Good afternoon,
When someone gets around to writing another update on the history of Delaware, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner will deserve a chapter.
Minner passed away this week at age 86.
Her inspiring story began as the daughter of a sharecropper. Widowed twice, she made the unlikely ascent from the governor’s secretary to the governor, along the way managing the family towing business and becoming a powerful legislator and later lieutenant governor.
As the first woman governor in Delaware, she could have rested on her laurels in a state with a decent economy.
But after losing her husband to cancer, she spent a lot of political capital in gaining passage on what amounted to a ban on smoking in public spaces.
Contrary to critics’ claims, the ban only temporarily hurt business and, as time went on, became popular with many.
That legislation and other actions aimed at reducing the state’s alarmingly high cancer rate saved many lives over the years.
Despite her roots in conservative southern Kent County, she championed a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation. In addition, she pushed for the passage of legislation that guaranteed tuition-free junior college for those who would not otherwise have a chance to gain a degree.
Her fiscal conservatism, legislative skills, and business background led to sound policies that helped Delaware better weather a deep recession that occurred after the end of her second term.
As noted in a Business, Now story posted yesterday, her time as governor was not without controversy. She won a second term by a narrow margin after a remark regarding a sexual assault of a prison worker that seemed callous.
A second look at the remark showed it was to some extent taken out of context.
Her choice of cabinet members in the second term and ties to a member of a liquor distribution family who later did a short stint in prison were not high points in her final term.
Minner kept a low profile as she struggled with health issues and suffered the loss of a son in a traffic accident.
As Delaware Business Times Editor Jake Owens noted in a story, she had a brief moment of fame last year when Joe Biden, while celebrating his presidential victory in Wilmington, saw Minner in the audience and called out her name. So, naturally, it led to a lot of Google searches.
Despite the ups and downs, when Minner’s body of work as a governor, legislator, and business owner is taken into account, the governor left Delaware a better place and paved the way for more women running for office.
Another female governor in 2024 or perhaps thereafter is likely. When that happens, the winner can credit Ruth Ann Minner for paving the way. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.
