Ruth Wyler Messinger (born November 6,1940)[3] 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 in 1997,losing to incumbent mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Ruth Wyler was born on November 6,1940,on the Upper West Side to Wilfred and Marjorie Wyler. Her maternal grandfather,I. Edwin Goldwasser was a notable educator and businessman.[4] In 1953,she had the first Bat Mitzvah at Park Avenue Synagogue.[5] Messinger attended the Brearley School. She was politically active at a young age,wearing buttons for social justice causes,volunteering at the settlement house,attending rallies in support of Adlai Stevenson II,and participating in anti-war and civil rights activities.[6]
Wyler graduated from Radcliffe College of Harvard University in 1962[7] and enrolled in Columbia University in pursuit of her master's in social work. She married Eli Messinger,a physician,with whom she moved to Oklahoma in 1963,before completing her work. Messinger returned to her studies at the University of Oklahoma,eaerning her Master of Social Work in 1964.[6] After she graduated,Messinger ran the child welfare programs in two Western Oklahoma counties part-time while raising first child.
While living in Oklahoma,Messinger was recruited by the Democratic Party and campaigned for its candidates,including Lyndon B. Johnson and Fred R. Harris.[6]
In 1965,the Messinger family returned to New York. Ruth Messinger continued doing case work and participated in a major social welfare research study. She volunteered building the anti-war movement,worked with Women Strike for Peace and set up a service counseling young,poor men of color looking to resist the draft. In 1968,she worked with a group of parents to launch the Children’s Community Workshop School.[6]
She is married to Andrew Lachman,her second husband,and has three children.
In 1974,Messinger was asked to run for the school board. She won the seat and served from 1975 to 1977.[8] In 1976,she ran for a seat on the New York State Assembly,but lost the election. The next year,she won a seat on the City Council,representing the Upper West Side. She was reelected in 1982 and 1985.[9] While on the City Council,she proposed extending rent control from individuals to businesses.[10]
Messinger was a delegate to the 1980 Democratic National Convention In 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.[10]
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,but avoided it by receiving 40% of the vote during a recount. She ultimately lost to Giuliani but received more than 500,000 votes.[10]
From 1998 until 2016 Messinger was President and CEO of American Jewish World Service before transitioning to an Ambassador role with the organization.[11]
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