Ralph G. Wright
Ralph G. Wright(born June 10, 1935) is a retiredteacherandpoliticianwho served asSpeakerof theVermont House of Representatives.
Early life
[edit]Ralph Wright was born inArlington, Massachusettson June 10, 1935. He served in theUnited States Marine Corpsduring theKorean Warand graduated fromBoston Universitywith aBachelor of Artsdegree andFramingham State Universitywith amaster's degreein education.[1]
Career
[edit]Wright moved toBennington, Vermontin 1968 and was a teacher and director of an alternative education program for troubled teens.[2][3]
ADemocrat,Wright served in local offices in Bennington during the 1960s and 1970s, includingSelectman.In 1978 he won election to the Vermont House of Representatives, where he served from 1979 to 1995. From 1983 to 1985 Wright was the HouseMinority Leader.[4]
In 1985 Wright was elected Speaker of the House, a victory remarkable for the fact thatRepublicanswere in the majority.[5][6]
Serving as Speaker for 10 years, Wright's candidate recruiting and campaign support work, carried out in conjunction with other Democrats including RepresentativePaul N. Poirier,who became the House majority leader, sawDemocratsbecome the majority party in the House during Wright's final term.[7]
Wright was defeated for reelection to the House in the Republican sweep of 1994.[8]
At 10 years, Ralph Wright's term remains the longest of any Vermont Speaker of the House.
Later life
[edit]After leaving the Vermont House, Wright worked briefly as alobbyistbefore accepting a position as Special Assistant to theUnited States Secretary of Education,based in theBoston, Massachusettsregional office.[9]
He also authored a memoir, 1996'sAll Politics Is Personal.[10]
Retirement
[edit]In 2000 Wright retired and relocated to Florida. He authored another book, 2005'sInside the Statehouse: Lessons From the Speakerand was anadjunct professoratLake-Sumter State College.[11]
References
[edit]- ^Vermont Legislative Directory biography, Ralph G. WrightArchived2010-07-13 at theWayback Machine,reprinted on Vermont Folklife Center Radio web site, accessed January 13, 2012
- ^The Vermont Encyclopedia, by John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand and Ralph H. Orth, 2003, page 330
- ^American Legislative Leaders in the Northeast, 1911-1994,by James Roger Sharp and Nancy Weatherly Sharp, 2000, page 230
- ^Biography, Ralph G. WrightArchived2010-12-01 at theWayback Machine,Vermont State Archives, State Representative/Speaker of the House Ralph G. Wright Collection, undated, page 1
- ^Kunin's New Team Takes Over in Vt.,Michael Kranish and Globe Staff, Boston Globe, January 13, 1985
- ^Democrats Will Nominate Candidate to Powerful Speaker Post,Bob Kinzel, Vermont Public Radio, December 3, 2008
- ^Legislative Leadership in the American States,Malcolm Edwin Jewell andMarcia Lynn Whicker,1994, page 137
- ^Vermont Reelects Governor,Associated Press, published in Lewiston Sun Journal, November 9, 1994
- ^Inside the Statehouse: Lessons From the Speaker,by Ralph G. Wright, 2005, pages 229 to 230
- ^All Politics Is Personal,by Ralph G. Wright, 1996, title page
- ^Inside the Statehouse: Lessons From the Speaker,by Ralph G. Wright, 2005, title page and author's biography on back cover
| International | |
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| National | |
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- 1935 births
- Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives
- Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives
- Politicians from Bennington, Vermont
- People from Arlington, Massachusetts
- Military personnel from Massachusetts
- United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War
- United States Marines
- Framingham State University alumni
- Boston University alumni
- Living people
- Writers from Florida
- Writers from Massachusetts
- Writers from Vermont
- 21st-century American male writers
- 20th-century American legislators
- 20th-century American male writers
- Vermont city council members
- 20th-century American educators
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- Schoolteachers from Vermont
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