GOVERNOR ELLA T. GRASSO WILL BE ESCORTED BY FELIX A. MIRANDO

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP05S00620R000501190027-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 15, 2009
• Sequence Number: 27
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2009/04/15: CIA-RDP05SO062OR000501190027-7
Governor Ella T. Grasso will be
escorted by Felix A. Mirando.
Approved For Release 2009/04/15: CIA-RDP05SO062OR000501190027-7
 GI{ASSO, ELLA" T(AMMUSS1" the T- -ffnrrl T,?,oc in flip To close a prospective (1111,
Approved For Release 2009/04/15: CIA-RDP05S00620R000501190027-7 en that figure and act,,,l
May 10, 1919- Governor of Connecticul-'\
Addrras: b. State Capitol Bldg., Hartford, L ,a.
The first woman ever to become an American
governor on her own, and not as the wife of
a If s incumbent, is Ella T. Grasso, a liberal
old-st\y,v Democratic pro who won the Connecticut
gubernatorial election in November 1974 and took
office two months later. The "open door" policy
of her administration as governor represents a
continuation of the public availability for which
she has been known throughout her long career
in elective office, as a state representative, as Con-
necticut secretary of state, and as a United States
Representative in the Ninety-second and Ninety-
third Congresses.
Ella Grasso acquired her present last name
through her marriage to Thomas Grasso, a school
principal, now retired. An only child, Mrs. Grasso
was born Ella Rosa Giovanna Oliva Tambussi
in Windsor Locks, Connecticut on May 10, 1919.
Her parents, Giacomo and Maria (Oliva) Tam-
hussi, were Italian immigrants, both born near
Tortona in the Piedmont. "My father was a
baker," Mrs. Grasso recalls, "so we always had
enough to eat. We were comfortable, because we
had no major illnesses and he could work." She
says her mother was "a great reader" and her
father "pretended he could read and write."
The Governor, proud of her working-class back-
ground, boasted to Fern Maria Eckman of the
New York Post (July 27, 1974), "It took me
ears to learn that 'youse' is not the plural of
you., "
Growing up in Windsor Locks, Ella was sur-
rounded by immigrants from many countries, in-
cluding relatives and friends who had known
her arents in Italy. "Living in a community
like t she has said, "you don't have to worry
about -our roots. They're there. Solid." A bright
child, she was inspired by her mother with a
determination to go far academically. On the
basis of her high grades at St. Mary's parochial
school in Windsor Locks, she was admitted on
scholarship to the elite Chaffee School in nearby
Windsor for her college prep work. From Chaffee
she went to Mount Holyoke College in South
Hadley, Massachusetts, where she majored in
sociology and economics and made Phi Beta
Kappa in her junior year. She took her B.A. de-
gree magna cum laude in 1940. and her M.A.
in 1942. In graduate school she worked as a
departmental assistant and a laboratory instructor
in statistics.
During World War II Mrs. Grasso was state
assistant director of research in Connecticut for
the federal War Manpower Commission. Mean-
while her interest in politics was growing, through
her association with the Leaue of Women Voters,
which she joined in 1943. '1 am grateful to the
League," she has said, "because through the
training I received there, I developed a real
under.ctanrlino of ic.c?oc. Anrl rnnro than that
l'eaco partisans were not pleased with her am-
bi,alenco on that issue, nor with her failure to
rush bade to Washington from Connecticut-where
,1,rt spent as much time as possible keeping in
touch with her constituency and its problems-
_r some of the antiwar votes, but they could
r,ut fault her vote for the limitation of Presi-
dential -tvar-making powers.
