She graduated from Vassar College in 1928, and on October 3, 1929 married Arthur J. White, a stockbroker who later became the executive secretary of the New York Clothing Manufacturers Exchange. They raised two children in Red Bank (Lawrence Elkus White, b. 1931, and Frances Elkus White, b. 1933).[2][3]
Political career
White became involved in local Democratic politics and unsuccessfully ran for Red Bank Borough Council in 1933, losing by thirteen votes.[4] She also ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic candidate from Monmouth County for the State Assembly in 1934,[5] and for Monmouth County Board of Freeholders in 1935.[3]
In 1950 she ran for Mayor of Red Bank, as the Democratic candidate in a predominantly Republican town. She defeated her Republican opponent, Stanley O. Wilkins, and was sworn in on January 1, 1951 as Red Bank's first female mayor and the first Democrat to serve in more than twenty years.[7][8] She was re-elected twice, remaining Mayor until 1956.[9]
In 1954, Governor Robert B. Meyner appointed her a commissioner of the New Jersey Highway Authority, which operated the Garden State Parkway. In 1955 she became chairman of the Highway Authority, a position she held for ten years.[9] She was the first woman in the United States to head a toll road body.[1]
White served as Ambassador until 1968.[12] After her retirement, she returned to Red Bank, where she worked with local and national organizations, including the United Negro College Fund. She also served on the Board of Governors of Rutgers University from 1976 to 1980.[9]