Ella Grasso

Born:  Windsor Locks; May 10, 1919
Died:  Hartford; February 7, 1981

Entry by Herbert F. Janick

See Also: The Education of Ella Grasso

Connecticut is not renowned for its innovative politics. But the "Land of Steady Habits" in 1974 chose Ella Grasso as the first woman to be a governor of an American state on her own and not as a successor to an incumbent husband. Closer examination of the career of Grasso makes her election seem less of an anomaly, for in her thirty years of Democratic party activity her talents built a record and a base of support that made her a formidable candidate irrespective of sex.

Ella Tambussi Grasso was the only child of Italian immigrant parents. A devout Roman Catholic who remained a lifelong resident of her native Windsor Locks, she turned pride in her working class ethnic roots into a political asset. A scholarship student at the Chafee School and Mt. Holyoke College, she earned a B.A. cum laude in 1940 and a master's degree in sociology and economics in 1942.

Returning to Connecticut to take a job with the War Manpower Commission, she joined the League of Women Voters, an organization that shaped her approach to public issues. Her first elected office was two terms (1952-56) in the General Assembly where she came to know the influence of Democratic boss John Bailey, who became her valued mentor. Grasso's most important post was as Connecticut's secretary of state, traditionally a ceremonial job reserved for women. Rejecting a figurehead role, for twelve years (1958-1970) she turned her office into a "people's lobby" open to all citizens. From 1970 to 1974 she served in Congress. But frustrated by constant commuting to Washington and separation from her family, she was eager to get back to state politics. When Republican Governor Thomas Meskill announced that he would not seek reelection in 1974, Grasso won the Democratic primary for the nomination and captured the governorship by a comfortable 200,000 votes. Despite the state's financial woes and the need to raise the sales tax and adopt an austerity budget, Grasso was easily reelected in 1978. Before she could complete her second term, she was stricken with cancer, forcing her retirement from office in December 1980.

As a politician Ella Grasso was socially liberal and fiscally conservative. She was an advocate of government support for labor, education, health care, and the unemployed. In contrast, she demanded a balanced budget even if it alienated state workers who experienced a salary freeze. She adamantly opposed a state income tax. Her greatest strength was her identification with ordinary people, exemplified by her advocacy of legislation such as the sunshine law, which ensured the public's access to government meetings and records, and by her taking personal command during the snow emergency in the winter of 1977. The bumper stickers bearing the legend "Thank You Ella" that appeared all over the state after her death testified to her popularity.

For Further Reading

It is probably too soon for historians to appraise Grasso's career. The best journalistic interim evaluation is Bernard Asbell, "In Power and Down and Out," New York Times Magazine, July 27, 1975.

* Entry under revision.