Eve Galanter on Becky Young

I have many vivid memories of Becky over these past 30 years -- all of them involved her as an inspiration, including all the time she devoted to being one of the smartest, most effective women in public service. I recall how hard we had to work to get her to buy a new outfit and get her hair done for a publicity shot for one of her campaigns......"this isn't about how I want to look," she kept saying as she ignored and/or fought our efforts, "this is about what I want to achieve."

Former Madison Mayor, Paul Soglin Remembers Becky Young

Soglin spoke at Mother's Woman of the Year award years go. Here's what he has to say now.

Becky Young: Mom, Lawyer, Legislator, Educator, Friend, Environmentalist

Becky Young never asked for anything in return.

She simply did the right thing. Rather than worry about the political consequences or the political payback, she asked nothing more than you do the same.

Whether it was transportation planning or children, family enhancement or university expansion, she demonstrated real leadership. She engaged citizens and colleagues, with purpose, because the reward was the successful program or plan, not personal aggrandizement.

She came from what I call the 'Tom Sawyer' school of management. She got everyone to paint the fence, though unlike Tom, she never sat by idly; she was a full participant.

George Bernard Shaw Poem Read at Becky Young's Funeral Service

George Bernard Shaw - A Splendid Torch

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

George Bernard Shaw

This reminds me of Mother.

The Madison Community Comments on Jim Nichol's Article About Becky Young

Community Comments
Wed. Nov. 19, 2008 1:04 pm
RichardSRussell says:
Becky Young, Mary Lou Munts, Midge Miller, Doris Hanson, Ruth Doyle, Alicia Ashman ... how can one community be so lucky?
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Community Comments
Wed. Nov. 19, 2008 2:05 pm
Arthur Thexton says:
What a loss! A great, and wonderful, person!
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Genie
Wed. Nov. 19, 2008 2:27 pm
She was a tough legislator, school board member and county board rep. We were lucky to have her represent us. What a great person and great politician.
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Community Comments
Wed. Nov. 19, 2008 4:34 pm
Lynn Haanen says:
Becky had many friends and one of the most wonderful things about being her friend is that she always made you feel as though you were the best of her friends. She was an astute observer of politics and a brilliant participant in the political scene -- be it the county board, the school board or the legislature. I am going to miss her but I am glad she lived through the election of Barack Obama because she was passionate about his candidacy and what it meant to the country she cared so much about. She was a wonderful woman. We have been so very lucky to know her.
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lloydletta
Thu. Nov. 20, 2008 9:01 am
Thank you for this wonderful column. I had never heard this story from my mother, but it sounds just like her. She was great at working behind the scenes to get something accomplished.
All of us in Becky's family have appreciated reading these comments.
I've set up a blog to remember Becky:
http://BeckyYoungMemorial.blogspot.com
Eva Young
Becky's Daughter

Becky Young Got to Me

John Nickols in the Capital Times:

Longtime lawmaker Becky Young never gave up -- and people listened

John Nichols
November 19, 2008

The better part of a dozen years ago, on a Friday afternoon, I was sitting in my office at The Capital Times, and the phone rang.

"John," said the gruff voice at the other end of the line, "this is Tommy Thompson."

The governor, then at the height of his power, was not in the habit of calling journalists, and especially not on Friday afternoons.

But Thompson had made a decision.

"I'm going to get some money for transportation and child care into this W-2 plan," he said of his groundbreaking welfare reform proposal. "Becky Young got to me."

Young, then a state representative from Madison, had been banging away at Thompson for months, arguing that the W-2 plan Thompson had made his signature initiative was destined to fail the working moms the governor said it would help.

Young, who has died at age 74 after a long battle with cancer, had no patience with grand pronouncements by presidents or governors. She was a detail person. And the details of Thompson's welfare reform scheme made no sense to her. Requiring women with no money to leave their children behind and travel miles to get to job training centers was not just impractical, it was a dangerous plan that could harm the most vulnerable people in Wisconsin, she said.

Many of Young's fellow Democrats, feeling battered by electoral setbacks in the mid '90s, were willing to let Thompson have his way. Becky Young refused. She kept on Thompson and his aides, meeting with them, demanding that they study the potential impact of their proposals. "Public policy is frequently driven by anecdote," the state representative from Madison's west side complained. For Young, anecdotes were insufficient. She wanted facts, and commitments.

And Thompson finally made them -- not because Democrats held them to account but because Becky Young would not let up.

Becky Young never let up.

***snip****

Becky Young was into governing. And she was willing to do the work -- focusing on complicated transportation, education and social service issues that most officials preferred to leave to bureaucrats.

Young respected the bureaucrats, but she believed that legislators needed to be in the thick of the policy-making process. And she was never satisfied with promises or anecdotes.

She wanted government to work. No, strike that, she made government work.

Tommy Thompson knew this. That's why he finally ditched the happy talk and did what Becky Young demanded. The spending initiatives Young forced Thompson to accept did not make W-2 perfect -- Young was always a critic -- but they made the scheme far more humane and more rational than it would have been. As the former governor admitted, "Becky Young got to me."

There will be a visitation for friends and family of Becky Young on Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. at Cress Funeral Home, 3610 Speedway Road. A memorial service is being planned, but details have not been completed.

Wisconsin State Journal Story About Rebecca Young's Life

The story is very touching.

Rebecca Conrad Young

In Memoriam: Rebecca Conrad Young

Rebecca (Becky) Young succumbed at home to cancer she had battled since 1997 on November 18 at the age of 74. She was born in Clairton, Pennsylvania, on 28 February 1934, graduating from Clairton High School in 1951. After completing a B.A. at the University of Michigan in 1955, she worked for two years in Casablanca, Morocco. Married to Crawford Young on 17 August 1957, she completed an MA in Teaching at Harvard University in 1963, and a J.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983. She was elected to three terms on the Dane County Board of Supervisors beginning in 1970, then served as
Commissioner on the State Highway Commission 1974 to 1976. She was Deputy Secretary of Administration 1976-77, and was elected to two terms on the Madison School Board 1979-85. After completing Law School, she was an Associate with Julian & Lawton 1983-84. She won election to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1984 representing the 76th District, serving seven terms and retiring in 1999. Among her major awards were NOW Feminist of the Year (1996); Eunice Zoghlin Edgar Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Civil Liberties Union (1997); Outstanding Legislator Award from the Wisconsin Counties Association (1998); Vote for Choice Award from Planned Parenthood (1998); Luan Gilbert Award for Outstanding Activities in Domestic Violence Intervention and Prevention, from Domestic Violence Intervention Services (1998); Eleanor Roosevelt Award, from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin (2005); Extraordinary Commitment to Justice Award, from the Benedict Center (2008); Inspiring Leadership to Countless Women, from Wisconsin Assembly Democrats (2008); Lifetime Advocacy Award from Disability Rights Wisconsin (2008), and the Marlys Matuszak Statewide Impact Award for positive and lasting impact on the Democratic Party and State of Wisconsin (2008). She is survived by her husband M. Crawford Young, daughters Eva Young (Minneapolis), Louise Young (Madison), Estelle Young (Baltimore), and Emily (Imperial Beach, California), and grandchildren Israel and Daniel Dedina, and Celia and Anthony Chambers.

Visitation will take place on Friday, November 21 from 3-6 p.m. at the Cress Funeral Home, with a private funeral to be held for family members. A memorial service is planned in the near future; details will be announced shortly. In lieu of flowers, a contribution in her name might be made to Planned Parenthood Wisconsin or Family Connections.