Everything about Ruth Ann Minner totally explained
Ruth Ann Minner (born
January 17 1935) is an
American politician and
businesswoman from
Milford, in
Kent County,
Delaware. She is a member of the
Democratic Party, who served in the
Delaware General Assembly, two terms as
Lieutenant Governor of Delaware, and is the incumbent
Governor of Delaware. She is serving in her second term and is Delaware's first
female governor, as well as the nation’s oldest serving governor. She is currently the nation's longest-serving female governor, and in
January 2008 became the longest-serving female governor in U.S. history.
Early life and family
Minner was born Ruth Ann Coverdale, at Slaughter Neck in Cedar Creek Hundred,
Sussex County,
Delaware, near
Milford. While growing up, she left high school at age 16 to help support her family. Subsequently she married Frank Ingram, with whom she'd three children: Frank Jr., Wayne and Gary. When she was 32, her husband died suddenly of a
heart attack, leaving her a single mother with three children. She earned her
GED in 1968, and later attended Delaware Technical and Community College, while working two jobs to support the family. In 1969, she married Roger Minner and together they operated a family towing business, the Roger Minner Wrecker Service. Roger Minner died of
cancer in 1991.
Early political career
Ruth Ann Minner began her political career as a clerk in the
Delaware House of Representatives and as a receptionist in the office of
Governor Sherman W. Tribbitt. In 1974, she was elected to the
State House as a member of the "
Watergate Class," a group of newly elected legislators from both parties, who came into office on a "good government" mission, and a strong sense of their ability to make significant improvements. Minner rose to become
Delaware's most powerful female politician, but she did it in a very conventional way, representing a rural, small town constituency, and building relationships and expertise by working in the legislative process over many years. She served four terms in the
State House, from the 1975/1976 session through the 1981/82 session. At various times she served as House Majority
Whip and chair of the powerful Bond Bill Committee. She also chaired the Rules Committee. In that role she led several successful reforming efforts, including a change that removed the rule allowing Representatives to table roll call votes. This rule was used to help schedule votes when only the right combinations of Representatives were on the floor.
In 1982, Minner was elected to the
Delaware Senate and served there from the 1983/1984 session through the 1991/1992 session. While in the
State Senate, Minner was noted for her sponsorship of the Delaware Land and Water Conservation Act, a key piece of legislation that protected 30,000 acres (120 km²) of land and created the Delaware Open Space Council. To fund the activities of this Council, the
General Assembly created the "Twenty-First Century Fund" from the proceeds of a multi-million dollar corporate securities lawsuit. Elected
Lieutenant Governor in 1992, she served two terms from
January 19 1993 to
January 3 2001. While in that position she chaired the Minner Commission on Government Reorganization and Effectiveness.
Governor of Delaware
Minner was elected
Governor of Delaware in 2000. She had secured the
Democratic nomination by her long years in the
General Assembly and as
Lieutenant Governor, and had demonstrated her ability to run a campaign by her large state wide victory margins in 1992 and 1996. Her opponent in 2000 was
Republican John M. Burris, who had barely survived a bitter September primary contest with retired judge
William Swain Lee. With many hard feelings and only two months to recover, he led a very badly divided
Republican Party. Minner won easily. As the incumbent
Lieutenant Governor, Minner took office upon the resignation of
Governor Thomas R. Carper on
January 3 2001, and began her own first term on
January 16 2001. She is presently serving her second term. As Governor, she's a member of both the
National Governors Association and the
Democratic Governors Association.
In 2004
Republican candidate
William Swain Lee was given his chance to unseat Minner and ran a strong campaign, especially capitalizing on a growing awareness of problems in the state's prison system. Nevertheless, incumbency is highly valued in Delaware and Minner was re-elected, albeit by a much smaller margin. She has indicated she plans to retire at the end of her term to spend time with her family.
Minner is
Delaware’s fourth consecutive two term governor and has largely continued the business oriented policies and bipartisan, consensus style begun by her
Republican predecessor,
Pierre S. du Pont, IV. She is usually described as a "middle-of-the-road politician, with
conservative fiscal views but
progressive social policies." As
Governor she's concentrated on education, environmental, and
health care issues, but is best known for her successful fiscal management of the state's budget through a national economic
recession, and for her leadership in making Delaware the first state to prohibit smoking in most public places through the Clean Indoor Air Act. "When I took office," she said, "I was determined to reduce Delaware's high cancer rates. A task force...has created a road map of specific steps necessary...and I'm implementing that plan. [One] result has been...the Clean Indoor Air Act, which has reduced cancerous pollutants in Delaware's restaurants, bars and casinos by more than 90 percent."
Regarding education, she's said "While it might be popular, it isn't demanding to set standards that all students can meet right away...Once high standards have been set, the key is to give our students, educators and parents the tools to continuously improve." She "supports giving local schools control of [most] new education dollars...expanding after-school and weekend class programs...and supports reading and math specialists." She opposes vouchers. “In 2005, she signed legislation creating the Student Excellence Equals Degree (SEED) Scholarship program, which enables students who keep their grades up and stay out of trouble to go to college for free in the state of Delaware. She also expanded her education specialist program, which has placed reading specialists in every elementary school, to also include a plan to place math specialists in every Delaware middle school.”
On other issues she's "been a firm supporter of a measure that would simply add
sexual orientation to the list of characteristics in the Delaware code...that are not allowed to be used as basis for
discrimination." She "opposes new
gun control legislation," but supports "legislation requiring mandatory trigger locks and gun safety courses in schools." And she's said "I don't support additional sites or kinds of
gambling...the state shouldn't become any more reliant on this form of revenue."
In her second inaugural address in January 2005, Minner concluded with this description of her philosophy: "for Ruth Ann Minner, farmer, gardener and daughter of a sharecropper, it's simply this: Work hard. Do the right thing. And leave things better than you found them."
In February of 2007, Governor Minner forbid Professor
David Legates, the Deleware State Climatologist and a professor at the University of Deleware, from using his title as state Climatologist in statements skeptical of man's ability to effect the climate.
Administration and Cabinet
The persons above the line in the box below are elected to four year terms of office. The remainders are appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of the governor.
| Current Delaware State Officials |
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|
Governor: Ruth Ann Minner (2001- )
Attorney General: Joseph R. Biden, III (2007- )
Auditor: R. Thomas Wagner Jr. (1989- )
Agriculture: Michael T. Scuse (2001- )
Budget: Jennifer Wagner Davis (2002- )
Children, Youth & Families: Cari DeSantis (2001- )
Corrections: Carl C. Danberg (2007- )
Economic Development: Judy McKinney-Cherry (2002- )
Education: Valerie A. Woodruff (1999- )
Elections: Elaine Manlove (2007- )
Finance: Richard S. Cordrey (2005- )
|
|
Lieutenant Governor: John C. Carney, Jr. (2001- )
Insurance: Matthew P. Denn (2005- )
Treasurer: Jack A. Markell (1999- )
Health & Human Services: Vincent P. Meconi (2001- )
Labor: Thomas B. Sharp (2005- )
Natural Resources: John A. Hughes (2002- )
Safety: David B. Mitchell (2004- )
State: Harriet Smith Windsor (2001- )
Technology & Information: Thomas M. Jarrett (2001- )
Transportation: Carolann D. Wicks (2006- ) |
Further Information
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