Geraldine Steinberg

Geraldine Steinberg
May 30,1925 - May 22, 2021
ENVIRONMENTALIST GERALDINE STEINBERG CHAMPIONED GREEN FOOTHILLS, LEGAL AID SERVICES

Pioneering environmentalist Geraldine Steinberg, the first woman appointed to the Santa Clara County Planning Commission, the first woman elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and among the first women to graduate Stanford Law School, died Saturday. She was 95.
Steinberg chaired the Santa Clara County General Plan Commission that resulted in rezoning the foothills as open space, earning her accolades from state conservation groups, while supporting managed growth in the flat lands, winning her the support of the development community.
"She was a mediator," her daughter Joan Laurence said. "She went into a man's world with her feminine influence and made peace between factions that were at odds."
As county supervisor, Steinberg encouraged the purchase of open space adjacent to a small county park, creating the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve. Among her greatest joys, she said, was driving down Interstate 280 and viewing the beauty that all can enjoy.
Steinberg married her husband, renowned regional architect Goodwin B. Steinberg, at the age of 18, on May 7, 1944, after a year at Vassar College. When he enlisted in the United States Air Force, she persuaded Vassar to allow her to matriculate as a married woman to complete her studies. With six months left on her husband's tour of duty, Steinberg returned to her parents' home in Evanston, Illinois, where she audited a course at the local Northwestern University that would change her life: Constitutional Law. When her husband enrolled in architectural school at the University of Illinois, she decided she, too, would go back to school, completing two years of law school.
The Steinbergs left the Chicago suburbs for the Bay Area in 1952, by then with two children. They were part of a brash, entrepreneurial cadre of Midwestern transplants whose ambition and ingenuity was the DNA that spawned Silicon Valley.
It was not until 1960, by then a mother of three, that Steinberg returned to law school, at Stanford. She was one of just four women in her class.
Steinberg's involvement in county government began in 1965 when she served as deputy county counsel, following completion of her law degree at Stanford University in 1963. When she passed the bar, her children remember a gaggle of reporters gathered at the doorstep, and the newspaper headline that followed: "Local housewife passes state bar."
In 1967, she went into private practice, but her interest in land use issues brought her back to the public arena. Watching the Permanente Cement Company mine the hillside near her home in Los Altos Hills in 1970, Steinberg worked with county and corporate leaders to successfully limit the excavation. Her efforts impressed Supervisor Victor Calvo, who nominated her for a seat on the Planning Commission -- the first woman to be appointed. Through her work, she demonstrated her balanced commitment to the environment as well as planned growth to ensure the region's long-term economic vitality.
In addition, Steinberg served on the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and was a strong advocate for mass transit.
"She was refined and dignified, a woman of a different era," her son Robert Steinberg said. "She was soft-spoken and modest, but unflappable, with an inner fortitude that did not bow to external pressures."
When Calvo won a seat in the state assembly in 1974, the board of supervisors appointed Steinberg to replace him. She became the first woman elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in 1976. Shattering another glass ceiling, she would become the first woman to chair the board as well. Widely regarded as balanced, deep, wise, thoughtful, and very caring, Steinberg was considered for appointments to the superior court and municipal court in the late 1970s, but continued to serve as supervisor.
Steinberg left political office in 1981 to work as an attorney and spend more time with her family.
She would go on to join a real estate development firm founded by her daughter that, among shopping center and residential development, assisted public school districts in maximizing the income from surplus school sites in the 1980s.
She also founded the East Palo Alto Community Law Project, now known as Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, offering low or no-cost legal services to those who could not afford them. She served as its first executive director.
With a trained operatic voice, Steinberg was a founding member of Congregation Beth Am. She sang in the congregation's choir for many years. She also served as president of the New Seed Foundation.
Frequently called upon to mediate between parties with intersecting interests but competing end goals, Steinberg negotiated multiple issues between Stanford University, Palo Alto and Santa Clara County. Known for her high standards of integrity, divergent representatives trusted what she said and her ability to negotiate successful solutions.
This integrity did not originate in a vacuum. Steinberg embarked on a course of Jewish study with her son Tom at the age of 90. As they discussed the personal attribute of honesty, Tom recalls his mother told him, "I haven't lied since I was 11." She went on to tell him that the punishment for her lie – having her mouth washed out with soap – made such an impact that she never again spoke a mistruth aloud.
After her husband of 66 years passed away in 2010, Steinberg found new love at the age of 86 in John Thompson, who lived in the apartment beneath hers at the Vi, a senior living community in Palo Alto. Together they enjoyed golf, travel, and their families.
She is survived by her children Joan Laurence of Sfat, Israel; Robert (and Alice) Steinberg of Palo Alto; and Thomas (and Shaindel) Steinberg of Jerusalem, as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Donations may be made to the New Seed Foundation in Gerry's honor. The New Seed Foundation program, "One People One Heart", helps women and children in crisis to rebuild their lives. Gerry was the founder and served as the President of the Board for thirty years. Donations can be made online at www.onepeopleoneheart.com or checks sent to the New Seed Foundation, POB 61186, Palo Alto, CA 94306.
A private service will be held on Wednesday, May 26 at 10:00 A.M.
The community may participate by livestream at;
Betham.org/livestreaming