Th(I `,)men's Lobby, which promotes feminist
Ic~isla~, r,, ranked her in the bottom third of
its Congressional list, largely on the basis of
lrer absence during a child-care vote and her
quiet but unequivocal opposition to abortion. As
a Catholic, she v. as bound to the view that "a
fetus is a life that deserves the protection of
s(viety." As a public servant, however, she felt
cqualty bound to the duty of respecting the legal-
lcadu,g Connecticut Democrats placed Ella C^ so state revenues, she proposed a 1 percent rise in the 1
far ahead of the field and indicated tha .e sales tax, among other measures. Looking for ways
could beat Governor Thomas J. Vleskill by a to economize in state spending, she began with
aside margin. But many state party leaders were herself, rejecting a $7,000 increase in her salary
reluctant to give their blessing to her g,.rber- of $35,000. Told that she could not legally reject t
natorial aspirations. At least one was reported to the raise, she accepted it and then turned the
be worried "about how we [are] oin
to go into the governor's office and swear at her. m O n ny bFeback ruaary the 28, state treasury. 1975 Governor her candidacy anyway, in January Grasso an-
Announcing
in
1974, she took her case to the people, trounced nounced a proposal l for solving g the e situation in
other Democratic hopefuls in a key primary, in which utility rates climbed ever upward while the
power comtpanies never seemed to have enough
the spring of 1974, and was nominated by ac- money for escalating capital-improvement and
clamation at the Connecticut Democratic Con- operating costs. She would, she said, ask for legis-
vention, on July 20, 1974. The Republicans chose lation that would enable Connecticut to borrow
Representative Robert H. Steele to run against money for use by the companies in construction
Mrs. Grasso after Governor Meskill withdrew programs and that would insure that one-third of
from the race. Meskill's popularity had declined thebtax money paid by the companies would re-
sharply during his administration for several pea- main in the communities in which the construe-
sons, including an increase in the sales tax to tion was done. Also, she would form management
6.5 percent, the highest in the country, as a audit teams to monitor closely the finances of the
means of whittling down the state's huge deficit companies. In addition, on a wider scale, she said
without introducing an income tax. that she would seek to establish an office of con-
Early in her campaign, noting the attention she sumer ombudsman. In keeping with her campaign
was receiving in the national media as a woman "open government," Governor Grasso
candidate, Mrs. Grasso tried to disassociate her promise of asked the legislature for a "right to know" law
sex from her qualifications for governor. "The
judgment will be made of me as an individual," that would open government meetings and records
she said on one occasion, "on the basis of what at all levels to the scrutiny of the citizens of
I have accomplished in my career in public life Connecticut.
and on the basis of what I'll be saying to the how to translate that into action. Positive action.
voters." Pointing out that she was not a mem- I think that is why; I went into government, be-
ber of the women's liberation movement, she was cause I realized early on that if I was concerned
careful to explain that she was not antipathetic with problems, the best way of getting them
to that movement. "It's done a great deal in a solved was to be part of the decision-making
short time to provide equal opportunity for wom- process."
en, and I feel I've been a beneficiary. Whereas After a flirtation with the Republican party,
four }'ears ago I might have had some difficulty Mrs. Grasso followed her true "inclination," as
in advancing a viable candidacy as a woman, she has put it, into the Democratic party, where
it's a non-issue at this time. I give silent thanks she became a protegee of state party chairman
for that." Her sex was exploited negatively by John Bailey. Following several years of yeoman
some of Steele 's supporters, who flaunted a bumper service to the well-oiled party machine, writing
sticker reading, "Connecticut can't afford a gover- campaign speeches and generally getting out the
pus: vote for other candidates, Mrs. Grasso became a
The campaign did not raise many issues. Mrs. candidate herself. Elected to two terms in the
Grasso, of course, had an implicit issue in the House of Representatives of the Connecticut Gen-
Meskill administration, with which Steele .,as eral Assembly, in 1952 and 1954, she was the
assistant house leader during her second term.
linked if only by his party affiliation. She found Among the bills she introduced were measures to
another issue in overcharging by Connecticut's eliminate the antiquated county governmental
three major electric companies. After a private in- structure in Connecticut, to reorganize the nm-
vestigation commissioned by her revealed that the nicipal court system into a district court system,'
companies had overcharged a total of $19,000,000 and to set up a state office of mental retardation.
