Connecticut Gov. Ella Grasso and Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis get together at the New England Governors’ Conference in Stockbridge in 1976. (The Republican, file)The Republican, file
SPRINGFIELD — When former state Sen. Linda Melconian checks off items on her bucket list, writing a book about the first woman in American history to be elected governor in her own right is near the top of her to-do list.
“I always wanted to write a book about my esteemed mentor, Ella Grasso,” the former senator told The Republican.
“I admired her greatly and tried to emulate her in my 23 years of public service,” she continued.
Melconian is just out with her new book about Grasso, who served as governor of Connecticut from 1975 to 1980.
Several women served as governors of their states because their husbands retired or died in office. Grasso is also the first female governor to not be the spouse or widow of a former governor.
“Ella Grasso: The First of the Firsts,” is a 204-page chronicle of a political titan who reached the pinnacle of elective office in the Nutmeg State after being roundly dismissed because of her gender and ethnic background.
“There had never been an Italian governor of Connecticut, let alone an Italian woman,” said Melconian.
“Ella Grasso, The First of the Firsts,” by Linda Melconian. (Provided image)Provided image
Marital meltdown
Melconian recalls John Bailey, chairman of the Democratic Party in Connecticut from 1946-1975, battling Grasso by backing her opponent.
“John Bailey decided machine politics in Connecticut at that time and called the shots for those who were in the state legislature and ran for Congress. He didn’t want Ella to run for governor. He supported Bob Killian, who was the attorney general and was from Hartford,” said Melconian.
Grasso not only won that election but beat Killian by 2,000 votes on his home turf of Hartford, according to the author.
Bailey forced a union between Grasso and Killian, backing the former AG in his successful bid to become lieutenant governor under Grasso. But the marriage of necessity blew up after the administration’s first term.
“It was a political marriage that didn’t last. She dumped him in the second term because he ran against her for reelection,” Melconian writes in her book. “Killian never accepted the fact that she was governor.”
While Grasso’s chief challenge may have been that she was a woman, Melconian uncovers another thorny issue.
“She had problems as governor, harsh realities. She had a $70 (to $80) million-dollar budget deficit. She kept the promise she made during her campaign, that she would not impose an income tax,” according to Melconian.
Grasso may not have touched taxes, but some of the ways she cut spending to eliminate the deficit she inherited were unpopular and drew heavy criticism, according to published reports.
“She had tremendous self-confidence. She took on elective challenges because she knew she could. She had tremendous ambition, was a brilliant woman with dogged determination to have people follow in her footsteps. She was a pioneer, a trailblazer,” argues the former senator, who praises Grasso for being the first woman from Connecticut to be elected to Congress, and Connecticut’s secretary of state.
Melconian’s mentor
Melconian was a legislative assistant to Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, Jr., famed Massachusetts congressman and former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1970s and ’80s. She met Grasso when they were both working on Capitol Hill.
“She was noticed immediately when she walked into a room. She possessed an inviting smile, lively brown eyes, a sharp and intelligent mind. She wore glasses on the top of her short, tousled hair, and she radiated sunshine,” recalls Melconian.
“She had a ‘plain Jane’ appearance and wore clothes off the rack. She had an engaging personality. People wanted to sit and chat with her,” said Melconian.
Melconian and Grasso are both graduates of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, and they both marched to the beat of the college’s founder, Mary Lyon.
“She said, ‘Go where no one else will go. Do what no one else will do,’” stated Melconian.
The author said she and Grasso became friends in Washington, D.C., developing a close relationship that Melconian found inspiring.
“She was a mentor to me. She became a friend. She encouraged me to run for public office and to get a law degree, because she said, ‘A woman needs a professional degree,’ like a doctor or a lawyer,” said Melconian.
Melconian graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a bachelor’s degree in history, a master’s degree in public and international affairs from George Washington University and a law degree from George Mason University.
The Springfield resident served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1983-2005, rising to become the body’s first female majority leader. Through it all, Melconian said she modeled Grasso’s approach.
“She was hard working, available 24/7 to her constituents. She had a bubbly personality, which I had. She didn’t like people. She loved the people of Connecticut, and I loved the people I represented,” said Melconian.
During her life in politics, Grasso never lost an election. But she did lose her battle with ovarian cancer, resigning as governor before succumbing to the disease on Feb. 5, 1981, less than six weeks after leaving office.
“Nobody can please everyone, but Ella came close,” said Melconian. “She was derided by her opponents and loved by (others). They trusted her and she respected them. They called her by her first name, ‘Mother Ella.’”
The softcover book is available for $20 at www.repubbooks.com.
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