Corinne Claiborne ("Lindy") Boggs was a Democratic representative from New Orleans, the first woman from Louisiana elected to the U.S. Congress. During her seventeen years in Congress her warmth, grace, and boundless energy made her a popular and effective politician.
Boggs was born March 13, 1916, on Brunswick Plantation, Louisiana, to wealth and privilege. Her father owned a successful sugar plantation. She received her bachelor's degree in 1935 from Sophie Newcomb College at Tulane University and taught history in Romeville, Louisiana. Her 1938 marriage to Hale Boggs marked the beginning of an enduring and formidable political dynasty.
Boggs and her husband first went to Washington in 1940 when he was a first-year representative from New Orleans. Then only twenty-four and twenty-six years old, respectively, the young couple devoted themselves to the Democratic party. Boggs's husband lost his bid for reelection in 1942, but regained his seat in 1946, beginning a string of twenty-two consecutive victories by him or Boggs. During the years that her husband was in Congress, Boggs, in addition to raising their three children, worked as his campaign manager, did community work in New Orleans, organized social events, and devised an innovative bill-tracking system for her husband at a time when no such system existed. When her husband was killed in an airplane crash in 1972 Boggs ran in the special election to fill his seat. She won easily, becoming Louisiana's first woman—and one of only fourteen women—in Congress.
Although Boggs took her seat in 1973 as a first-year representative, her three decades as a congressional wife had given her the types of contacts enjoyed only by senior members. The friendships and alliances she had developed with prominent Democrats helped her gain an appointment to the House Appropriations Committee. There she used her influence to deliver many important appropriations to her home district, including money for colleges, hospitals, housing projects, a $10 million energy research center at the University of New Orleans, and numerous navigational and hurricane protection projects. Boggs employed a savvy combination of southern charm and persistence to achieve her many successes. But Moon Landrieu, a former New Orleans mayor and former Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary, believes that it is a mistake to think Boggs was successful simply because she has a kind and winning personality. "When she [is] committed to a position and makes up her mind, you are talking about a very formidable will," he said.
Boggs built a reputation as a compassionate, even-tempered lawmaker who quietly worked long hours in the nitty-gritty behind-the-scenes operation of the Appropriations Committee. It is said that she never had a bad word to say about anybody, and even when pressed to criticize potential opponents, she simply said, "I've never known anybody who came to me who I didn't think would probably do a good job if they were elected."
Boggs's other "firsts" included being the first woman to chair the Democratic National Convention, in 1976, and the first female regent of the Smithsonian Institution. At the time of her retirement, she was the only white congressperson representing a district where most of the voters were African American, defying the conventional wisdom that voters prefer candidates of their own race.
In addition to her work on the Appropriations Committee, Boggs served on the Banking, Currency, and Housing Committee, where she worked to pass legislation aimed at solving the housing problems of elderly people and members of other low- and middle-income groups. A strong supporter of equal opportunities for women, she helped pass legislation that guarantees equal access to credit and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the granting of small-business loans.
During her many years in Washington, D.C., Boggs acted as an unofficial hostess for the Democratic party, presiding over parties and receptions attended by most of the Democrats in the nation's capital. Unfailingly gracious, thoughtful, and charming, she is well liked by all who know her. According to a former colleague, Senator J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.), she "changed the very fabric, the feel, the texture of politics in Washington and in Louisiana." Johnston says that, even during acrimonious debates, when Boggs enters the room, "the mood will change. And by the time she leaves the room, she has usually left with what she came to get."
The tragedy of her husband's death motivated Boggs to run for Congress and another personal tragedy was the catalyst for her retirement. In 1990 she announced she would not run for reelection, citing among other reasons her desire to spend more time with her eldest daughter, Barbara Sigmund, the mayor of Princeton, New Jersey, who was terminally ill. "This chapter in my service to the public is ending," she said. In looking back on her career, Boggs expressed pride in having played a "small role in opening doors for blacks and women," in helping to fund Head Start, and in securing money for businesses owned by minorities and women. She stressed that leaving public office would not mean the end of her career. "I will continue to actively participate in community activities here and in Washington," she said. Her announcement prompted a flood of warm and affectionate tributes from colleagues who recalled her "unparalleled intelligence, grace, courage and charm." Senator Bennett saluted her for her integrity and for her ability to raise the level of debate whenever she entered a room. Her younger daughter, Corinne ("Cokie") Roberts, a journalist and congressional reporter for public radio and ABC News, simply noted, "She makes us all behave."
Since leaving the House, Boggs has lectured at Tulane University and the University of New Orleans and established the Hale and Lindy Boggs Center for Legislative Affairs, at Georgetown University Law School. In January 1991 she attended the dedication of the Lindy Claiborne Boggs Room, a reading room for congresswomen at the U.S. Capitol. Boggs, the "grande dame of Louisiana politics," is noted for her compassion, her devotion to equal opportunity, and her charming personality. She has dedicated her life to public service, and the people of New Orleans have been immeasurably enriched by her commitment.
