Grasso, Ella (1919–1981)

American politician, U.S. congressional delegate (1971–75), and governor of Connecticut (1974–81). Born Ella Rosa Giovanna Oliva Tambussi in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on May 10, 1919; died in Hartford, Connecticut, on February 5, 1981; daughter of Giacomo (a baker) and Maria (Oliva) Tambussi; attended St. Mary's in Windsor Locks; graduated from the Chaffee School, Windsor; Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, B.A., magna cum laude, 1940, M.A., 1942; married Thomas A. Grasso (an educator), on August 31, 1942; children: Suzanne Grasso ; James Grasso.

The only child of Italian immigrants, Giacomo and Maria Tambussi , Ella Grasso was born in 1919 and raised in a modest but comfortable home in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. A bright child, she was encouraged academically by her mother whom she called "a great reader." She received a superior education through a series of scholarships, first to the private Chaffee School in Windsor, and later to Mount Holyoke College, where she graduated with honors in 1940, then went on to earn a master's degree in sociology and economics. She later credited her parents with much of her success. "I suppose I had a

compulsion to succeed so my parents could find pride in the sacrifices they made for me," she said. In August 1942, Ella married her longtime sweetheart Thomas Grasso, an educator who spent most of his career as principal of a middle school in East Hartford. The couple had two children, Suzanne and James, and lived in Windsor Locks for their entire married life, leaving only to spend summers at the shore in Old Lyme.

During World War II, Grasso was employed as assistant state director of research for the Federal War Manpower Commission and gained her early political experience on the local level, as a member of the League of Women Voters. After a brief flirtation with the Republican Party, she joined the Democrats and became a protégé of the state party chair John Bailey. After working in the trenches for several local campaigns, Grasso became a candidate herself. In 1952, she was elected to serve in Connecticut's General Assembly, and in 1955, during her second term, she became Democratic floor leader. After four years in the legislature, Grasso was elected secretary of state, a post she held for 12 years. During that time, she became one of the most popular political figures in Connecticut, mainly due to her personal involvement with citizens' concerns. At the same time, she continued to be active in national Democratic politics, serving as a member of the national platform committee in 1960 and as co-chair of the resolutions committee of the Democratic National Convention. In 1968, she proposed a platform plank opposing United States involvement in the Vietnam War.

In 1970, and again in 1972, Grasso was elected to Congress where she compiled a liberal voting record, though the Women's Lobby, a group promoting feminist legislation, ranked her in the bottom third of its Congressional list, largely because of her opposition to abortion and her absence during a child-care vote. She also served on the Education and Labor Committee and the Veterans Affairs Committee, and took part in drafting the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. Capitol Hill, however, did not engage Grasso the way that Connecticut politics had, partly because of the strain it put on her family life. "I found my four years in Washington most instructive," she later said. "But I would have been happier if they'd moved the capital to Hartford."

In 1974, Grasso entered the Connecticut gubernatorial race, trouncing the other Democratic hopefuls in the primary and winning nomination at the Connecticut Democratic Convention. Running against Republican Robert H. Steele after incumbent Thomas J. Meskill withdrew from the race, Grasso campaigned on accountability for the expenditure of tax dollars and on wooing new industry to the state. The national media, however, often focused on her sex instead of the issues or her qualifications. "The judgment will be made of me as an individual," she countered, "on the basis of what I have accomplished in my career in public life and on the basis of what I'll be saying to the voter." She also distanced herself from the feminist movement, although she was careful to point out that she had certainly benefited from its efforts. "Whereas four years ago I might have had some difficulty in advancing a viable candidacy as a woman, it's a non-issue at this time. I give silent thanks for that." On election day, Grasso received a plurality of 200,000 votes, becoming the first woman ever to become an American governor elected on her own and not as her husband's successor. As the newly elected state official, however, Grasso remained a reluctant celebrity and only moved to the governor's mansion because security concerns prevented her from operating out of her Windsor Locks home.

Retaining her forthright no-nonsense approach, Grasso attacked the state's precarious financial standing, starting with her own office. "I have turned down a $7,000 raise, and I won't have an official car," she told an interviewer. "I got them to reduce the cost of the Governor's Ball to $30 a couple when I told them I wouldn't go unless they cut the cost." She then imposed a further series of spending cuts in order to ward off the imposition of an income tax, and also increased the authority of the Department of Public Utilities Control so as to restrict the rise in utility rates. Successful in her belt-tightening, Grasso turned the budget deficit into a surplus within four years and was reelected for a second term in 1978. In 1979, she was elected chair of the Democratic Governors' Conference. Ella Grasso's career was cut short by cancer, which forced her to resign as governor on December 31, 1980. She died in Hartford on February 5, 1981.

Grasso, who was unpretentious and downto earth, was much-loved by her constituents. At home in Windsor Locks, she would shop downtown, dressed in baggy clothes and comfortable shoes, with her short hair in disarray. Kay Holmes , of the Detroit News, noted that one of the write-in votes in the gubernatorial election was for Grasso's hairdresser. Although not particularly retiring in speech or manner, Ella had surprisingly few enemies and even political foes eventually became friends. Whether friend or foe, Grasso remained loyal to the home folks, for it was the state of Connecticut that formed the perimeters of her life, politically and personally. "I feel a strong attraction to my state," she once said. "I think my roots are so deep it would be difficult for me to go anywhere else." Following her sojourn in Washington, she never did.

sources:

Bliss, Betty. "Ella Grasso's bid in Connecticut nearing success," in The Chicago Daily News. May 20, 1974.

Holmes, Kay. "They Still Call Her Ella," in The Detroit News, Sunday Magazine. January 26, 1975.

McHenry, Robert, ed. Famous American Women. NY: Dover, 1983.

Moritz, Charles, ed. Current Biography 1975. NY: H.W. Wilson, 1975.

Women in Congress 1917–1990. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1991.

Barbara Morgan , Melrose, Massachusetts