Janet Napolitano
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Janet Napolitano (born November 29, 1957) is the current governor of the U.S. state of Arizona, and a member of the Democratic Party, originally elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. Napolitano was chair of two state Governors' associations and named by Time as one of the top five Governors in 2005.
She is President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security.
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Early life
Napolitano was born in New York City, the daughter of Jane Marie (née Winer) and Leonard Michael Napolitano, who was the Dean of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.[1] She has two siblings, younger brother, Leonard Michael Jr. and Nancy Angela Haunstein. She is of Italian heritage[2] and is a Methodist.[3] She was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she graduated from Sandia High School in Albuquerque in 1975 and was voted Most Likely to Succeed. She graduated from Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, where she won a Truman Scholarship, and then received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Virginia School of Law. Napolitano is a member of the Democratic Party. After law school she served as a law clerk for Judge Mary M. Schroeder of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and then joined Schroeder's former firm, the Phoenix law firm Lewis and Roca.[4]
Political career
In 1991, while a partner with the private Phoenix law firm Lewis and Roca LLP, Napolitano served as attorney for Anita Hill.[4][5] Anita Hill testified in the U.S. Senate that then U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her ten years earlier when she was his subordinate at the federal EEOC.[6]
In 1993, Napolitano was appointed by President Bill Clinton as United States Attorney for the District of Arizona.[4] As U.S. Attorney, she was involved in the investigation of Michael Fortier of Kingman, Arizona, in connection to the Oklahoma City bombing. She ran for and won the position of Arizona Attorney General in 1998. Her tenure focused on consumer protection issues and improving general law enforcement.
While still serving as attorney general, she spoke at the 2000 Democratic National Convention just three weeks after having a mastectomy. Napolitano remembers the pain being so bad she could hardly stand up, but persevered. "Work and family helped me focus on other things while I battled the cancer," says Napolitano. "I am very grateful for all the support I had from family, friends and Arizonans." [7]
Governor
She won the Arizona gubernatorial election of 2002 with 46 percent of the vote, succeeding Republican Jane Dee Hull and defeating her Republican opponent, former congressman Matt Salmon, who received 45 percent of the vote. She is Arizona's third female governor and the first woman in the United States to be elected a governor to succeed another elected female governor.[8]She spoke at the 2004 Democratic Convention[9] after some initially considered her to be a possible running mate for presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 U.S. presidential election but Kerry selected Sen. John Edwards instead. In November 2005, Time magazine named her one of the five best governors in the U.S.[10]
In November 2006, Napolitano won the gubernatorial election of 2006, defeating the Republican challenger, Len Munsil, by a nearly 2-1 ratio and becoming the first woman to be re-elected to that office. Arizona's constitution provides a two-term term limit for its governors[11], meaning Napolitano is barred from seeking a third term in office in 2010.
In January 2006, she won the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. She is currently a member of the Democratic Governors Association Executive Committee. Furthermore, she has also served previously as Chair of the Western Governors Association, and the National Governors Association. She served as NGA Chair from 2006 to 2007,[12] and was the first female governor and first governor of Arizona ever to serve in that position.
Obama Cabinet
In February 2006, Napolitano was named by The White House Project as one of "8 in '08", a group of eight female politicians who could possibly run for president in 2008.[13] On January 11, 2008, Napolitano endorsed then Illinois Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee for President.[14] On November 5th, 2008, Napolitano was named to the advisory board of the Obama-Biden Transition Project.[15] On December 1, 2008, Barack Obama introduced Napolitano as his nominee for United States Secretary of Homeland Security.[16][17] If confirmed, Napolitano would become the first woman appointed Secretary in the relatively new department.
