The woman who should have been senator

The state of Missouri, women in politics, progressives everywhere: all of us lost a friend, leader, and fighter with the passing last night of former Lieutenant Governor Harriet Woods, the first woman to hold statewide office here. This from the statement issued by her family:

Surrounded by her immediate family, and exhibiting the same dignity, strength and concern for others that marked her public life, former Missouri Lieutenant Governor Harriett Woods passed away today at age 79, after a year long battle with leukemia. It was an extraordinary life. She will be remembered most as a loving mother and grandmother, but we are also incredibly proud of her life devoted to public service and her passionate and determined efforts to aid society’s most vulnerable – the elderly, minorities and the homeless ... to obtain equal opportunities for women ... and mentor future generations of leaders.

Roy Temple, political blogger and chief of staff to former Senator Jean Carnahan, remembered Woods today:

I last saw Harriet in Washington, DC on the day Claire McCaskill was sworn in as the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri, and Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as the first woman Speaker of the U.S. House. Despite the obvious toll the leukemia had taken on Harriet, she was absolutely beaming.

Woods' career took her from print and television journalism (including a stint as one of the first women reporters for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat to local city council work, the state's transportation commission, and the Missouri Senate. Jo Mannies of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch describes in brief the rest of her career in office:

Her independence prompted Mrs. Woods to buck state Democratic leaders who publicly objected to her bids for the U.S. Senate.

In 1982, Woods challenged Republican incumbent John C. Danforth for a U.S. Senate seat after winning the Democratic nomination against the party establishment’s choice: outstate banker Burleigh Arnold.

Her candidacy became a cause for national and local women’s rights groups — and abortion opponents who wage a high-profile effort against her. Woods lost to Danforth by 27,500 votes out of 1.5 million cast.

She blamed, in part, the troubles women candidates faced in raising money. Woods’ loss helped lead to the creation of the national Emily’s List, which now helps bankroll women Democratic candidates.

In 1984, Mrs. Woods bucked a statewide Republican tide with her victory for lieutenant governor. Two years later, she made her second run for the U.S. Senate, losing to Bond.

Afterwards, Woods founded or ran non-partisan boards caucuses dedicated to policy leadership and the advancement of women in politics. She is credited as being a role model by politicians ranging from Senator Claire McCaskill to my own state representative, Rachel Storch.

Her death leaves a great emptiness in the frontier of women's leadership, but Woods herself recognized that such losses are but temporary:

In a commentary she wrote in 2001, Mrs. Woods cautiously optimistic about the political future for women. “Although we have leveled the playing field, we understand that it still belongs to somebody else,’’ she wrote. “That makes it very important to mentor the young women who are our future.”

(Cross-posted here and there.)