User:Reppop/Rita Walters

Rita Dolores Walters (née White; August 14, 1930 – February 17, 2020) was an American politician and educator who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 9th district from 1991 until 2001. She previously served as a member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education from 1979 to 1991.

Early life and education
Rita Dolores White was born on August 14, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois to Henry Walters, a Pullman porter, and Verter Walters, a housecleaner. The oldest of five children, her family moved to Kansas soon after. White was among the first to integrate a local community college and briefly attended a college in Alabama before returning home to work at a jewelry store. In 1955, she moved to Los Angeles with friends in search of a job and found work as a clerk. Later, she became a housewife to raise her three children.

Los Angeles City Council
On December 28, 1990, City Councilmember Gilbert W. Lindsay, the first black member of the Los Angeles City Council, passed away due to complications from a stroke, leaving his seat vacant. The following January, Walters announced her candidacy for the City Council, but faced a challenge over residency requirements, which were later declared unconstitutional. Lindsay's legacy became a campaign issue, with Walters and nine other candidates, including Lindsay's aide Robert Gay and sports journalist Brad Pye Jr., competing for the seat. After advancing to the runoff with Gay, Walters narrowly defeated him by 76 votes, a victory Gay attributed to the support of Mayor Tom Bradley.

Personal life
She married aerospace engineer Wilbur E. Walters on December 31, 1955, after meeting him in Los Angeles. They had three children together before divorcing in 1973.