Jane M. Swift

Jane Maria Swift
Acting Governor of Massachusetts
In office April 10, 2001 – January 2, 2003
Preceded by	Paul Cellucci
Succeeded by	Mitt Romney
Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 7, 1999 – January 2, 2003 Acting Governor April 10, 2001-January 2, 2003
Governor	Paul Cellucci
Preceded by	Paul Cellucci
Succeeded by	Kerry Healey
Massachusetts Secretary of Consumer Affairs
In office 1997–1999
Governor	Paul Cellucci
Preceded by	Michael T. Duffy
Succeeded by	Jennifer Davis Carey (as Director of Consumer Affairs)
Member of the Massachusetts Senate from the Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin District
In office 1991–1997
Preceded by	Peter C. Webber
Succeeded by	Andrea F. Nuciforo, Jr.
Personal details
Born	February 24, 1965 ( 1965-02-24) North Adams, Massachusetts
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Chuck Hunt
Residence	Williamstown, Massachusetts
Profession	Politician
Religion	Roman Catholic

Jane Maria Swift (born February 24, 1965) is an American politician, who served as the 69th Lieutenant Governor from 1999 to 2003 and Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 2001 to 2003. She is the only woman to perform the duties of governor of Massachusetts, doing so from April 2001 to January 2003. At the time she became acting governor, Swift was the youngest person in the country to hold the position of governor or acting governor. In 1990, at the age of 25, she was the youngest woman ever elected to the Massachusetts Senate. She was elected lieutenant governor in 1998. She currently resides in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Early life

Descended from an Irish-Italian family in North Adams, Massachusetts, Swift learned politics from her father who was active in the Berkshire County Republican Party. In 1987, she graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, with a degree in American studies. During her college years, Swift was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity for women.

Massachusetts politics

Swift served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1990 to 1996. As a member of the Massachusetts State Senate, Swift was active in education reform issues and was instrumental in the passage of the Education Reform Act of 1993. This legislation created the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System which has been instrumental in quantifying academic performance statewide.

As a Senator, Swift was considered to be a “policy wonk.”^{[citation needed]} According to Governor William Weld’s chief of staff, “She was among the best, if not the best of senators.” It was in this capacity that she developed her political themes of increased accountability, down-sizing government, reducing taxes, and reforming education and social services.

In 1996, rather than seek re-election to the State Senate, Swift was a Republican candidate for United States Congress in Massachusetts's 1st congressional district. She was defeated by incumbent Democratic Congressman John Olver.

After leaving the Massachusetts State Senate, Swift served as an executive with the Massachusetts Port Authority. She was appointed by Governor William Weld as Massachusetts' consumer affairs secretary in 1997, serving until her swearing-in as Lieutenant Governor in 1999.

Massachusetts Governor

Swift was elected lieutenant governor of Massachusetts in 1998. She became acting governor in 2001, when incumbent Governor Paul Cellucci resigned to become the United States Ambassador to Canada.

Swift was the first sitting governor in United States history to give birth when her twin daughters were born one month into her term of office. She continued to exercise executive authority during her maternity leave, including chairing a meeting of the Massachusetts Governor's Council by teleconference from her hospital bed.

Swift's tenure as acting governor was largely dominated by responding to the attacks of September 11, 2001, and managing the fiscal crisis that followed in Massachusetts. Swift insisted that polls remain open for a special congressional election scheduled for that day, and led a comprehensive, statewide response to prevent terrorism. In addition, Swift led 45 governors in urging Congress to create the Department of Homeland Security. The Boston Herald summarized her response to the crisis as, “Acting Gov. Jane Swift has had her finest hour during this crisis…she has been steady, stable, calming, decisive.”

Faced with a widening budget deficit as a result of the terrorist attacks, Swift cut nearly $300 million in programs and vetoed nearly $600 million in proposed spending. She received high praise for her response to the budget crisis without resorting to massive tax increases.

She declined to run for election to the next term.

