Elaine Gordon (1931 – February 25, 2000) was an American politician. She served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1972 to 1994 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. She was born in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York and moved to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in 1964. During the constitutional revision session for the state in 1968, she was legislative assistant to George Firestone. She was elected to the Florida House of Representatives for North Miami-Dade County in 1972. She sponsored the bills which created the Florida Commission on the Status of Women, the 1989 hate crime law and the Patients Bill of Rights. She helped introduce legislation that protected women and children by enforcing child support and protecting against domestic violence. Gordon served as Speaker Pro-Tempore (acting speaker) for the state assembly. In 1992, she was named Dean of the Florida House. She retired from the Florida legislature in 1994. She worked on the unsuccessful ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in Florida; although the amendment passed in the House of Representatives several times, it was defeated in the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in ...

. After her divorce, Gordon was unable to get a credit card in her name since she was a woman. As a result, she campaigned with American feminist and journalist

Nikki Beare Nikki Beare (March 7, 1928– November 10, 2014) was an American feminist, journalist, and lobbyist who served as president of Florida's National Organization for Women (NOW) chapter. Beare began working as a journalist for ''The Miami News'' b ...

to found a statewide feminist credit union. She worked with Beare and Elaine Bloom on WKAT Radio with a feminist radio show titled ''Women's Powerline''. Gordon was a founding member of the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

(NOW) and of the Florida Women's Political Caucus. In 1982, she became the first person inducted into the

Florida Women's Hall of Fame The Florida Women's Hall of Fame is an honor roll of women who have contributed to life for citizens of the US state of Florida. An awards ceremony for the hall of fame was first held in 1982 and recipient names are displayed in the Florida State ...

. She was the first recipient of the Humanitarian Award from the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

of Florida. After leaving politics, she served as assistant vice-president at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

. She died of

non-Hodgkin lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tirednes ...

at the age of 68. In 1999, Florida International University established the Elaine Gordon Scholarship in her honor. She was the mother of television producer J. Brian Gadinsky.

External links

Elaine Gordon Papers at Florida International University

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Elaine 1931 births 2000 deaths American women's rights activists Women state legislators in Florida Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians Florida Women's Hall of Fame Inductees