Pat Russell
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Pat Russell (December 31, 1923 – February 11, 2021) was an American community activist and member of the
Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the City of Los Angeles in California. The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tem ...
. She was the fourth woman to serve on that city council (1969–87) and the first woman to be City Council president (1983–87).


Early life

Russell was born in
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
, on December 31, 1923. Her father, Paul Ostroot, worked for
General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...
; her mother, Ruth (Chapman), was a
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
"in a time when few women competed for college grades."Art Seidenbaum, "Pat Russell: Politics With Principles," ''Los Angeles Times,'' December 23, 1971, page F-1
/ref> She was educated in Portland and received her
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
from the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
, where she was a Phi Beta Kappa and president of the
student body A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...
. During World War II she carried mail and worked in a furniture factory. She earned a secondary
teaching credential A United States teaching credential is a basic multiple or single subject credential obtained upon completion of a bachelor's degree, from a college or university that holds regional accreditation, and prescribed professional education requirement ...
from
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
.Los Angeles Public Library Reference File
/ref>


Public service


Nongovernmental

Russell was president of the Los Angeles City League of Women Voters in 1963-65 and of the Los Angeles County LWV in 1966-68. She was on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Urban Coalition and was vice president of its transportation task force. She was active in
Camp Fire Girls Camp Fire, formerly Camp Fire USA and originally Camp Fire Girls of America, is a co-ed youth development organization. Camp Fire was the first nonsectarian, multicultural organization for girls in America. It is gender inclusive, and its prog ...
leadership. She was a ''Los Angeles Times'' Woman of the Year in 1971 and received a Status of Women Award from the Santa Monica branch of the American Association of University Women in 1972. After her City Council defeat in 1987, Russell organized the Regional Institute of Southern California, a public-private partnership that explored local problems; she worked there "about half time" as the agency head.Nancy Hill-Holtzman, "Pat Russell: No Politics These Days,"
''Los Angeles Times,'' April 4, 1991


City Council


Geography

Los Angeles City Council District 6 Los Angeles City Council District 6 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council, covering much of the central and eastern San Fernando Valley. The seat is currently vacant due to the resignation of Nury Martinez on October 12, 202 ...
covered: 1969: The Airport area, including Westchester and
Playa del Rey Playa del Rey (Spanish for "Beach of the King") is a seaside community in the Santa Monica Bay and the Westside region of Los Angeles, California. It has a ZIP code of 90293 and area codes of 310 and 424. As of 2018, the community had a populat ...
, the Baldwin Hills area, including Hyde Park and
Leimert Park Leimert Park (; ) is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. Developed in the 1920s as a mainly residential community, it features Spanish Colonial Revival homes and tree-lined streets. The Life Magazine/Lei ...
and the Mar Vista-Venice area. 1975: From the coast inland to the Crenshaw District, with
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
, Westchester and portions of South-Central Los Angeles.


Elections

:''See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1969 and after'' With the July 2, 1969, resignation of Councilman
L.E. Timberlake Leonard E. "Lee" Timberlake (1896–1973) was a British-born American politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1945 to 1969. Before entering politics, Timberlake was a railroad employee and travel bureau owner. Biog ...
, the City Council, by a 9-5 vote, ordered a "precedent-setting" special election to fill the 6th District vacancy. It was to be the first such first-past-the-post special election to fill a council vacancy since the procedure was authorized in a
city charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document ('' charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charte ...
amendment in 1963. The alternative would have been for the City Council to appoint a successor for the remaining term of some years.Erwin Baker, "Council Orders Direct 6th District Election," ''Los Angeles Times,'' July 29, 1969, page SF-1
/ref> Russell won the special vote on December 3, 1969, by 620 votes over Frank Small, who had been Timberlake's chief deputy for 16 years. There were three other candidates. Afterward, she said that she was an "independent" and that she considered the problems of noise from Los Angeles Airport and the refurbishing of the Venice canals to be the main issues in her district. Despite a prediction that she might not be reelected because "She doesn't compromise," voters chose Russell in 1971 over another challenge by Frank Small, and she was elected for the third time in 1975 over light opposition from three candidates and in 1979 over four opponents. She won in the 1983 primary as well. The 1987 vote was a different story. Despite the fact that Russell raised three times as much money as all of her five opponents combined in the primary race, she failed to gain a majority in the April vote, and she had to face
Ruth Galanter Ruth Galanter (born ) is an American politician, environmentalist and consultant with a background in urban planning. She served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1987 to 2003. She is known for supporting "slow growth" policies on the city's ...
, an urban planner with backing from environmental groups and people in the entertainment industry, in the final. Galanter was seen as someone who "rode to prominence much as Russell did 18 years ago— as a darling of middle-class protestors angered by major development in their neighborhoods." In addition, the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported, Russell's opposition to Proposition U, "the popular anti-growth initiative that passed overwhelmingly in her district, gave rise to the belief that she had fallen out of step with her constituents." Mayor Bradley campaigned for her, but she nevertheless lost the final vote by 15,855 votes to Galanter's 21,846.