over a period of three years, she vowed to reform In 1958 Mrs. Grasso was elected Connecti-
or replace the Public Utilities Commission, which cut's Secretary of State, an important state office
she held responsible. For his part, Steele labeled that has been filled exclusively byy women since
Mrs. Grasso "Spenderella," an epithet suggesting 1938. Twice reelected, with slate-leading pplurali-
that she would plunge the state back into debt ties, she served twelve years in the pot becom-
by reversing the Meskill administration's policy of ing in the process one of the best known poli-
reducing allocations for welfare, public transporta- ticians in the state. The performance of her con-
tion, higher education, and the like.. stitutional functions, including commissioner of
At the polls on November 5, 1974 Ella Grasso elections and many ceremonial roles, brought her
defeated Steele, 631,362 votes to 431,142. She was wide exposure to the public and acquaintance
sworn in as Connecticut's eighty-third chief execu- with local politicians throughout the state. Be} and
tive on January 8, 1975. In her inaugural address . fulfilling her constitutional duties, she turned her
she promised a government that would be more office on the first floor of the State Capitol Build-
responsive to the people than its predecessors but in, in Hartford into a "people's lobby," where
that would keep within the fiscal limits demanded ordinary citizens could come to air grievances
by the times, and she warned that Connecticut or seek advice.
must prepare itself for austerity: "We share with Throughout her years as secretary of state, Mrs.
the rest of the country an economic crisis with Grasso chaired the Democratic state platform
roots in international developments over which we committee. On the national level she was a
have no control." Democratic committeewoman from 1956 to 1958;
Outgoing Governor AIeskill had boasted that his a member of the platform committee in 1960; and
alit
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t
ati
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had not onl
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rug
the deficit inherited from the Democrats four years
before but that it also made it possible for him to
hand over a surplus to Governor Grasso. Mrs.
Grasso disputed that boast on inauguration day,
when she said, "Our state is in disarray. The
financial condition of state government today is
unsound. A balanced budget and an operating
'
The budget she presented to
of abortion as uphel by the Supreme Court. surplus do not exist.
F7-- .. --- -- - -- - -- Approved For Release 2009/04/15: CIA-RDP05SO062OR000501190027-7
 E 1,L a Grasso - Paae l
". ? Approved For Release 2009/04/15: CIA-RDP05SO062OR000501190027-7
co-chairman olr, the resolutions committees at t}
Democratic National conventions in Atlantic c' 4
in 1.964, and Chicago, in 1968. The overrid,r
issue at the 1968 convention was the war
tna-n, an' issue that overflowed into the stre.rn
I.-'..Chicago, where police clashed violently ~
peace demonstrators. Mrs. Grasso was instrurrr
tal in pushing through a minority report opp,,.,.,
continued United States involvement in Viet. ,y
and she was among those who walked out ci
the convention in protest against the riot-pr,,
ing tactics of the police.
Mrs. Grasso was reluctant to run for Cong;
for fear of disrupting her family life, but sl,?
was a proven vote-getter and political fnea r
persuaded her that 1970 was a good year t~
which to take that step. Thomas J. Meskill a
popular Republican, had on the 1966 and l t+'.s
elections in Connecticut's Sixth District-in whi,,a
Democratic voters outnumbered Republicans-bw
he was leaving the Congressional fray to run f,
governor (successfully, as it turned out). In plar
of Meskill, Mrs. Grasso faced Richard C. gtl.
bourn. Campaigning on the issues of inflaticr,
unemployment, and accelerated withdrawal frc
Vietnam, she drew 51.1 percent of the vote a.1a
defeated Kilboum, 96,969 to 92,906. In her rc.
election two years later she increased her margin
of victory more than eleven times, receisug
47,507 more votes than her opponent.
