Charlotte Pritt

Charlotte Pritt (born Jan. 2, 1949) is an educator, businesswoman, and politician in the U.S. state of West Virginia. From 1984 to 1988, she served in the West Virginia House of Delegates. From 1988 to 1996, she served in the West Virginia State Senate. In 1996, she ran as a Democrat for governor and lost narrowly, but made history as the first woman to secure the West Virginia gubernatorial nomination of either of the two major political parties. From 2012 to 2014, she was Chairwoman of the Mountain Party[1] [2] which is the West Virginia Green Party affiliate. Today, she is the president of Better Balance, a West Virginia-based educational and wellness consulting firm.

Before securing the Democratic nomination in 1996, Pritt also ran for Governor in the primary election in 1992, but lost to Gaston Caperton. She gained notoriety initially by challenging then-Governor Caperton on his grocery and gasoline taxes and opposition to collective bargaining. Pritt entered the race in 1992 after 100,000 people signed a petition. Her gubernatorial campaign in 1992 was a grassroots campaign. Prior to entering politics, Pritt was a high school English teacher and a college professor. She directed two federal education grants and the National Writing Program in West Virginia.[3][4][5]

References

  1. "Pritt named chairwoman of Mountain Party" Charleston Gazette, Jul. 28, 2014. <http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201207280040>.
  2. "Campaign Trails: Mountain Party endorses independent candidate, elects new leader." Herald-Diapatch, Jul. 22, 2014. <http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/x720302609/Campaign-Trails-Mountain-Party-endorses-independent-candidate-elects-new-leader>.
  3. http://www3.nationaljournal.com/pubs/almanac/2000/people/wv/wvgv.htm
  4. http://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/10/us/back-in-the-statehouse-after-4-decades-away.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
  5. http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/2000_3251709/at-77-w-virginia-leader-seeks-new-term-as-oldest-g.html

External links

Party political offices
Preceded by
Gaston Caperton
Democratic Party nominee for Governor of West Virginia
1996
Succeeded by
Bob Wise