Mildred Schwab
| Mildred Schwab | |
|---|---|
| Portland City Commissioner | |
| In office December 29, 1972 – January 5, 1987 |
|
| Preceded by | Neil Goldschmidt |
| Succeeded by | Earl Blumenauer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 9, 1917 Portland, Oregon |
| Died | c. January 13, 1999 (aged 82) Portland, Oregon |
| Religion | Judaism |
Mildred A. Schwab[1] (January 9, 1917 – c. January 13, 1999) was an attorney and politician from Portland, Oregon, in the United States. She served as a City Commissioner from 1973 to 1986;[2] she was appointed to fill the vacancy created when Neil Goldschmidt was elected mayor, and was reelected three times.[2] Her brother, Herbert M. Schwab, served on the Oregon Court of Appeals.[2]
She was born in Portland to Jewish immigrants and grew up in northeast Portland,[3] at the poor end of lower middle class.[4] She attended Grant High School and the Northwestern School of Business. She was one of the first women to study law, and graduated from Northwestern College of Law (at Lewis & Clark College) in 1939 and qualified for the Oregon Bar. She worked as a lawyer until her appointment to the Portland City Council.[3] She took office on the council on December 29, 1972.[5]
In 1971, Portland still had two lunch spots closed to women. Schwab organized a sit-in at Perkins' Pub (in the basement of Lipman-Wolfe), which succeeded in opening the establishment to women. She also was part of a small group (also including Gretchen Kafoury) who opened City Club of Portland to women. She was the first woman nominated to be a Portland Rose Festival ambassador (or Royal Rosarian), though she declined the honor.[3]
Part of her time as city commissioner was in charge of the police and fire departments—Portland's equivalent of police commissioner[3]—for which she received great support.[4]
References
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