Robert Stafford | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator fromVermont | |
| In office September 16, 1971 – January 3, 1989 | |
| Preceded by | Winston L. Prouty |
| Succeeded by | Jim Jeffords |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVermont'sat-large district | |
| In office January 3, 1961 – September 16, 1971 | |
| Preceded by | William H. Meyer |
| Succeeded by | Richard W. Mallary |
| 71st Governor of Vermont | |
| In office January 8, 1959 – January 5, 1961 | |
| Lieutenant | Robert S. Babcock |
| Preceded by | Joseph B. Johnson |
| Succeeded by | F. Ray Keyser Jr. |
| 67th Lieutenant Governor of Vermont | |
| In office January 10, 1957 – January 8, 1959 | |
| Governor | Joseph B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | Consuelo N. Bailey |
| Succeeded by | Robert S. Babcock |
| 13thAttorney General of Vermont | |
| In office January 6, 1955 – January 10, 1957 | |
| Governor | Joseph B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | F. Elliott Barber Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Frederick M. Reed |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Theodore Stafford (1913-08-08)August 8, 1913 Rutland, Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | December 23, 2006(2006-12-23) (aged 93) Rutland, Vermont, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation |
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| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service |
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| Years of service | 1942–1971 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | |
Robert Theodore Stafford (August 8, 1913 – December 23, 2006) was an Americanpolitician fromVermont. In his lengthy political career, he served as the71st governor of Vermont, aUnited States representative, and aU.S. Senator. ARepublican, Stafford was generally considered a liberal, or "Rockefeller Republican".
Stafford is best remembered for his staunch environmentalism, his work on higher education, and his support, as an elder statesman, for the 2000Vermont law legalizing civil unions for gay couples.
Stafford was born inRutland, Vermont, toBert Linus Stafford and Mabel R. (Stratton) Stafford.[1] Bert Stafford was a 1901 graduate ofMiddlebury College who practiced law in Rutland, and was President of the Rutland County National Bank. He served asRutland County'sState's Attorney, and was mayor from 1915 to 1917, President of theVermont Bar Association in 1930, and Chairman of the Vermont Board of Education.[2][3][4][5][6]
Stafford attended the schools of Rutland and was a 1931 graduate ofRutland High School.[7] He received hisBachelor of Science degree from Middlebury College in 1935.[7] While there, he joined theDelta Upsilon fraternity. He briefly attended theUniversity of Michigan Law School before earning hisLL.B. from theBoston University School of Law in 1938.[8]
Upon completing law school, Stafford was admitted to the bar and practiced law with the Rutland firm of Stafford, Abatiell, and Stafford.[9] He became active in politics as aRepublican and served as Rutland's grand juror (prosecutor in the municipal court) from 1938 to 1942.[9]
In 1942, Stafford joined theUnited States Navy Reserve forWorld War II and was commissioned as anensign.[9] Assigned to the Intelligence branch, he completed his initial training atDartmouth College and atFort Dix,New Jersey.[9] He then carried out intelligence officer postings at theNavy Department inWashington, D.C., and at Navy bases onCape Cod,Massachusetts.[9]
Stafford later requested sea duty and served as seniorwatch officer aboard USSWest Point, the Navy's largest troop transport ship.[9] During his service aboardWest Point, the ship made numerous voyages across the Atlantic to Europe and Africa. Stafford advanced tolieutenant commander during the war, and at its end in 1945 he was the ship's chief transportation officer.[9] He returned to Rutland in February 1946 while continuing to serve in the Navy Reserve.[9]
In October 1951, Stafford returned to active duty during theKorean War era.[10] He was assigned as gunnery officer aboard USSMission Bay, a Reserve training ship berthed inBayonne, New Jersey, and served until February 1953.[11][12] He remained in the Navy Reserve after his second deployment and retired at the rank ofcaptain in March 1971.[13]
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Stafford served asRutland County'sState's Attorney from 1947 to 1951.[1] In addition, he practiced law in a new firm, Stafford and LaBrake.[10]
Following his Korean War-era deployment, he entered Vermont statewide politics, serving as deputy state attorney general for the state from 1953 to 1955. In 1954, he was electedVermont Attorney General, and he served from 1955 to 1957.[1] In 1956, he was electedlieutenant governor.[1]
In 1958, Stafford was electedgovernor.[1] His ascent to the lieutenant governorship and governorship was unusual in that he did not follow the path of most Vermont Republicans. From the founding of the party in the 1850s, Republicans in Vermont had made use of theMountain Rule, which called for candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to alternate between the east and west sides of theGreen Mountains, and for governors to serve only two years in office. U.S. Senators were also allocated according to the Mountain Rule, with one from the east and one from the west. Under this system, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor were chosen by the party years in advance, and served in leadership roles in theVermont General Assembly, includingSpeaker of the Vermont House of Representatives andPresident of theVermont Senate. Stafford is one of Vermont's few governors who did not serve in the legislature. By the late 1950s, theDemocratic Party was becoming increasingly competitive in Vermont, and in the 1958 election, Stafford won the governorship overBernard J. Leddy with only 50.3% of the vote.
