Marin Women's Hall of Fame

ELIZABETH RUDEL SMITH GATOV
 by Nancy Nakai

        When  Elizabeth  "Libby"  Rudel  left her native Canada to attend boarding school in the state of New York, she never  dreamed that one day  she would become the Treasurer of the United States, her new home.  Born to American parents living near Montreal in 1911, Libby was  sent to the U.S. along with her three brothers so that she could learn more about her parents' country.  She liked it immediately, mostly because  the American  system of education was "less starchy", with students enjoying more freedom than she had experienced back in  Canada.   Libby spent  the next few years at school.  The Masters School, located in a suburb of New York City.  The school  was an  all-girls college preparatory school.   Though all the students received grades in "deportment" (their ability to conduct themselves as proper young ladies), the school's strong  academics enabled  Libby to be accepted at Smith College in 1929.   Before  matriculating,  Libby  was  given the choice  of  returning  to  Canada  to  enter Montreal's debutante season or to enroll at Smith.  For Libby it was an easy choice.

        Libby remembers many things from her Smith College  days, whether its  enjoying  the  social  scene  around  Boston, or discovering certain academic life-long interests.  But one of her memories is not so happy - that of a friend's suicide.  Libby's friend found out that she was  pregnant.  After seeking  desperately  for a doctor that  would  perform  a  (then  illegal) abortion,  her unsuccessful search led her  to solve  the problem  a sadder way.  She drowned  herself in  the campus lake.  The impact of this has stayed with Libby her entire life, and directed many of her post-college activities.

         Upon marrying  in her junior year, Libby followed her new husband to the University of Michigan where he was  to begin  law school.  Foundering for awhile in her new surroundings, Libby was lucky to have a professor take an interest in her while they were enjoying a  law school  student-faculty   picnic.   For after  lengthy conversation, the professor. Dr. Hall, suggested to her  that she complete her college degree  at the University of Michigan.  Dr. Hall was a specialist in far eastern  civilizations,  and a colleague of  Dr. Louis Ledoux, the founder and head of the Japan Society.  Upon Hall's  advice,  she  took  some  courses in that field.  Far eastern studies  was to  become not only her graduate major, but a lifelong  love for  Libby.   She graduated  in 1937.

         For a while she planned to attend law school, but the dean of the University of Michigan law school discouraged  her, claiming that (because she was a woman)  she  would end up in legal library stacks doing someone else's  research.  For an  activist like Libby, that would be horrible.  Libby thought he was probably correct for the time, but not attending law  school is something she now regrets.

        Following the  birth of  her daughter,  Jane, the  next few years were to be  trying  ones  for  Libby.  She divorced her first husband.  Shortly  thereafter,  she married  Frank  McCluer. Tragically, Frank was killed in a polo accident within a brief time.  It was a tense time internationally as well, with the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939.

        During World  War II, she met and married a naval officer, Frederick H. Smith IV, with whom she moved to California.  A son, Daniel, was born.  Luckily for our county, the Smiths decided to move to  Marin.  Libby was active with the Junior League, Sunny Hills, the Marin Tuberculosis Association and the Red Cross facility at  the U.S.  Army's Hamilton Field. Taking her skills into the workplace, she  also co-founded a dress shop, the Ross Valley Shop in Kentfield.

         In 1948, she heard that her neighbor, Roger Kent, had decided to run for Congress.  She not only liked  Roger and Alice Kent, she was impressed that he was a "fine person". He was also, like her, a Democrat.  So, he enlisted in the efforts to get him elected.  Both the local and state Democratic Parties were at that time "very tired animals".  Though  Kent  lost  his  campaign, Libby gained valuable political savvy and learned an important lesson - that "ultimately everything that's important and  lasting, if it has any social impact, gets into the political field".  She also won the respect of her peers for her political  judgment and acumen.

         Libby next  interviewed for a position with the Independent Journal.  While there was no opening on  the editorial  side, she was offered a job as assistant society editor. She accepted with the condition that a transfer to the news side would  happen when an opening occurred.  Eventually, she edited Marin Magazine.  She resigned, however, this time to help Roger Kent with his 1950 campaign.  He failed again, but was elected Chair of the Democratic Party.  Libby followed him into the national political arena by becoming a member of the Democratic National Committee.

