Robert Stafford

Robert Stafford
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
13th Attorney 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	Helen Kelley ​ (m. 1938)​
Children	4
Alma mater	Middlebury College (BA) University of Michigan Boston University (LLB)
Occupation	Politician lawyer
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy United States Navy Reserve
Years of service	1942–1971
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	World War II Korean War

Robert Theodore Stafford (August 8, 1913 – December 23, 2006) was an American

Stafford is best remembered for his staunch environmentalism, his work on higher education, and his support, as an elder statesman, for the 2000 Vermont law legalizing civil unions for gay couples.

Early life

Stafford was born in

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 a Republican and served as Rutland's grand juror (prosecutor in the municipal court) from 1938 to 1942.^[9]

World War II and Navy Reserve service

In 1942, Stafford joined the United States Navy Reserve for World War II and was commissioned as an ensign.^[9] Assigned to the Intelligence branch, he completed his initial training at Dartmouth College and at Fort Dix, New Jersey.^[9] He then carried out intelligence officer postings at the Navy Department in Washington, D.C., and at Navy bases on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.^[9]

Stafford later requested sea duty and served as senior watch officer aboard USS West Point, the Navy's largest troop transport ship.^[9] During his service aboard West Point, the ship made numerous voyages across the Atlantic to Europe and Africa. Stafford advanced to lieutenant 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 the Korean War era.^[10] He was assigned as gunnery officer aboard USS Mission Bay, a Reserve training ship berthed in Bayonne, New Jersey, and served until February 1953.^[11][12] He remained in the Navy Reserve after his second deployment and retired at the rank of captain in March 1971.^[13]

Continued career

Stafford served as

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]

U.S. Representative

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 Democrat William H. Meyer, who had broken the Republican Party's 100 year hold on statewide offices by winning election to Congress in 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 Act of 1964,^[15] and 1968,^[16] as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.^[17][18]

U.S. Senator

In September 1971, Stafford resigned his seat in the House to accept appointment to the Senate, temporarily filling the vacancy caused by the death of

While in Congress, he helped pass a law, now known as the

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]

Later life

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 the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator.^[21] As related by Chris Graff, longtime Vermont bureau chief for the Associated Press, McMullen's candidacy sustained an immediate blow when Graff interviewed Stafford about the January 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] The lede 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 a running joke among reporters and political operatives.^[22]

In the Republican primary, McMullen faced Fred Tuttle, a retired dairy farmer who had starred in a mock documentary film called Man with a Plan, a comedy about a retired farmer who decides to run for Vermont's seat in the United 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 a carpetbagger 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 populous Massachusetts, 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 incumbent Democratic Senator Patrick 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 allow civil 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 at Evergreen Cemetery in Rutland.^[29] His wife Helen Stafford died February 27, 2011, at the age of 93.^[30]

Legacy

In 1988, Congress renamed the Federal Guaranteed Student Loan program the

In 2007, Congress renamed the White Rocks National Recreation Area in the State of Vermont as the Robert T. Stafford White Rocks National Recreation Area.^[32]

See also

• List of members of the American Legion

References