Ruth Wyler Messinger (born November 6, 1940) 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 The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

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 Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1962, and received a Master of Social Work from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

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.

Politics

Messinger was a delegate to the 1980 Democratic National Convention and served on the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

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. 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 Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights and social justice activist, Baptists, Baptist minister, radio talk show host, and TV personality, who is also the founder of the National Action Network civil rig ...

, but avoided it by receiving 40% of the vote during a recount. She ultimately lost to Giuliani but received more than 500,000 votes. 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.

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. 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. In 2015 she was named as one of '' The Forward'' 50. 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.

References

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