“There is nothing like having a strong belief about something, being able to articulate it, and then see it reflected in policy decisions. It makes you feel connected with the world. And that is possible through politics. One of the best kept secrets about politics is that it is fun, it is engaging, it is interesting. You have better conversations in political circles than you do in most other circles. You don’t get bored.”
Madeleine May Kunin served as Vermont’s governor from 1985 to 1991.
She arrived in New York when she was six years old with her widowed mother and elder brother to escape Hitler’s march through Europe. Active in the community, she began her political journey in 1972 as a state legislator. She lost her first race for governor but was successful the next time around. As a Jew, feminist, and progressive Democrat, she thought she was perhaps too different too succeed in politics, but those factors shaped her values.
Vermont Legislature
Governor Kunin will be a keynote speaker at a conference sponsored by the University of Vermont:
March 31, 2012: The New Feminist Agenda: The Next Revolution for Women, Work and Family
Useful links:
Madeleine May Kunin Website: http://www.madeleinekunin.org/
Vermont Women’s History Project, Vermont Historical Society http://womenshistory.vermont.gov/?TabId=61&personID=73
Vermont State Archives http://vermont-archives.org/collect/pdf/A-185.pdf
Madeleine May Kunin Papers, Special Collection, University of Vermont http://cdi.uvm.edu/findingaids/collection/kunin.ead.xml
Madeleine Kunin, Panalist (State Politics and Policy Conference, University of Illinois, June 3, 2010). http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/293869-1
National Governors Association http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_vermont/col2-content/main-content-list/title_kunin madeleine.html
RETN, Symposium. Courage, Commitment and Contributions: Madeleine Kunin’s Remarkable Gift to Vermont, March 2, 2010. http://www.retn.org/programs/courage-commitment-and-contributions-madeleine-kunins-remarkable-gift-vermont
RETN, Symposium, Madeleine Kunin, What Difference Do Women in Leadership Make, March 2, 2010, http://www.retn.org/programs/what-difference-do-women-leadership-make-keynote-address
Governor Madeleine Kunin, You-Tube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YLM_Y64IYs
Governor Kunin: ” Is There Really A War on Women or Are Men Just Being Stupid?”