In Congress, Representative Grasso served ca
the Education and Labor Committee and on the
Veterans Affairs Committee. With unemployment
in her district running markedly higher than the
national average because of cutbacks in defenso-
oriented industries, she was among those in the
forefront of the Congressional forces responsible
the Emergency Employment Act of 1971 at
;i as such economy-spurring measures as a
merchant ship construction appropriation and a
higher appropriation for Amtrak. Other legislation
and legislative proposals sponsored or supported
by Representative Grasso included the Emerecncz?
Education Act of 1971; the Fair Labor Stan'darhs
amendments of 1971, which increased the mini-
mum wage to two dollars an hour and extended
benefits to six million workers previously not
covered by the minimum-wage law; the Higher
Education Act of 1972; acts appropriating money
for the medical battles against sickle-cell anemia
and Coole 's anemia; and measures to increase
educational and other benefits for veterans and
Social Security, medical, and other benefits for
the elderly.
Her voting record in Congress received an SO
percent rating from the liberal Americans for
Democratic Action. The AFL-CIO, which sur-
ported her in her electoral campaigns, generally
approved of her stands on matters of interest to
labor, with the outstanding exception of her vote
against the SST. That vote was a difficult orx
for her, because many of the millions of fcdrrnl
dollars for the development of the supers.)tL
transport would have gone to the aircraft indus-
try in Connecticut. A similar dilemma presentm
itself in the issue of defense spending cutbacks.
Risking, and sometimes incurring, the wrath of
party bosses in Connecticut's big cities, Governor
Grasso bypassed the customary patronage channels
in filling the jobs in her government. She was.
especially cautious in filling the top positions,
often going beyond the Democratic party and
even outside Connecticut to find,qualified persons.
Women's groups were also angered at her failure
to appoint job candidates they suggested to her.
At the end of her eighth week in office, when
many posts remained unfilled, she explained to a
reporter that, after the experience of Watergate,
people expected her to treat job-filling seriously.
"People expect skills," she said. "Purely political
appointments of persons with no credit other than
party affiliation are no longer part of our modem
politics."
Ella T. and Thomas A. Grasso were married on
August 31, 1942. They have two children, James
and Suzanne, both of whom are teachers who
continue to live at home with their parents. Aside
from the governor's mansion in Hartford, where
the Grasses live part of the time, home is a big
new Dutch Colonial house in Woodland Hollow,
on the outskirts of Windsor Locks. To relax, the
Governor often pulls weeds on the grounds of the
Woodland Hollow home. Ella Grasso is a member
of the American Association of University 'Women,
the Connecticut Council of Catholic Women, the
Order of the Sons of Italy, the Connecticut Asso-
ciation for Children with Perceptual Learning
Disabilities, Kappa Delta Pi, Alpha Delta Kappa,
and the Mount Holyoke Club of Hartford.
Governor Grasso, who speaks impeccable Italian
fluently, has a voice that is, like her personality,
vibrant "Warm and open in private, far better
looking than her libelous photographs .. . , she
talks with charm and verve," Fern Maria Eckman
wrote in her. New York Post profile. But the
Governor has her dark moods. Her husband de-
scribes her as a "worry wart" as well as "a very
pleasant woman," and the Governor concedes that
she is "the greatest political worrier in history."
On the job she is, according to those who have
worked with her and reporters who have observed
her, "demanding," "a perfectionist," and "not es-
pecially patient." "She fusses and fidgets and pays
meticulous attention to detail," an anonymous re-
porter wrote in the New York Times (November
6, 1974), "even if in the heat of a political speech
she appears sometimes to be shooting from the
hip." Some of her colleagues in the Connecticut
General Assembly remember how she used to
overwhelm them with an intelligent argument in
caucus. and then leave the room to let the ar-
gument sink in while male chauvinists in the
group grumbled about women in politics. "I don't
give any quarter and I don't expect any as a
woman," she has said. "I expect to be treated as a
person, and I usually am.'
References
Biog N 1:758 JI '74 por
Christian Sc! Mon p10 JI 28 '74 por
N Y Times p43+ Ap 24 '74 por
Newsweek 84:21 N 4 '74 pors
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