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Ella Grasso was born on May 10, 1919 in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with honors in 1940 and received a M.A. in 1942. She became involved in politics in 1943, when she joined the League of Women Voters.
She was assistant director of research for the War Manpower Commission in Connecticut during World War II. She was elected to the state legislature in 1952 and again in 1954. When she began her job as state legislature, she had a four-year-old daughter and eighteen-month-old son. Her mother helped her take care of the children, which allowed her to devote time to her job. She said, “I was part of an extended family….My family lived across the street, the street was short, and everyone was there before I was born I had other family in the neighborhood, too.” Her father often accompanied her on speaking engagements and she always introduced him from the podium.
Grasso was a member of the Democratic National Committee from 1956-1958. She was the Secretary of State for Connecticut for three terms, twelve years. She worked in the areas of mental hospital reform, day care, and civil rights. Kathy Johnson, one of Grasso’s former employees remarked, “She ran an extremely tight ship. When you were in the office there was no play time. There was never any political campaigning conducted during office hours. She’s always been super honest, Mrs. Clean.”
Grasso was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1970 and 1972. Her office in Washington was called the “people’s lobby.” In order to be accessible to her Connecticut constituents, Grass installed a 24-hour toll-free “Ella-Phone.” About the phone, she said, “It’s my way of bringing government closer to the people and the people closer to government.”
In 1974, she won the Democratic nomination for governor of Connecticut and defeated her opponent by 200,000 votes. She was inaugurated in January 1975, becoming the first woman to serve as governor of Connecticut and the first woman to hold a state governorship in her own right. She was elected for a second term in 1978. Grasso was a governor who mingled with the people. She said, “there is a real relationship between government and what happens to people in their everyday lives.” Grasso visited factories and housing complexes to learn about the conditions and make changes for improvement. She was a plain woman who worn simple clothing and no make-up. She was more interested in serving the people than in making a glamorous impression. She was liked because of her “down-home” style. She wanted the Governor’s Mansion to be considered a home for the people of Connecticut. She said, “It’s a smashing place to hold a meeting or reception. I intend to begin a series of little parties for senior citizens as soon as the weather changes.”
Although she was reelected to a second four-year term she resigned in 1980 due to ill health. Ella Grasso died on February 5, 1981 in Hartford, Connecticut. Grasso Hall, located on the Western Connecticut State University campus, is named in her honor. In her 28 years as a public official, Ella Grasso never lost an election.
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