GERALDINE FERRARO
DIES @ 75

GERALDINE ANNE FERRARO (AUGUST 26, 1935-MARCH 26, 2011)

Ferraro grew up in New York where she became a teacher but found herself unsatisfied.  Working as an elementary school teacher in the public school district of Astoria, Queens, would be a foundation of knowledge that Ferraro would use later but first it was off to law school.  She earned a jurist doctor degree with honors from Frohman university school of low in 1960.  Her mother had instilled in her a hard work ethic as she continued working as a teacher at public school 57 during the day while attending college classes at night.  

A dedication to education was evident early in Geraldine’s schooling where she attended Mount Saint Mary’s in Newburgh, New York where she was born.  After her father’s death in 1944 when she was eight, the family was forced to move to the south Bronx.  Her mother took a job working in the garment industry to support them. At the age of twelve, Ferraro became a boarder at Mount Saint Mary's after brief admission to a parochial school.

She held down several jobs while attending Marymount Manhattan College with a scholarship, which became another stepping stone to her future.  While finalizing her bachelor of arts in English in 1956, she began dating John Zaccaro who she would later marry but decided to keep her maiden name in honor of her mother’s commitment to giving Geraldine every opportunity.  John and Geraldine went on to raise three children: Donna (1962), John Jr. (1964), and Laura (1966).

John's real estate firm employed Geraldine part-time for 13 years.  During this time she worked in the family court system for several clients and became involved in the local democratic clubs.  Her election as president of the Queens County women's bar association led to her full-time job as assistant district attorney for Queens, New York.  District attorney Nicholas Ferraro was her cousin and it was thought by many that she was there because of him.  It was not long before her performance outweighed the accusations and the next year she was assigned to the newly formed Special Victims Bureau that entailed prosecuting cases of rape, spouse and domestic abuse as well as child rape.  Being named the head of the unit put her in a position to be an advocate for abused children.

Relying heavily on her background, Ferraro ran for election to the U.S. House of Representatives in the new York 9th congressional district in Queens and became the newcomer and quickly found prominence.  Her committee membership was extensive,e with seats on the steering and policy, house budget, public works and transportation, post office and civil service, which helped benefit her district.  Working as a deputy in 1980 for the Carter-Mondale campaign had her working closely within the democratic party and four years later she would become chairwoman of the platform committee for the 1984 democratic national convention.  As the first woman to hold the position, she would deliver multiple hearings which in turn would increase her visibility.  

Walter Mondale, having deciding to run with a female vice-president nominee, had to choose between Ferraro and Dianne Feinstein who was mayor of San Francisco.  When the Democratic Party announced the decision, they became the underdog duo that had to fight hard and smart for every vote.  Ferraro often debated with better smarts and intelligence than her opponent George H. W. Bush.  

There has never been a campaign for any political position that I felt as close to as I did at that time.  I remember volunteering and handing out flyers, pins and stickers.  She invoked female empowerment without being a dictator or overbearing.  The strength woman were achieving through the 80's will never be a powerful as it was then.  Most have begun voting for the charismatic man and not the foundation established through their previous achievements and the campaign donators that will have impact on their future goals.  The heart of all women beat within her.

RUSTY