forward Fifty" list of the most influential American Jews. Messinger is also a board member of Hazon and a trustee emerita of the Jewish Foundation for Education of Women.^[3] In 2015 she was named as one of The Forward 50.^[7]

Messinger serves as the inaugural Social Justice Fellow at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and the Social Justice Activist-in-Residence at the JCC of Manhattan.

In 2020, she served on incoming Queens Borough President Donovan Richards' transition team.^[8]

References

^ Mort, Jo-Ann (Fall 1987). "Ruth Messinger-Local Issues, Socialist Vision". Dissent. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
^ Bruni, Frank (October 12, 1997). "RACE FOR CITY HALL: The Democratic candidate.; Messinger's Long Road in Pursuit of the Mayoralty". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Ruth Messinger". Jewish Women's Archive.
^ Traub, James (August 10, 1997). "New York's Loneliest Liberal". Slate. Archived from the original on February 28, 2005. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Murphy, Jarrett (November 23, 2020). "Women Have Already Made History in the 2021 Mayoral Race". CityLimits. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
^ "Ruth Messinger". American Jewish World Service. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
^ "Ruth Messinger". The Forward.
^ "Donovan Richards sworn in as Queens borough president". Amsterdam News. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.

External links

Ruth Messinger's articles at American Jewish World Service website
Ruth97.org Ruth Messinger for Mayor at the Wayback Machine (archived January 21, 1997)

Political offices
Preceded by Henry T. Berger	Member of the New York City Council from the 4th district 1978–1989	Succeeded by Ronnie Eldridge
Preceded by David Dinkins	Borough President of Manhattan 1990–1997	Succeeded by C. Virginia Fields
Party political offices
Preceded by David Dinkins	Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York 1997	Succeeded by Mark Green

[1] Mort, Jo-Ann (Fall 1987). "Ruth Messinger-Local Issues, Socialist Vision". Dissent. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

[2] Bruni, Frank (October 12, 1997). "RACE FOR CITY HALL: The Democratic candidate.; Messinger's Long Road in Pursuit of the Mayoralty". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

[jwae-3] "Ruth Messinger". Jewish Women's Archive.

[4] Traub, James (August 10, 1997). "New York's Loneliest Liberal". Slate. Archived from the original on February 28, 2005. Retrieved December 16, 2020.

[cli-5] Murphy, Jarrett (November 23, 2020). "Women Have Already Made History in the 2021 Mayoral Race". CityLimits. Retrieved December 16, 2020.

[6] "Ruth Messinger". American Jewish World Service. Retrieved December 16, 2020.

[7] "Ruth Messinger". The Forward.