Presidency

After losing two bids for election to the City Council presidency, Russell won in July 1983, the first woman to hold the second-most-powerful position in the city. Responding to suggestions that she gained the post only because of the support of Mayor Tom Bradley, she said: "All my life there have been men who have tried to tell me what to do . . . I think the only people who think that are mostly males who believe that a woman cannot think for herself."Janet Clayton, "Victor Savors Her Personal Triumph," ''Los Angeles Times,'' July 2, 1983, page B-1
/ref>


Highlights

*In 1971 Russell was working with Assembly Member Yvonne Braithwaite to maintain the multiethnic character of the Crenshaw District. * In 1972 Russell "angrily accused 'the men of this world,' including President Nixon, of fighting child-care centers" after Councilman
Robert J. Stevenson Robert J. Stevenson (October 10, 1915 – March 4, 1975) was an American politician and former actor who served on the Los Angeles City Council for the Los Angeles City Council District 13, District 13 from 1969 to 1975. As a film and television a ...
opposed a plan for children of city employees to use the
Elysian Park Elysian Park is one of the largest parks in Los Angeles at 600 acres (240 ha). Most of Elysian Park falls in the neighborhood of the same name, but a small portion of the park falls in Echo Park. The park was created by city ordinance on April 5, ...
Recreation Center on a year-round basis. Later, she was successful in moving an ordinance to "ease the path" for "small, nonprofit centers where working mothers can leave their children in safe hands while the parents work at self-supporting jobs.""On Behalf of Working Mothers," ''Los Angeles Times,'' October 17, 1973, page B-6
/ref> * Some City Council members questioned her "recent stands favoring oil drilling in the Pacific Palisades, opposing limits on
high-rise buildings A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdictio ...
in Westwood, weakening a smoking ordinance and tampering with
rent control Rent regulation is a system of laws, administered by a court or a public authority, which aims to ensure the affordability of housing and tenancies on the rental market for dwellings. Generally, a system of rent regulation involves: * Price con ...
." At the same time, she was credited with "holding together a bitterly divided council long enough . . . to resolve a highly sensitive lawsuit accusing the Los Angeles Police Department of illegal spying on civilians." She noted that she was active in adopting rules that outlawed apartment buildings that prohibited children.


Personal life

Russell married William Treloar Russell, who served in the
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, on December 29, 1946. He remained in the Army as a lieutenant colonel for eight years and later became an aerospace engineer with TRW. Together, they had three children: Steven, David, and Mercedes. The family relocated to
Westchester, Los Angeles Westchester is a neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles and the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside Region of Los Angeles County, California. It is home to Los Angeles International Airport, Loyola Marymount University, Otis College of Art ...
, in 1953. By January 1985, the couple had separated, but they kept in touch with each other, taking outdoor trips and "having dinner with him virtually every night during the Christmas holidays." A ''Los Angeles Times'' reporter noted that during the early part of her career as a councilwoman, she "showed off more in public, when she wore
muumuu The muumuu or muumuu () is a loose dress of Hawaiian origin that hangs from the shoulder and is like a cross between a shirt and a robe. Like the aloha shirt, muumuu exports are often brilliantly colored with floral patterns of generic Polynes ...
s to work along with earrings shaped like watermelons, when she quoted Chinese philosophers, made no secret of the personal flotation tank she owned, and once missed a council meeting to attend a wilderness retreat sponsored by est," which she later said gave her a sense of "empowerment." After her election to the City Council presidency, however, she presented "a tailored, stylish appearance and a politely distant manner that has been described as both presidential and imperious." It was said that she had her goal set on the
mayoralty In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
."Pat Russell—Her Image Shifts From Odd to Sleek," ''Los Angeles Times,'' January 6, 1985
/ref> Russell led a healthy, outdoor life, running several miles a day in 1985 and engaging in strenuous mountain hikes. At age 67 in 1991 she ran twenty-five miles a week and was in the
Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gulf ...
area with her husband, from whom she still lived apart, for a 16-mile, 6,500-foot climb. Russell died at her home on February 11, 2021. She was 97 and had cancer before her death.


Quotations

* "I think of myself as a white, middle-age, middle-class suburban housewife. But in many ways, I also think that's my value." * "Maybe the women's libbers don't like me for it too much, but I absorb whatever chauvinism and paternalism there may be as long as I can keep the accent on issues and performance. I enjoy being with men, and I think they enjoy having me there; that's what we need more of in working life."  * "You avoid fighting by taking care of everything, all the opposing arguments, ahead of time."


References

---- {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Pat 1923 births 2021 deaths Presidents of the Los Angeles City Council Women city councillors in California Politicians from Portland, Oregon University of Washington alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women