Personal life
Napolitano is single and a breast cancer survivor. She is an avid basketball fan and regularly plays tennis.[18] Whitewater rafting and hiking are some of Napolitano's hobbies. She has hiked in Arizona's Superstition mountains and New Mexico's Sandia mountains and has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and the Himalayas. [19]
After a news conference in Philadelphia on December 2, 2008, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell made a controversial remark about why he thought Napolitano being single qualified her to serve as Secretary for Homeland Security: "Janet's perfect for that job. Because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19-20 hours a day to it." [20]
Electoral history
| Arizona Gubernatorial Election 2002 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Janet Napolitano | 499,284 | 46.2 | +0.9 | |
| Republican | Matt Salmon | 478,935 | 45.3 | ||
| Independent | Richard Mahoney | 84,947 | 6.9 | ||
| Libertarian | Barry Hess | 20,356 | 1.7 | ||
| Arizona Gubernatorial Election 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Janet Napolitano (Incumbent) | 959,830 | 62.6 | +16.4 | |
| Republican | Len Munsil | 543,528 | 35.4 | ||
| Libertarian | Barry Hess | 30,268 | 2.0 | ||
See also
- Arizona gubernatorial election, 2006
- AHCCCS: Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (state Medicaid program)
- AIMS: Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (state standardized test for high school students)
- Protect Arizona Now: Proposition 200
- Arizona-Mexico Commission
- Matt Salmon
References
- ↑ Ancestry of Janet Napolitano
- ↑ http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=109143786D4D0F4B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
- ↑ http://www.statelawyers.com/Governors/Governor_Detail.cfm/StateID:3
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Dana Goldstein, "Janet Napolitano and the New Third Way," The American Prospect, July 7, 2008.
- ↑ David Brock, "The Real Anita Hill" http://www.uiowa.edu/~030116/153/articles/brock01.htm
- ↑ "Opening Statement: Sexual Harassment Hearings Concerning Judge Clarence Thomas," Women's Speeches from Around the World [1]
- ↑ Danielle D'Adamo, "Janet Napolitano: Getting to Know AZ's Governor"
- ↑ Tom Squitieri, "Democrat attorney general finally wins in 'ugliest race'", USA Today, November 11, 2002.
- ↑ Janet Napolitano CBS News, July 23, 2004
- ↑ Ripley, Amanda (2005-11-13). "America's 5 Best Governors", Time Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- ↑ "Term limits on executive department and state officers; term lengths; election; residence and office at seat of government; duties" (in English). Arizona State Legislature (1992). Retrieved on 2008-11-27.
- ↑ National Governors Association
- ↑ The White House Project (2006-02-16). "8 for ’08 : The White House Project and Parade Announce Eight Female Candidates for 2008 Presidency". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- ↑ Davenport, Paul (2008-01-11). "Napolitano endorses Obama", Tucson Citizen. Retrieved on 2008-10-27.
- ↑ Sweet, Lynn Jarrett, Podesta, Rouse to lead Obama transition; Bill Daley co-chair Chicago Sun-Times, November 5, 2008
- ↑ change.gov (1 December 2008). "Key members of Obama-Biden national security team announced" (Press release). Newsroom. Office of the President-elect. Retrieved on December 1, 2008.
- ↑ "Obama names Napolitano to Cabinet post", Tucson Citizen (2008-12-01). Retrieved on 2008-12-01.
- ↑ "Ariz. governor picked for Homeland Security post" The Guardian. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
- ↑ "10 Things You Didn't Know About Janet Napolitano". US News and World Report. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
- ↑ [2]
External links
- Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano Official state site
- biography
- National Governors Association - Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano biography
- Follow the Money - Janet Napolitano 2006 campaign contributions
- On the Issues - Janet Napolitano issue positions and quotes
- NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me guest on 'Not My Job' segment
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Grant Woods |
Attorney General of Arizona 1999–2003 |
Succeeded by Terry Goddard |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Jane Dee Hull |
Governor of Arizona 2003 – present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Mike Huckabee Arkansas |
Chairman of National Governors Association 2006–2007 |
Succeeded by Tim Pawlenty Minnesota |
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