Cabinet and administration

The Swift Cabinet
OFFICE	NAME	TERM
Governor	Jane M. Swift	2001 – 2003
Lieutenant Governor	Jane M. Swift	2001 – 2003
Secretary of Transportation	James Scanlan	2001 – 2003
Director of Housing & Community Development	Jane Wallis Gumble	2001 – 2003
Secretary of Environmental Affairs	Robert Durand	2001 – 2003
Director of Consumer Affairs	Jennifer Davis Carey	2001 – 2003
Secretary of Health and Human Services	Robert Gittens Ronald Preston	2001 – 2002 2002 – 2003
Secretary of Elder Affairs	Lillian Glickman	2001 – 2003
Director of Labor & Workforce Development	Angelo R. Buonopane	2001 – 2003
Secretary of Administration & Finance	Stephen Crosby Kevin J. Sullivan	2001 – 2002 2002 – 2003
Secretary of Public Safety	Jane Perlov James P. Jajuga	2001 – 2001 2001 – 2003

Controversies

Marriage license

When Swift and husband Chuck Hunt married in 1994, their marriage license stated that Hunt had been married only once before. In fact, it was Hunt's fourth marriage. The marriage license had been signed, under penalty of perjury, by both Swift and Hunt. When the controversy emerged in 2001, Swift responded by saying that "Chuck had a desire to keep his private life private", while admitting that the decision to put false information on the license had been "misguided". Although the misdemeanor perjury offense was by that time no longer prosecutable under its statute of limitations, Swift and Hunt both agreed to pay the $100 maximum fine for the offense and to amend the marriage license retroactively. It also emerged that Hunt had married his second wife before the divorce from his first wife had become final. This information came to light after Swift's stepson Brian Hunt contacted the Boston Globe to complain about her record on gay and lesbian issues. Swift subsequently announced that she would extend some benefits to same-sex partners of state employees.

Use of state employees for personal purposes

While serving as Lieutenant Governor, Swift used her staffers to serve as unpaid childcare for her infant daughter Elizabeth, and also to help her family move house.

Use of state helicopter

In 2000, Swift paid a $1250 fine after admitting using a state helicopter as personal transport to her home in the western part of Massachusetts.

The Gerald Amirault Case

Governor Swift drew widespread criticism in February 2002 for her refusal to commute the thirty-to-forty-year sentence of Gerald Amirault, who was convicted in the notorious 1986 Fells Acre Day School child sex abuse case and who had already served sixteen years in prison. Her decision, which went against the unanimous recommendation of the state parole board, came at the urging of Martha Coakley, then Middlesex district attorney and subsequently State Attorney General. Both Coakley's and Swift's motives in denying Amirault clemency have been impugned as politically inspired.

Post-acting gubernatorial career

After leaving office, Swift returned to Western Massachusetts. She and her husband own and operate Cobble Hill Farm [1] and riding school in Williamstown, Massachusetts where they live with their three daughters. She is active in charity fundraising,[2] and she continues to be considered a “power player” within the Republican Party. Her official portrait was unveiled in the Massachusetts State House in 2005.

Governor Swift is a principal with the consulting firm of WNP Consulting, LLC [3], providing expertise in education services, equity and investments, strategic consultation, and professional presentations. She often speaks on the role of women in public service and is a lecturer in Leadership Studies at Williams College. Additionally she is a contributor to Working Mother Magazine, and active on numerous boards.

2008 presidential election

Swift endorsed Senator John McCain for president in February 2007, and campaigned on behalf of McCain in numerous states throughout 2008. Swift appeared on numerous news and political commentary shows, providing point/counter-point discussion on the campaign.

Electoral history

• 1996 Race for United States House of Representatives, Massachusetts District 1
  • John Olver (D, incumbent), 53%
  • Jane Swift (R), 47%

• 1998 Race for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
  • Paul Cellucci (incumbent)/Jane Swift (R), 51%
  • Scott Harshbarger/Warren Tolman (D), 47%

External links

• Official Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor Biography

Political offices
Preceded by Paul Cellucci	Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts January 7, 1999 – January 2, 2003	Succeeded by Kerry Healey
Preceded by Paul Cellucci Governor	Acting Governor of Massachusetts April 10, 2001 – January 2, 2003	Succeeded by Mitt Romney Governor