Elsie Hillman had one ideology. Elsie simply believed in Pittsburgh. When it came to the people of her city, party did not matter, nor did station in life or any of those other things that so often separate us.

Elsie embraced an ideology of place, rooted in community, and not in political theory. She had her preferences, those projects and causes close to her heart, and not everybody believed in all those things she believed in. But everybody believed in Elsie.

As Pittsburgh’s Republican-in-residence, she set the bar high. She picked good candidates, turned them into governors and senators, and then held their feet to the ground, keeping them real. She counted presidents among her first-name friends and hobnobbed with kings and potentates. And in a city of Democrats, she always managed to land a seat at the table.

As David Matter, executive secretary to Mayor Dick Caliguiri, said, “Elsie was the warmest, most generous and compassionate civic-minded person I have known.”

“She had friends across the city, from the homeless to CEOs. She was a quiet back channel for both sides of many issues, even building bridges between the city and its blue-collar unions, for the good of all,” Matter recalled.

Rick Stafford, chief of staff to Gov. Dick Thornburgh and later CEO of the Allegheny Conference, described his first meeting with Elsie. Fresh out of college, Stafford heard her speak at a community meeting, an appeal to young voters, and he registered as a Republican right away.

“She talked about civil rights and human rights and fairness, and those were the things I needed to hear in 1967,” Stafford said. “It was all that party of Lincoln talk, from her heart, that swayed me.”

Over the ensuing years, Stafford worked with Elsie on projects big and small. “It was great fun, every time,” he said. “But when we got down to business, her first question always was, ‘Now what do we have to do to get this done?’”

She shared that practical drive with her friend Sophie Masloff. They first volunteered together with the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, and Elsie stayed by Sophie’s side.

“Though we came from different communities, religions and politics, Sophie and I were partners in everything,” Elsie said. “And when she became our mayor, we put party politics aside and worked together, making Pittsburgh the most livable city under her administration.”

And while that philanthropy of the spirit marked Elsie’s time with us, that is only half of the story. Elsie and her beloved Henry, married for 70 years, have refuted the notion of the miserly 1 percent. They have donated a great fortune to improve our lives here, bridging the gaps between us.

Now, with Elsie the master politician gone, others must cross the aisle and make government work for us. She knew that the tensions that are designed into our two-party system were meant to be overcome and can be overcome. It takes authentic goodwill and a lot of hard work.

Joseph Sabino Mistick, a lawyer, law professor and political analyst, lives in Squirrel Hill (joemistick.com).

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