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Janet Georgia Napolitano (b. November 29, 1957) is the current governor of the U.S. state of Arizona, originally elected in 2002, and re-elected in 2006. She is Arizona's third female governor, and the first female to win re-election. In November 2005, Time magazine named her one of the five best governors in the U.S. In February 2006, TheWhiteHouseProject.org[1] named Janet Napolitano one of its "8 in '08", a group of eight female politicians who could possibly run and/or be elected president in 2008.
Early life
Political careerIn 1991, while a partner with the private Phoenix law firm Lewis and Roca LLP, Napolitano served as attorney for Anita Hill. Anita Hill testified in the U.S. Senate that then U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas had addressed her inappropriately ten years earlier when she was his subordinate at the federal EEOC. In 1993, Napolitano was appointed by President Bill Clinton as United States attorney for the District of Arizona. As U.S. attorney, she was heavily involved in the investigation of Michael Fortier of Kingman, Arizona, in connection to the Oklahoma City bombing. She ran for and won the position of state attorney general in 1998. Her tenure focused on consumer protection issues and improving general law enforcement. Later on, Napolitano was diagnosed with breast cancer, and underwent a mastectomy. She won the gubernatorial election of 2002 with 46 percent of the vote, succeeding Republican Jane Dee Hull and defeating her Republican opponent, former congressman Matt Salmon, who received 45 percent of the vote. Her strongest electoral support came from low-income, women, and Latino voters. Napolitano was the first female US governor to succeed another.
On major issues, Napolitano supports legal abortion and the death penalty for serious crimes. In early 2005 she proposed that a possible future vote on a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage be held that year instead of in 2006, citing her questioning of the validity of such a measure given that it was already banned under state law. This move instigated controversy with conservative legal groups planning to campaign for the measure. She was the recruitment chair for the Democratic Governors Association for 2005-2006. She is also the current chair of the National Governors Association, the first female governor and first governor of Arizona ever to serve in that position. In November 2006, Napolitano swept to victory, defeating Republican Len Munsil, a Christian conservative, by a nearly 2-1 ratio. Prominent Arizona Republicans opted to not challenge her in the election. Administration policiesAs governor, Napolitano has promoted all-day kindergarten, restricted water usage, and increased public health spending. She supports the development of biotechnology and public-private collaboration on related projects, especially within the state university system. She also supports universal health care. Arizona's security has been a prominent theme in light of recent events affecting her administration.[citation needed] In March 2003, amidst fears of a terrorist attack in Arizona following the Iraq war, Napolitano dispersed US National Guard troops to the Palo Verde nuclear power plant facility west of Phoenix. Continued and growing illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border has led her to increase efforts in this area; however she has vetoed much of the border protection legislation sent to her. In August 2005, Napolitano declared a state of emergency effective in Arizona's Mexican border counties, following a similar declaration by New Mexico governor Bill Richardson. Neither of these efforts have seen much result and both are largely considered to be political grandstanding.[citation needed] The continuing statewide drought, reforming the troubled Child Protective Services system, and the January 2004 hostage crisis at Arizona State Prison Complex - Lewis (the longest in US history) have presented serious challenges to her as well. Napolitano's usual position on budget issues has been to defend education and health expenditures as "investing in what matters", citing the benefits of economic growth and some improvements in Arizona's generally low social indicators. Faced with a conservative State Legislature, she issued her 115th veto on June 6, 2006, breaking the record previously held by former Governor Bruce Babbitt. By the end of June 2006 her total had grown to 127 vetoes.[3] Napolitano is a supporter of the Arizona 9/11 Memorial located in Phoenix adjacent to the State Capitol. The memorial consists of concentric rings that have written statements inscribed in them that, with sunlight, reflect on the pavement below. The memorial has raised controversy due to charges that it is political in context. Quotes"Renewing our schools, building a better economy, being good stewards of our water and our land, increasing the availability of health care and improving the security of our state: these are my goals and dreams for Arizona." (State of the State Address, January 10, 2005) 2006 re-election
See also
Footnotes
David Brock, "The Real Anita Hill" http://www.uiowa.edu/~030116/153/articles/brock01.htm
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