Doris Haddock

Doris "Granny D" Haddock
Born	Ethel Doris Rollins (1910-01-24)January 24, 1910 Laconia, New Hampshire, U.S.
Died	March 9, 2010(2010-03-09) (aged 100) Dublin, New Hampshire, U.S.
Occupation	Political activist

Doris Haddock (January 24, 1910^[1] – March 9, 2010^[2]) was an American political activist from New Hampshire. Haddock achieved national fame when, between the ages of 88 and 90, starting on January 1, 1999, and culminating on February 29, 2000, she walked over 3,200 miles (5,100 km) across the continental United States to advocate for campaign finance reform. In 2004, she ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic challenger to incumbent Republican Judd Gregg for the U.S. Senate.

Haddock's walk across the country followed a southern route and took more than a year to complete, starting on January 1, 1999, in southern California and ending in Washington, D.C., on February 29, 2000.

Haddock requested a name change of her middle name to "Granny D," the name by which she had long been known. On August 19, 2004, Haddock's request was officially granted by Judge John Maher during a hearing at the Cheshire County probate court.

Personal life

Ethel Doris Rollins was born in Laconia, New Hampshire. She attended Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, for three years before marrying James Haddock. Emerson students were not allowed to marry at that time, so she was expelled. She was awarded an honorary degree in 2000 instead.

After marrying, she started a family; she had son, James Jr., and daughter Betty. She worked during the Great Depression and was employed for twenty years as an executive secretary in the offices of the BeeBee Shoe factory in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Granny D and her husband retired to Dublin, New Hampshire, in 1972. Her husband later developed Alzheimer's disease, dying after a ten-year struggle with the illness. Her best friend Elizabeth died about that time, and that is whose hat she wears when photographed in public, and in which she walked across the nation in 1999 for Campaign Finance Reform.

Haddock had eight grandchildren—Heidi, Gillian, David Bradley, William, Alice, Joseph, Lawrence, and Raphael; and 16 great-grandchildren: Kyle, David, Jennie, Kendall, Peyton, Matthew, Richard, Grace, Justin, William, James, Beatrix, Tucker, Mathilda, Parker and Clay.

Haddock celebrated her 100th birthday on January 24, 2010,^[3] and died six weeks later on March 9, 2010, at her son's home in Dublin, New Hampshire, following a bout with respiratory illness.^[2]

She was a lifelong Christian.^[4]

Activist career

In 1960, Granny D began her political activism when she and her husband successfully campaigned against planned hydrogen bomb nuclear testing in Alaska, saving an Inuit fishing village at Point Hope. Granny D and her husband retired to Dublin, New Hampshire, in 1972 and there Granny D served on the Planning Board and was active in the community.

Campaign finance reform advocate

After the first efforts of Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold to regulate campaign finances through eliminating soft money failed in 1995, Granny D became increasingly interested in campaign finance reform and spearheaded a petition movement. On January 1, 1999, at the age of 88, Granny D left the Rose Bowl Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, in an attempt to walk across the United States to raise awareness of and attract support for campaign finance reform.

Granny D walked roughly ten miles each day for 14 months, traversing California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, making many speeches along the way. The trek attracted a great deal of attention in the mass media. When Granny D arrived in Washington, D.C., she was 90 years old (having begun the journey at 88 and having two birthdays en route), had traveled more than 3200 miles, and was greeted in the capital by a crowd of 2200 people. Several dozen members of Congress walked the final miles with her during the final day's walk from Arlington National Cemetery to the Capitol on the National Mall.

In the 2000 presidential election, Haddock endorsed Green Party candidate Ralph Nader.^[5]

Arrest at the Capitol

On April 21, 2000, Granny D, along with 31 others, was arrested for reading the Declaration of Independence in the Capitol and was charged with the offense of demonstrating in the Capitol Building. It was said to be a peaceable assembly, but the demonstrators were arrested by the Capitol Police.^[6]

She entered a plea of guilty, but made a statement to the court where she explained the purpose of her actions.

"Your Honor, the old woman who stands before you was arrested for reading the Declaration of Independence in America's Capitol Building. I did not raise my voice to do so and I blocked no hall.

...
I was reading from the Declaration of Independence to make the point that we must declare our independence from the corrupting bonds of big money in our election campaigns.
...
In my 90 years, this is the first time I have been arrested. I risk my good name --for I do indeed care what my neighbors think about me. But, Your Honor, some of us do not have much power, except to put our bodies in the way of an injustice--to picket, to walk, or to just stand in the way. It will not change the world overnight, but it is all we can do.
...

Your Honor, to the business at hand: the old woman who stands before you was arrested for reading the Declaration of Independence in America's Capitol Building. I did not raise my voice to do so and I blocked no hall. But if it is a crime to read the Declaration of Independence in our great hall, then I am guilty."^[6]

The judge in the case sentenced Granny D to time served and a $10 administrative fee.^[6]

Post-election

Granny D wrote three books, all co-authored with Dennis Burke. In 2005, she gave the commencement speech at Hampshire College. She was awarded an honorary degree by Franklin Pierce College on October 21, 2002.

Granny D became the Democratic candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in New Hampshire during the 2004 election when the leading Democratic primary candidate left the race unexpectedly (days before the filing deadline), because of a campaign-finance scandal. Haddock was, at 94, one of the oldest major-party candidates to ever run for the U.S. Senate. True to her "clean elections" ideals, Haddock funded her late-entry campaign by accepting only modest private-citizen donations. She captured approximately 34 percent of the vote (221,549), losing to incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Judd Gregg, as he sought his third term. Gregg won about 66 percent (434,847) of the ballot.

In 2007 HBO released a documentary, Run Granny Run, directed by Marlo Poras, about Granny D's 2004 Senate campaign.

She continued to be active in politics to the end of her life, and celebrated her 98th, 99th and 100th birthday by lobbying for campaign finance reform at the New Hampshire State House.

Awards

Key to the city:

Electoral history

United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2004

• Judd Gregg (R) (inc.), 66%
• Doris Haddock (D), 34%

See also

• Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, "McCain-Feingold"
• Peace Pilgrim

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Doris Haddock

• Keynote Graduation address at Hampshire College by Doris "Granny D" Haddock
• Campaign Finance Bill Draw Ires in New Hampshire
• Run Granny Run at the Internet Movie Database
• Feature on Granny D by the International Museum of Women.
• December '09 Email Interview with Granny D at Rigid Morality
• August 2004 interview with Doris on Democracy Now!