Connie Morella
Connie Morella | |
---|---|
Christopher Egan | |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 8th district | |
In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2003 | |
Preceded by | Michael Barnes |
Succeeded by | Chris Van Hollen |
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 16th district | |
In office January 10, 1979 – January 3, 1987 | |
Preceded by | John Ward |
Succeeded by | Brian Frosh Gilbert Genn |
Personal details | |
Born | Constance Albanese February 12, 1931 Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Anthony Morella
(m. 1954; died 2020) |
Education | Boston University (BA) American University (MA) |
Constance Morella (
Early life
She was born Constance Albanese in
Morella became a secondary school teacher in Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland from 1957 to 1961. She graduated from American University with an M.A. in 1967 and was an instructor there from 1968 to 1970, when she became a professor at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland. She continued to teach until 1985, when she left teaching to fully focus on her political career.
Political career
In 1971 Morella was appointed as a founding member to the Montgomery County Commission for Women, an advisory women's advocacy body, and she was elected its president in 1973. She became active in the League of Women Voters. In 1974, she ran for the Maryland House of Delegates from the 16th District (Bethesda), but did not win. She ran again in 1978, winning the seat and receiving more votes than the three previous incumbents. She was reelected for an additional term, before running for United States Congress.
Congressional career
In 1986, Morella ran for the open Congressional seat in Maryland's 8th congressional district. The district was being vacated by Democrat Michael Barnes, who was running for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. Morella's opponent in the general election was State Senator Stewart Bainum, a multimillionaire business executive who consistently outpolled her throughout most of the campaign.
A major turning point came when Morella unexpectedly won endorsements from The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post. She was the first woman to hold this seat. Although she was a Republican in an area that had become heavily Democratic, she proved highly popular among her constituents and won re-election seven times, serving until 2002.
Morella opposes her party's positions on
In 1996, Morella was one of only five Republicans to vote against the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act. In 1998, she was one of only three Republicans to vote against renaming the Washington National Airport the
Morella was U.S. representative to the 1994
Morella came under greater pressure after her party took control of the House in 1994 Congressional elections. Although she signed the
As a Republican representing an affluent Democratic district in an increasingly Democratic state, Morella faced a succession of increasingly strong Democratic challengers. While she managed to fend them all off, even in the big Democratic years of 1992, 1996, and 1998, the low popularity of the Republican-controlled Congress gradually undermined her. She tried to portray herself as giving her district a place at the table, but over time, Morella's Democratic opponents claimed that a vote for Morella was a vote to keep Tom DeLay and other Republicans unpopular to district voters in power.
Electoral challenges
The final redistricting plan was less ambitious but still made the already heavily Democratic 8th district even more Democratic. It restored a heavily Democratic spur of eastern Montgomery County removed in the 1990 redistricting and added nine precincts in
In 2013, Morella signed an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.[6]
Morella publicly endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the 2020 US Presidential election, over Republican incumbent Donald Trump.
Ambassador to the OECD
President
She was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on July 31 and sworn in on October 8 of that year, becoming the first former member of Congress to serve as ambassador to the OECD. She is an honorary board member of the National Organization of Italian American Women who declared Morella a Feminina Excelente.
She officially served as Ambassador from August 1, 2003 to August 6, 2007.
2020 Presidential Election
On August 24, 2020, Morella was one of 24 former Republican lawmakers to endorse Democratic nominee Joe Biden on the opening day of the Democratic National Convention.[8]
Awards and honors
Morella has received honorary doctorates from
Her numerous awards and recognitions include induction into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame,[9] the Ron Brown Standards Leadership Award, and public service awards from the American Medical Association, the American Bar Association, and the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights "for selfless and devoted service in the cause of equality." The Republic of Italy awarded her the Medal of the Legion of Merit. She received the Foremother Award by The National Center for Health Research in 2008.[10]
In 2013, she was awarded the Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for putting "energy and enthusiasm into growing the Congressional Study Group on Germany, which is the oldest and most active parliamentary exchange involving Congress and the legislative branch of another country" during her tenure as President of the United States Association of Former Members of Congress.[11]
In 2016, she was conferred with Imperial Decorations by the Japanese government. For her contributions to deepen the
On April 14, 2018, the Bethesda Library branch of the Montgomery County Public Libraries system was renamed the Connie Morella Library.[13]
Electoral history
Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1986
|
Stewart Bainum, Jr. | 82,825 | 47% | Constance A. Morella | 92,917 | 53% | ||||||||
1988
|
Peter Franchot | 102,478 | 37% | Constance A. Morella | 172,619 | 63% | ||||||||
1990
|
James Walker, Jr. | 39,343 | 17% | Constance A. Morella | 180,059 | 79% | Sidney Altman | Independent | 7,485 | 3% | ||||
1992
|
Edward J. Heffernan | 77,042 | 27% | Constance A. Morella | 203,377 | 73% | ||||||||
1994
|
Steven Van Grack | 60,660 | 30% | Constance A. Morella | 143,449 | 70% | ||||||||
1996
|
Donald Mooers | 96,229 | 39% | Constance A. Morella | 152,538 | 61% | * | |||||||
1998
|
Ralph G. Neas
|
87,497 | 40% | Constance A. Morella | 133,145 | 60% | ||||||||
2000
|
Terry Lierman | 136,840 | 46% | Constance A. Morella | 156,241 | 52% | Brian D. Saunders | Constitution | 7,017 | 2% | * | |||
2002
|
Chris Van Hollen | 112,788 | 52% | Constance A. Morella | 103,587 | 48% | Stephen Bassett | Unaffiliated | 1,599 | 1% |
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1996, write-ins received 379 votes. In 2000, Lih Young received 77 votes; write-ins received 275 votes; and Scott Walker received 19 votes.
See also
- Victor Kamkin Bookstore – a Rockville, Maryland bookstore which Morella sought to save from bankruptcy
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
References
- ^ "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 406" (XML). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
- ^ "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 391" (XML). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
- ^ "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 6" (XML). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
- ^ "MD8: State Senate President Says Morella is "Gone"". The Bulletin's Frontrunner. July 24, 2001. Archived from the original on November 24, 2002. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7432-9016-6.
- ^ Avlon, John (30 January 2017). "The Pro-Freedom Republicans Are Coming: 131 Sign Gay Marriage Brief". The Daily Beast.
- ^ "Office of the Historian". State.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
- ^ Cole, Devan (3 September 2020). "Here are the prominent Republicans backing Biden". CNN. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ Maryland Women's Hall of Fame, March 2005 induction ceremony program (Internet Archive copy)
- ^ "Foremother and Health Policy Hero Awards Luncheon". www.center4research.org. May 7, 2018.
- ^ Ambassador Ammon Presents Award to Ambassador Morella for Fostering Transatlantic Ties, germany.info (Internet Archive copy), Jul 5, 2013
- ^ https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000152721.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Libraries, Bethesda Library-Montgomery County Public (2018-04-11). "Connie Morella Library (Bethesda) - Montgomery County Public Libraries: A Fight to the Finish and What's In a Name?". Connie Morella Library (Bethesda) - Montgomery County Public Libraries. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Archived from the original on 2007-07-25. Retrieved 2008-01-10.