Saturday, February 24, 2007

Death of an Activist

It was poignant that the memorial service for Kathleen Crow was held on February 12, one day after the closing of the state Republican convention. For almost 40 years, Crow--who died at age 75 on February 1 after a long illness--had been a fixture at party conventions in the Golden State and a mentor to young men and women who desired to be active in the conservative movement and the Republican Party.

A native of Lewiston, Idaho, Crow was raised in ::Long Beach, Calif., and attended that city's community college. In the 1960s, she became active in the Goldwater for President movement and was a member of the San Marino, Calif., School Board. She was also appointed to the Teacher Preparation and Licensing Commission as well as the State Board of Health by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan, on all of whose campaigns she worked.

In the 1970s, she was chairman of the California Conservative Union, planning and arranging for conferences held in Southern California and featuring speakers such as Reagan, many members of Congress and national conservative commentators. Crow was also a delegate to three Republican National Conventions in which Reagan was placed in nomination for President (1976,1980,and '84) and was a California leader in the insurgent presidential campaign of Rep. John Ashbrook (R.-Ohio) in 1972.

A canny political organizer, Crow helped craft the first campaigns of Rep. Dan Lungren (R.-Calif.) and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, for whom she served as chief deputy for six years.

Sacramento political consultant John Feliz spoke for many on the convention floor when he told me: "Kathleen s memorial service is on Monday. I'll say good-bye to my godmother then."

Contributions in Kathleen Crow's memory may be made to the Right to Life League of Southern California, 1028 N. Lake Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91104.

Human Events, 2/19/2007

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