[8] "Donovan Richards sworn in as Queens borough president". Amsterdam News. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{short description|American politician}}
+{{use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
 {{Infobox officeholder
-| name        = Ruth Messinger
+| name         = Ruth Messinger
-| image       = Ruth Messinger 2012.jpg
+| image        = Ruth Messinger 2012 (cropped).jpg
+| caption      = Messinger in 2012
-| imagesize = 175px
+| office       = 24th [[Borough President]] of [[Manhattan]]
-| caption     = Messinger in 2012
+| term_start   = January 1, 1990
-| office      = 24th [[Borough President]] of [[Manhattan]]
-| term_start  = January 1, 1990
+| term_end     = December 31, 1997
+| office2      = Member of the [[New York City Council]] for the [[New York City's 4th City Council district|4th district]]
-| term_end    = December 31, 1997
+| term_start2  = January 1st, 1978
-| predecessor = [[David N. Dinkins]]
-| successor   = [[C. Virginia Fields]]
+| term_end2    = December 31st, 1988
+| predecessor2 = Henry T. Berger
-| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1940|11|6}}
+| successor2   = [[Ronnie Eldridge]]
-| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
+| predecessor  = [[David Dinkins]]
-| party       = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
-| spouse      = Andrew Lachman
+| successor    = [[C. Virginia Fields]]
+| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1940|11|6}}
-| children    = 3
+| birth_place  = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.
-| alma_mater  = [[Radcliffe College]]<br/>[[University of Oklahoma]]
+| death_date   =
-| occupation  = President/CEO, [[American Jewish World Service]]
-| footnotes   =
+| death_place  =
+| party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
+| spouse       = Andrew Lachman
+| children     = 3
+| education    = [[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[University of Oklahoma]] ([[Master of Social Work|MSW]])
+| otherparty   = [[Democratic Socialists of America]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mort |first1=Jo-Ann |title=Ruth Messinger-Local Issues, Socialist Vision |url=https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/ruth-messinger-local-issues-socialist-vision |publisher=[[Dissent (American magazine) |Dissent]] |access-date=June 1, 2023 |date=Fall 1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bruni |first1=Frank |title=RACE FOR CITY HALL: The Democratic candidate.; Messinger's Long Road in Pursuit of the Mayoralty |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/12/nyregion/race-for-city-hall-democratic-candidate-messinger-s-long-road-pursuit-mayoralty.html |publisher=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=June 1, 2023 |date=October 12, 1997}}</ref>
 }}
+'''Ruth Wyler Messinger''' (born November 6, 1940)<ref name=jwae>{{Cite web|url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/messinger-ruth|title=Ruth Messinger|website=[[Jewish Women's Archive]]}}</ref> is a former American political leader in [[New York City]] and a member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]. She was the Democratic nominee for [[Mayor of New York City]] in [[1997 New York City mayoral election|1997]], losing to incumbent mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]].
-'''Ruth Wyler Messinger''' (born November 6, 1940)<ref name=jwae>{{Cite web|url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/messinger-ruth|title=Ruth Messinger|website=[[Jewish Women's Archive]]}}</ref> is a former American political leader in [[New York City]] and a member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]. She was the Democratic nominee for [[Mayor of New York City]] in 1997, losing to incumbent mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]].
 ==Biography==
 === Life ===
-Born and raised in New York, Messinger attended the [[Brearley School]]. She graduated from [[Radcliffe College]] in 1962<ref name="slate">{{cite news|last1=Traub|first1=James|date=10 August 1997|title=New York's Loneliest Liberal|work=Slate|url=http://slate.msn.com/id/1828/|access-date=16 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228045405/http://slate.msn.com/id/1828/|archive-date=2005-02-28}}</ref> and received a Master of Social Work from the [[University of Oklahoma]] in 1964. She is married to Andrew Lachman, her second husband, and has three children. She is formerly the President and CEO of [[American Jewish World Service]], an international development agency.