        Fascinated  by politics and government, Libby was appointed a Fellow at  the Coro Foundation, an organization  dedicated to supporting  people's interest in public affairs careers.  She later became a staff member.  While at  the Coro Foundation, a young  Dianne  Feinstein  (who later Mayor of San Francisco and Senate candidate in 1992)  remembers the  encouragement she received from her. But, seeing the Democratic Party in disarray after the 1952 elections, Libby decided  to take a year off and volunteer her services full-time  to  the party.  Libby became involved with a handful of other California Democrats  to get the Democratic Party  moving in the state.  Working with a young Alan Cranston, Roger Kent and others, Libby  assisted the newly-formed California Democratic Council (later renamed the Democratic State Central Committee) to become a significant political power.   She also became an active member of the Marin Democratic Council, serving as chair in 1955.

         Her first California political role model had been  Helen Gahagan Douglas, who ran for the Senate against Congressman Richard Nixon in1950.  She had been impressed with Douglas' generous manner toward people, her  physical  presence  and  her composure under pressure, in what was to become one of the most famous smear campaigns in modern  politics, a  red-baiting Nixon schemed to  falsely label Douglas a Communist.  

        Libby was deeply disappointed with the effectiveness of Nixon's strategy.  But she kept on with politics.  This led her to the opportunity of meeting her lifelong hero,  Eleanor Roosevelt.  The former First Lady had  recently completed  her years of work at the fledgling United Nations and now active with  writing and  politics.  Mrs. Roosevelt was visiting San Francisco and Libby had to pick her up at the Fairmont Hotel to escort her to a Democratic Party function.  An extremely nervous Libby was immediately put at ease by the gracious former First Lady.  Libby was impressed with Mrs. Roosevelt's efforts  to be easy-mannered and approachable.  Aware of the enormous reputation she carried, Mrs. Roosevelt  seemed to go out of her way not to intimidate others.

         The  National  Democratic Party was run by a National Committee (DNC), which was comprised of one man and one woman  from each state.  In 1956,  Libby became California's Democratic National Commiteewoman.  She held that position  until 1965.  She was a member of the DNC's  Executive Committee from 1958 until 1965.  Between 1956 and 1960, she visited  Washington frequently.  She often saw Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy, a man who was positioning himself for a run for the presidency. "I saw a great  deal of  him [JFK]; sat with him at dinner.  Somehow we always ended up at the  Kennedy's  for cocktails.   I was very impressed [with JFK].  I was very much  for him." 

         Her initial impression of Kennedy was that he had "tremendous  vitality, far more than anybody  I'd met  in  politics"  and  a  "commanding presence".  in 1959,  with the election of Edmund  Brown as Governor of California, Libby  was appointed  as Deputy Labor Commissioner of California.  Her effective administrative work made a substantial  contribution  to  the  state.  Still a Democratic National Committeewoman, Libby  was  instrumental in having the1960 Democratic  Party Convention  located in Los Angeles.  And, she was very active in  the  planning  for  that  convention  - a convention  most  famous  for  selecting Kenndy as the Democratic nominee for President.   During  the  presidential  campaign that followed, she  was to  see how  JFK had  to deal with severe back pain (from an injury suffered during  World War  II) and  had to wear a "brutal device", a back brace which he concealed under his suit coat.  Again, she  was impressed  by the ability of  a major political figure  (this time JFK) to not intimidate those around him.

         After Kennedy's election, the President-elect met with California Governor Edmund  "Pat" Brown and others to select Californians to fill appointed positions within his cabinet.  Reportedly, as they proceeded  down  a  list  of  names, Kennedy gave little response until they came to Smith's name.   When Smith's was suggested for United States  Treasurer, Kennedy  responded, "That's a hell of a good idea!"  The position was  one that  a woman  had filled once before.  A personal call from Kennedy helped to persuade Smith to take the job.  Says Libby: "He was so persuasive  and had  such a bounce in  his voice, there was nothing to say except 'Thank you, I'm highly honored,'.  Then I started to  cry."  Upon announcing her  appointment.  President  Kennedy declared that her "ability, vitality, and experience will be great assets in  fulfilling this [Treasurer's] office".   She was the highest placed woman in JFK's Administration.

