Women Challenging the Machine: Elizabeth Holtzman, Shirley Chisholm, and Bella Abzug
Herrick counsel and co-chair of its Government Relations group, the Hon. Elizabeth Holtzman, was featured in a Village Voice article discussing New York women in politics. The article described how Holtzman "beat back a Brooklyn Democratic establishment that wanted nothing to do with her" and became the youngest women elected to Congress at that time. It stated, "A graduate of Harvard Law School, the 30-year-old Holtzman decided to mount a long-shot primary campaign against her local congressman, 84-year-old Emanuel Celler."
The article referenced Holtzman's quotes to the Washington Post in the 1980s, in which she spoke of being chief prosecutor: "It’s the way you deal with issues of life and death... You’re not one of 535 people … If it goes right, you’re responsible; if it goes wrong, you’re responsible."
The article elaborated on her accomplishments, stating, "Holtzman instituted a number of reforms, including hiring more women and people of color. She set up a special unit to investigate cases of police brutality. And, as she had in Congress, she focused on hunting Nazi war criminals living in the United States." It also noted that she became the first woman elected as city comptroller in 1989.
The section concluded, "At 52, she was out of elected office and off to a career in the private sector, joining the law firm Herrick Feinstein LLP, where she co-chairs the government relations group."