THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT
Hon. Elizabeth Holtzman
“I have to tell people, don’t give up. Even if you get knocked down, don’t give up, because there’s so much you can do.”
Attorney, Author, Politician. Served in the United States House of Representatives from New York’s 16th congressional district, 1973-1981. Co-founded and was elected and re-elected as the first Democratic Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues. The first woman elected District Attorney in New York City, 1982-1989. First and only woman to be elected Comptroller of New York City, 1990-1993.
Interviewed by Judy Waxman, Oral Historian, March 2024

Photo. Elizabeth Holtzman, U.S. Congresswoman, New York, July 7, 1976, photo by Richard Avedon.
More About Elizabeth:
- Biography
- Select articles by Elizabeth Holtzman
- The Rule of Law Oral History Project, May 2011, Columbia University Libraries
- The Honorable Elizabeth Holtzman, A Century of Women in Congress
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute
- Wikipedia