Margaret "Midge" Costanza (November 28, 1932 – March 23, 2010) was an American Presidential advisor, social and political activist. A lifelong champion of gay and women's rights, she was known for her wit, outspoken manner and commitment to her convictions. Early life and family Costanza was born to Philip Costanza and Concetta Granata Costanza on November 28, 1932 in LeRoy, New York and was raised in Rochester. Her parents were Sicilian immigrant sausage-makers. Following various clerical jobs she took after high school, Costanza became an administrative assistant for a real estate developer in Rochester, using this job to become active in several community organizations. Political career Activist, councilwoman, and vice-mayor of Rochester Taking an interest in politics, Costanza volunteered on W. Averell Harriman's campaign for governor in 1954 and soon became the Monroe County, New York executive director of Robert F. Kennedy's Senate campaign in 1964. She served as a Democratic National Committee member from 1972 until 1977. In 1973 she ran for an at-large seat on the Rochester city council, becoming Rochester's first councilwoman in a landslide. The recipient of the largest votes traditionally was named mayor, however the council chose a man for the post, naming Costanza vice-mayor, a largely ceremonial position with little power. Congressional aspirations Costanza lost a race for the United States House of Representatives in 1974 to the popular Republican incumbent. In 1976 when Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter ran for President of the United States, Costanza served as co-chair of his New York campaign operation and gave a seconding speech for him at the Democratic National Convention (Carter had been a volunteer in Costanza's congressional campaign two years prior). Woman in the White House Upon Carter's election Costanza was named Assistant to the President for Public Liaison, moving into the office next door to the Oval Office. Costanza was nicknamed "the President's window to the nation", consulting with a wide array of groups. While in the White House she was a supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment. Costanza caused controversy when she invited fourteen National Gay Task Force leaders and gay rights activists to the White House at the height of Anita Bryant's homophobic "Save Our Children" campaign. Costanza went on to arrange discussions between the NGTF co-directors and senior officials of the administration. Public disagreements with some of the president's policies, caused controversy and saw Costanza's role in the White House diminished. As