Stafford's governorship was notable for initiatives to streamline state government, including creation of the Agency of Administration.[8] In addition, the state invested in infrastructure including roads and bridges to spur economic growth, and enacted scholarships for Vermont students who attended state colleges.[8]
In 1960, Stafford was the Republican nominee for Vermont's lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, supported by all factions of his party because he was regarded as the strongest challenger to DemocratWilliam H. Meyer, who had broken the Republican Party's 100 year hold on statewide offices by winning election to Congressin 1958. Stafford won, and was reelected four times, serving in the House from January 3, 1961, to September 16, 1971.[14] Stafford voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of1964,[15] and1968,[16] as well as the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and theVoting Rights Act of 1965.[17][18]
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In September 1971, Stafford resigned his seat in the House to accept appointment to the Senate, temporarily filling the vacancy caused by the death ofWinston L. Prouty.[1] Stafford won the January 1972 special election to serve out the rest of Prouty's term and won reelection twice including the1976 election against outgoing GovernorThomas P. Salmon. He served for slightly over 17 years, until his retirement in 1989. He chaired theCommittee on Environment and Public Works from 1981 to 1987.
While in Congress, he helped pass a law, now known as theRobert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, or Stafford Act, to coordinate federalnatural disaster assistance. Stafford's support of weapons sales toNicaraguancontras led to theWinooski 44 protest.
As he neared retirement from the Senate, New York Times writer Philip Shabecoff wrote in a profile of Stafford that his tendency to keep his own counsel meant he "may give the worst interview of any public official in the capital." Stafford commented on his own reputation for maintaining a low profile by saying "I talked more when I was younger."[19]
In his later years, Stafford was regarded as the elder statesman of Vermont Republicans.[20] In 1998,Jack McMullen, a recent arrival to Vermont, declared his candidacy for theRepublican nomination for U.S. Senator.[21] As related by Chris Graff, longtime Vermont bureau chief for theAssociated Press, McMullen's candidacy sustained an immediate blow when Graff interviewed Stafford about theJanuary 1998 ice storm and other current events.[22] During the discussion, Stafford persistently got McMullen's name wrong, calling him "Mulholland".[22] Graff wrote that he tried to politely correct Stafford, but finally realized that Stafford's intent was to convey his opinion that McMullen was too unknown and too new to Vermont to be a viable candidate.[22] Thelede in the resulting story was that Vermont's senior Republican was of the view that McMullen had not lived in the state long enough to represent it in the senate, and Stafford's dismissal of McMullen as "Mulholland or whatever his name is" became arunning joke among reporters and political operatives.[22]
In the Republican primary, McMullen facedFred Tuttle, a retired dairy farmer who had starred in a mock documentary film calledMan with a Plan, a comedy about a retired farmer who decides to run for Vermont's seat in theUnited States House of Representatives.[23] Tuttle's candidacy was partly an attempt to generate publicity for the film, and partly an attempt to mock McMullen as acarpetbagger and flatlander (Vermont slang for an out-of-stater) who had moved to Vermont only because he thought it would be easier to run for the Senate there than in more populousMassachusetts, where McMullen had previously resided.[24] On primary day, Tuttle beat McMullen 55 percent to 45.[25] Tuttle immediately announced his intention to vote for incumbentDemocratic SenatorPatrick Leahy, after which the two made several joint appearances.[26] On election day, Leahy defeated Tuttle and several minor candidates to win reelection.[26]
In 2000, Stafford lent credibility to Vermont's movement to allowcivil unions for gay and lesbian couples.[27] Before the 2000 presidential elections, Stafford explained his decision to support civil unions: "I consider that love is one of the great forces in our society and especially in our state of Vermont. It occurs to me that even if a same-sex couple unites in love, what harm does that do anybody or any society? So I felt compelled to come here and say that."[28]
Stafford died in Rutland on December 23, 2006.[27] He was buried atEvergreen Cemetery in Rutland.[29] His wife Helen Stafford died February 27, 2011, at the age of 93.[30]
In 1988, Congress renamed the Federal Guaranteed Student Loan program theRobert T. Stafford Student Loan program, in honor of his work on higher education.[31]
In 2007, Congress renamed the White Rocks National Recreation Area in the State of Vermont as theRobert T. Stafford White Rocks National Recreation Area.[32]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forVermont Attorney General 1954 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forLieutenant Governor of Vermont 1956 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Vermont 1958 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator from Vermont (Class 1) 1972,1976,1982 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Vermont Attorney General 1955–1957 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Vermont 1957–1959 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Vermont 1959–1961 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromVermont's at-large congressional district 1961–1971 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 1) from Vermont 1971–1989 Served alongside:George Aiken,Patrick Leahy | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman ofSenate Environment and Public Works Committee 1981–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
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| Class 3 | ||
| Public Buildings (1838–1857) | | |
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| Public Buildings and Grounds (1857–1947) | ||
| Public Works (1947–1977) | ||
| Environment and Public Works (1977–present) | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