+Born and raised in New York, Messinger attended the [[Brearley School]]. She graduated from [[Radcliffe College]] of [[Harvard University]] in 1962,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Traub|first1=James|date=August 10, 1997|title=New York's Loneliest Liberal|work=Slate|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/1997/08/new-york-s-loneliest-liberal.html|access-date= December 16, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228045405/http://slate.msn.com/id/1828/|archive-date=2005-02-28}}</ref> and received a Master of Social Work from the [[University of Oklahoma]] in 1964. She is married to Andrew Lachman, her second husband, and has three children. She was formerly the President and CEO of [[American Jewish World Service]], an international development agency.{{cn|date=August 2022}}
 ===Politics===
-Messinger was a delegate to the [[1980 Democratic National Convention]] and served on the [[New York City Council]] from 1978 to 1989, representing the [[Upper West Side]] of Manhattan. In the City Council, she proposed extending [[rent control]] from individuals to businesses. From 1990 to 1998, she served as Manhattan borough president, an office she gave up to unsuccessfully run for mayor in the 1997 election. Her candidacy made her the city's first female Democratic mayoral candidate.<ref name="cli">{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Jarrett |title=Women Have Already Made History in the 2021 Mayoral Race |url=https://citylimits.org/2020/11/23/women-have-already-made-history-in-the-2021-mayoral-race/ |access-date=16 December 2020 |work=CityLimits |date=23 November 2020}}</ref>
+Messinger was a delegate to the [[1980 Democratic National Convention]] and served on the [[New York City Council]] from 1978 to 1989, representing the [[Upper West Side]] of Manhattan. In the City Council, she proposed extending [[rent control]] from individuals to businesses. From 1990 to 1998, she served as Manhattan borough president, an office she gave up to unsuccessfully run for mayor in the 1997 election. Her candidacy made her the city's first female Democratic mayoral candidate.<ref name="cli">{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Jarrett |title=Women Have Already Made History in the 2021 Mayoral Race |url=https://citylimits.org/2020/11/23/women-have-already-made-history-in-the-2021-mayoral-race/ |access-date=December 16, 2020 |work=CityLimits |date=November 23, 2020}}</ref>
-A political [[American Liberalism|liberal]], Messinger was known for her advocacy on behalf of public schools, efforts to achieve compromise between developers and neighborhood activists, and her aggressive media work. She is pro-choice and opposes the death penalty. During her 1997 campaign, she was nearly forced into a Democratic primary runoff with Reverend [[Al Sharpton]], but avoided it by receiving 40% of the vote during a recount.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} Although she ultimately lost to Giuliani, she received more than 500,000 votes, more than Fernando Ferrer in 2005, William Thompson in 2009 or Joe Lhota in 2013.<ref name="cli"/>
+A political [[American Liberalism|liberal]], Messinger was known for her advocacy on behalf of public schools, efforts to achieve compromise between developers and neighborhood activists, and her aggressive media work. She is pro-choice and opposes the death penalty. During her 1997 campaign, she was nearly forced into a Democratic primary runoff with Reverend [[Al Sharpton]], but avoided it by receiving 40% of the vote during a recount. She ultimately lost to Giuliani but received more than 500,000 votes.<ref name="cli"/>
-In 2005, Messinger endorsed [[Fernando Ferrer]] for mayor in the [[2005 New York City mayoral election|2005 mayoral election]]. Ferrer had briefly run against her for mayor in 1997, before dropping out to endorse her and then run for reelection as [[Borough President#Bronx Borough Presidents|Bronx borough president]].{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
+In 2005, Messinger endorsed [[Fernando Ferrer]] for mayor in the [[2005 New York City mayoral election|2005 mayoral election]]. Ferrer had briefly run against her for mayor in 1997, before dropping out to endorse her and then run for reelection as Bronx [[borough president]].{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
 ===Post-political career===
+From 1998 until 2016 she was President and CEO of [[American Jewish World Service]] before transitioning to an Ambassador role with the organization.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ruth Messinger |url=https://ajws.org/who-we-are/our-team/staff/ruth-messinger/ |publisher=American Jewish World Service |access-date=December 16, 2020}}</ref>
