Rosalind Wiener Wyman (October 4, 1930 – October 26, 2022) was an American politician, Los Angeles City Councilmember, and California Democratic political figure who, at 22 years old, was the youngest person ever elected to the Los Angeles City Council, and only the second woman to serve there. Her City Council tenure ran 12 years, representing the city's Fifth District. Wyman was highly influential in bringing the Brooklyn Dodgers from New York to Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles. She helped lead the successful campaigns of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and in 2019, was reported to be California's oldest DNC delegate. She was known for having been a vigorous proponent of multi-faith religious tolerance efforts.

Biography

Rosalind Wiener was born October 4, 1930, in Los Angeles to Oscar and Sarah (née Selten) Wiener. Her father was a Russian immigrant who came to the country as a stowaway; after arriving, he put himself through pharmacy school. Her Chicago-born mother became a pharmacist as well, despite never pursuing higher education, so she could co-run the drugstore the family had at 9th Street and Western Avenue (in today's Koreatown), Rosalind learned how to add by helping work her parents' cash register and serving ice cream to patrons. with a Bachelor of Science degree in public administration. to the City Council in 1953. Eugene Wyman, who was also influential in national Democratic politics, died of a heart attack in January 1973.

Wiener Wyman died on the evening of October 26, 2022, at her home in Bel Air. She was 92 years old.

City Council

Elections

thumb|Wyman at the council table in 1953.

In 1953, Rosalind Wiener campaigned in the 5th District to succeed Councilman George P. Cronk, with the aid of a swarm of University of Southern California students, and she "pulled a surprise" to finish first in the primary election, ahead of public accountant Elmer Marshrey. In the final, she won just 52% of the vote and took her seat for a four-year term as the youngest council member ever elected and only the second woman—the first having been Estelle Lawton Lindsey in 1915.

Another said it was "a bitter battle with Mayor Sam Yorty" that "brought about her defeat." She had become a vocal critic of Yorty, to the extent that a columnist wrote, 'their vendetta has replaced the La Brea Tar Pits as one of our major tourist attractions.' " In 1958 she was named the City Council's first representative on the Coliseum Commission as a result of a referendum vote by citizens that the council should be represented along with the city Recreation and Parks Department, the county Board of Supervisors, and the state's 6th Agricultural District. At that time the Dodgers were preparing the stadium to use as a temporary field before Chavez Ravine was ready.

During her tenure, Wyman worked to ban horror comics from public sale in drugstores and "other places frequented by children". She also urged the abolition of commissions with any authority over departments and installing "appeal and advisory boards" in their place.

Wyman was chosen "Woman of the Year" for 1958 by the Los Angeles Times. In January 2015, she was appointed to serve on the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

  • USC Alumna profile, (Spring 2018)
  • May 8 declared Roz Wyman Day by Major League Baseball and the Dodgers organization, (2013–present)
  • City of Los Angeles and the Dodgers Dream Foundation name Little League field in Cheviot Hills as Roz Wyman Diamond, (July 22, 2003)
  • Honored with Dianne Feinstein speech before the United States Senate, (July 8, 2003)
  • USC Alumni Award, (1964)
  • Los Angeles Times "Woman of the Year" (1958)

References

Access to some Los Angeles Times links may require the use of a library card.

  • Photograph of Rosalind Wyman in the Los Angeles Times, June 27, 2011