        Having  divorced  Frederick  Smith,  and  with  Daniel  ready  to graduate  from  high  school  (and  full of encouragement for his mother). Smith relocated to Washington, D.C.  As Treasurer of the United States,  there was  a tremendous  amount of administrative work to perform.  She also tried some innovation.   Knowing that the United  States was  the only major country that did not color code  its  currency  (have   a  different   color  for  different denominations  of  dollar  bills),  she  proposed  revamping  the currency.  Support came from  banks,  from  publications  such as Business Week,  The Wall  Street Journal  and the New York Times, and from both coasts.  But strong objections  came from  the mid - western states.   One  opposition letter suggested that she, as a woman, should turn her  attentions  to  "decorating  [her] office instead".   She served  as Treasurer for over two years.  She was confident that, upon his successful re-election  in 1964, Kennedy would implement  the currency  change.  Of course, that day never came.  She resigned her position with the Treasury to return to California and to marry "the love of my life", Albert Gatov.

         But her return to California was not a move to retirement.  Instead she became actively  involved with  an issue  dear to her heart -  that of reproductive rights.   Remembering  back to the sacrifice of her college friend, she became involved with Planned Parenthood in Marin as a local board member.  At the state level, she and her colleagues formed the  Public Education  and Research Committee of California  (PERCC)  - the advocacy and networking group that is now known as  the Planned  Parenthood Affiliates of California.   One of PERCC's first jobs was to survey California state laws on sexual conduct and  publish the results.   Next, a lobbying effort  with state legislators on issues of reproductive rights and reproductive health  was initiated  - a  process which still goes on today.

        Later, she counseled the national office that they get involved in  politics and  begin to lobby on  behalf of  women  on reproductive  issues.  In 1974, she  became the national organization's first public affairs director.  Libby assisted Planned  Parenthood's  transformation to a more vocal political entity.  It was an exciting  time to be involved  with Planned Parenthood.   The  subject  of  birth control was becoming "more respectable" and  the  public was becoming more  responsive to issues  regarding women's  reproductive rights,  including  the option  of  abortion.    And her advocacy on  the  issue  of reproductive rights was responsible for enactment of progressive legislation at both the state and  federal  levels.  Of all of Libby's involvements in the public sector, it is her involvement with Planned Parenthood that makes her proudest.

         During this period, she taught at Armstrong College  in Berkeley.  One  class  was  entitled  "American  Government"  and  the other "Political Action".  When the  Bancroft  Library  at  UC Berkeley asked for  a collection of her "papers" for their archives, Libby not only sent on the information, she also spent many days a week setting down  her recollections  on audio tape.  Accompanying her audio tape  in  the  Bancroft  Library  is  a  statement  by UC's Director  of  the  Institute  of  Governmental Studies, Professor Eugene Lee.  He says:  Widely read in both domestic and international policy issues, deeply dedicated to the battle against social injustice, experienced in the 'old politics' of party and precinct organization and the 'new politics' of television. ..Libby Gatov represents all that is best in American politics.  Respect, trust and integrity -- her life is a personal testimonial to the glory of the democratic process at its best. A copy of her papers was  also requested  by the  John F. Kennedy Memorial Library.   Historians  will now  have access  to a solid record of Libby's contributions to our society.

        Widowed  in  1978,  Gatov  found  herself  confronting  confusing financial  decisions,  led  her  to  write  a "self-help" book on monetary management.  Based on five years of  research. Widows in the Dark,  was designed to help women take charge of their lives.  Her reason for writing the book was her realization that  she was not alone  in the  bewilderment and  anguish that often faces the "survivor".  The book was originally published in 1985 by a small local press, but was later reprinted by Warner Books for a "mass - market" distribution.

         In recent years, Ms. Gatov has served on  the boards  of numerous local   organizations,   including   the  Center  for  Family  in Transition and the Marin Independent Journal's Editorial Board.  She is a trustee of both the National Maritime Museum Association the Coro Foundation.  She is a member of the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Libby has received numerous awards.   She received the  Margaret   Sanger  Award  from  the  San  Francisco  Planned Parenthood in 1985 and the Marin Planned Parenthood in 1990.   In 1986,  she  was  honored  by  a  commendation  from Congresswoman Barbara Boxer, entered into the Congressional  Record.

        In 1988, she  was  given  the  Smith  College  Medal is recognition of her distinguished  life  serving  the  public.    She  has  now  been appointed as a guest editor for the Marin Independent Journal.  When asked  about the  future, she states, "I had hoped to live to see a woman elected President, but I don't think I will.  I think that the  year 2020  is when  it will happen."  We shall wait and see and hope that Libby Smith Gatov's prediction comes true.

Written by Nancy Nakai