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From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues

Minner, Ruth Ann Coverdale (b. 1935)

The first female governor of Delaware, Ruth Ann Minner dropped out of high school when she was 16 to help support her parents and siblings. She married when she was 17. Her introduction to politics came through a part-time job in the Delaware House of Representatives. Her husband died when she was 32, leaving her with three children to support. She took a job with a crop reporting service and attended classes to obtain a GED.

She intended to become a classroom teacher, but in 1973 took a job as the receptionist for Delaware’s governor. Her grasp of issues prompted the state Democratic Party to convince her to run for an open legislative seat the next year. Minner served in the state House from 1974 to 1982 and in the state Senate from 1982 to 1992. As a member of the legislature, Minner passed a measure that funded purchases of green space, and built walkways and bike trails. She also passed laws that established educational courses against drunken driving, instituted campaign finance reform, and established income tax credits for child care expenses.

Lieutenant governor from 1992 to 2000, Minner worked with the state’s governor to reorganize state government and to stimulate economic development. Elected governor in 2000, she served from 2001 to 2009. Minner developed programs for technical education and created the Livable Delaware Advisory Council to encourage city planning.

See also: Governors, Women

References: Bond Buyer, March 9, 2001; Delaware State News, December 24, 2005; Stuart, “From Dropout to Doer,” State Government News, January 1995; 38.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
"Minner, Ruth Ann Coverdale (b. 1935)." From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, edited by Suzanne O’Dea, Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0641.
APA 7th
Minner, Ruth Ann Coverdale (b. 1935). From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, In S. O’Dea (Ed.), Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0641.
CMOS 17th
"Minner, Ruth Ann Coverdale (b. 1935)." From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, Edited by Suzanne O’Dea. Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0641.