-From 1998 until 2016 she was President and CEO of [[American Jewish World Service]] before transitioning to an Ambassador role with the organization.<ref name="rme">{{cite web |title=Ruth Messinger |url=https://ajws.org/who-we-are/our-team/staff/ruth-messinger/ |publisher=American Jewish World Service |access-date=16 December 2020}}</ref> In late 2005, following a high-profile year that included the Asian tsunami and [[Hurricane Katrina]], [[The Forward]], a Jewish newspaper based in New York City, named her to the top of its annual "Forward Fifty" list of the most influential [[American Jews]]. Messinger is also a board member of [[Hazon]] and a trustee emerita of the [[Jewish Foundation for Education of Women]].<ref name=jwae /> In 2015 she was named as one of ''[[The Forward]]'' 50.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://forward.com/series/forward-50/2015/ruth-messinger/|title=Ruth Messinger|website=[[The Forward]]}}</ref>
+In late 2005, following a high-profile year that included the Asian tsunami and [[Hurricane Katrina]], ''[[The Forward]]'', a Jewish newspaper based in New York City, named her to the top of its annual "Forward Fifty" list of the most influential [[American Jews]]. Messinger is also a board member of [[Hazon]] and a trustee emerita of the [[Jewish Foundation for Education of Women]].<ref name=jwae/> In 2015 she was named as one of ''[[The Forward]]'' 50.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://forward.com/series/forward-50/2015/ruth-messinger/|title=Ruth Messinger|website=[[The Forward]]}}</ref>
-Currently, Messinger serves as the inaugural Social Justice Fellow at the [[Jewish Theological Seminary of America]] and the Social Justice Activist-in-Residence at the [[Jewish Community Center#Locations|JCC of Manhattan]].
+Messinger serves as the inaugural Social Justice Fellow at the [[Jewish Theological Seminary of America]] and the Social Justice Activist-in-Residence at the [[Jewish Community Center#Locations|JCC of Manhattan]].
-In 2020 she served on incoming [[Queens Borough President]] [[Donovan Richards]]' transition team.<ref name="tan">{{cite news |title=Donovan Richards sworn in as Queens borough president |url=http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2020/dec/10/donovan-richards-sworn-queens-borough-president/ |access-date=16 December 2020 |work=Amsterdam News |date=10 December 2020}}</ref>
+In 2020, she served on incoming [[Queens Borough President]] [[Donovan Richards]]' transition team.<ref>{{cite news |title=Donovan Richards sworn in as Queens borough president |url=http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2020/dec/10/donovan-richards-sworn-queens-borough-president/ |access-date=December 16, 2020 |work=Amsterdam News |date=December 10, 2020}}</ref>
 ==See also==
@@ Line 55: / Line 60: @@
 {{s-start}}
 {{s-off}}
+{{s-bef|before=[[Henry T. Berger]]}}
-{{succession box
- |title= Member of the [[New York City Council]]<br>from the [[District 4 (New York City Council)|4th]] district
+{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[New York City Council]]<br>from the [[New York City's 4th City Council district|4th district]]|years=1978–1989}}
+{{s-aft|after=[[Ronnie Eldridge]]}}
- |years= 1978–1989
+|-
- |before= [[Henry T. Berger]]
+{{s-bef|before=[[David Dinkins]]}}
- |after= [[Ronnie Eldridge]]
+{{s-ttl|title=[[Borough President]] of [[Manhattan]]|years=1990–1997}}
-}}
+{{s-aft|after=[[C. Virginia Fields]]}}
-{{succession box
+|-
- |title= [[Borough President]] of [[Manhattan]]
- |years= 1990–1997
- |before= [[David N. Dinkins]]
- |after= [[C. Virginia Fields]]
-}}
 {{s-ppo}}
+{{s-bef|before=[[David Dinkins]]}}
-{{succession box
- |title= Democratic nominee for [[Mayor of New York]]
+{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Mayor of New York]]|years=[[1997 New York City mayoral election|1997]]}}
+{{s-aft|after=[[Mark Green (New York politician)|Mark Green]]}}
- |years= 1997
- |before= [[David N. Dinkins]]
- |after= [[Mark J. Green]]
-}}
 {{s-end}}
-{{Manhattan Borough President}}
+{{Manhattan borough presidents}}
 {{Democratic NYC mayoral nominees}}
 {{Authority control}}
@@ Line 86: / Line 85: @@
 [[Category:Brearley School alumni]]
 [[Category:Candidates in the 1997 United States elections]]
-[[Category:Jewish American people in New York (state) politics]]
+[[Category:Jewish American people in New York City politics]]
 [[Category:Living people]]
 [[Category:Manhattan borough presidents]]
+[[Category:Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from New York (state)]]
 [[Category:New York (state) Democrats]]
 [[Category:New York City Council members]]

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