'Humble, hardworking and tenacious': Former Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner has died
WILMINGTON — Former Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, who served from 2001-09 as Delaware's first female governor, has died at age 86.
Gov. John Carney, who was elected alongside her in 2001 as lieutenant governor, called her a "leader who had a real common touch" in a statement Thursday.
"Governor Minner focused on raising up the working families of our state because she knew what it meant to struggle. Having grown up poor in Slaughter Beach, she brought that perspective to her job every day, and she never lost her attachment to those roots," he said.
He added that she was a trailblazer when she made Delaware history in 2000 by being elected the first female governor for Delaware, "paving the way for women and girls in our state to seek out leadership roles."
"Her path to the governor's office was a unique one," he said, recalling her history in state politics.
Born Jan. 17, 1935, Ruth Ann Coverdale grew up on a tenant farm near Milford but had to leave school to work on the family farm. At 32, she found herself widowed with three sons to raise. In the years that followed, she worked two jobs, earned her GED diploma and went to college.
After she remarried in 1969, she and her husband started a towing business before she went to work for then-Gov. Sherman Tribbitt.
It was then that the political bug bit and, with the encouragement of friends and family, she ran for the state House of Representatives in 1974.
After four consecutive terms in the House, voters elected her to the state Senate in 1982. During her time in the General Assembly, she focused on environmental and child care issues.
The climb continued: In 1992, then-U.S. Rep. Thomas R. Carper picked then-Sen. Minner to run with him on the Democratic ticket as governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. That year, she became the first woman in state history to be elected lieutenant governor.
Following her reelection in 1996, she started putting together the resources she would need to make her bid for the governorship. And in November 2000, she made more history when she secured 59% of the vote to become the First State's first female governor.
"The voters told us very clearly, they like what we've done," the governor-elect said at the time.
As governor, she helped to pass the Clean Indoor Air Act to ban smoking in restaurants and bars, signed the Student Excellence Equals Degree scholarship into law, placed reading specialists in every elementary school and math specialists in every middle school, signed full-day kindergarten into law and fought for common-sense gun safety, according to a release from the state Senate.
And in Delaware — a state of neighbors — Joe Biden, upon his presidential election victory in Wilmington on Nov. 7, gave a shoutout to his former colleague. "Is that Ruth Ann?" he asked, as he pointed out Delaware's leaders in attendance.
'Her leadership would influence a generation of young women': Delaware responds
The memories of Gov. Minner poured out Thursday, with many emphasizing the unusual path she took as she rose through the ranks in the state.
In a joint statement, Delaware Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola, Majority Leader Bryan Townsend and Majority Whip Elizabeth "Tizzy" Lockman said that Gov. Minner’s passing “leaves each of us with a heavy heart today, along with so many Delawareans who knew her, worked alongside her, and were inspired by her truly remarkable story of triumph in the face of adversity.”
“While her story was extraordinary at the time, her leadership would influence a generation of young women in Delaware, an inspiration that helped lead directly to women making up half of the Senate Democratic Caucus today,” they continued.
Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long agreed that Gov. Minner was a role model to many women in the state, calling her political career "one-of-a-kind."
"As our first female Governor, she was a trailblazer and worked tirelessly in a bipartisan manner to uplift all of our families up and down the state. From her grassroots down-to-earth upbringing, she put in place policies that continue to affect our families today," she said. "It was a pleasure and one of my greatest honors to work with her as a legislator and now as Lieutenant Governor. We all have her family in our thoughts and prayers.”
In a statement, state Attorney General Kathy Jennings called Gov. Minner "one of the most remarkable women our State has ever known."
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https://baytobaynews.com/stories/former-delaware-gov-ruth-ann-minner-has-died,62834
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Minner is one of Biden’s buddies