Delaware's first and only female governor, Ruth Ann Minner, dies at 86

Ruth Ann Minner, Delaware's first and only female governor whose life was marked by her hardscrabble upbringing and trailblazing political success, has died at 86.

No cause of death was disclosed.

Minner was elected in 2000 as the state's first female governor after beginning work in state politics unconventionally in her early 30s.

Her improbable political career eventually led to four terms in the Delaware House of Representatives, another three in the Delaware Senate, and two as lieutenant governor. She was also the state's first female lieutenant governor.

For many, her name was last heard on one of the biggest nights in Delaware history: When President Joe Biden was elected a year ago and spoke outside at The Chase Center in Wilmington.

Biden gave her a shout-out during the globally viewed speech as he spotted her in the crowd.

"Hello, my fellow Americans. And the people who brought me to dance, Delawareans. I see my buddy Tom, Senator Carper down there and I think Senator Coons is there and I think the governor's around and – is that Ruth Ann? And former Governor Ruth Ann Minner."

President calls her a 'true pioneer'

As news of her death spread across the First State on Thursday, a flurry of tributes were released from both those who worked with Minner and those who followed in her footsteps.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden called her a "true pioneer" and "one of the most remarkable, inspiring public servants we’ve ever known."

"Governor Minner was living proof of the American dream," they said in a statement released by the White House. "We shared more than a home state; blessed with the bounty of love of family, we also shared the pain of burying pieces of our soul – spouses and children – and trying to find purpose in their memories.

"Our lives will be emptier without her, but our beloved Delaware is stronger because of her service, and our nation is stronger because of the power of her example."

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Minner, who was born near Slaughter Beach in Sussex County, had a life that could make a Hollywood screenwriter rush pick up their pen.

She dropped out of high school at 16 to help out on her family farm. At 32, she was widowed and was suddenly left to raise three sons on her own while working two jobs and earning her GED.

She later remarried and built a family towing business with her second husband, who died of lung cancer in 1991. A decade after his death, she would be sworn in as a history-making 72nd governor of the state.

As former Gov. Jack Markell told Delaware Online/The News Journal in an interview Thursday, "Once she was elected governor, it was just the beginning of her hard work. And that's a lesson all of us can take from her remarkable legacy."

From receptionist to glass ceiling breaker

Before that, her road to Woodburn was a winding one – one that would fit perfectly in that Hollywood script.

Her first jobs in politics were as a legislative aide in the General Assembly and as a receptionist for then-Gov. Sherman Tribbitt, the state's 67th governor. That's when the bug bit her and she began to carve out her own political career, elected first as a state representative in 1974.

After serving for eight years, she jumped to the Delaware Senate where she was a legislator from 1983 to 1993 when she was elected lieutenant governor. She served in that role for eight years.

Sen. Tom Carper, whose governor's seat was filled by Minner when he resigned to become a U.S. senator, echoed the mournful words of others who knew her as he traced her path to public service.

“Put simply: Ruth Ann Minner worked tirelessly. She was indefatigable, and she always sought to do the right thing. Voters in Delaware rewarded her for that and she rewarded them with years of service that we can all be proud of,” Carper said in a statement.

Gov. John Carney reflected on his time as Minner's lieutenant governor from 2001 until 2009.

"She was a leader who had a real common touch. Governor Minner focused on raising up the working families of our state because she knew what it meant to struggle," he said in a statement. "Having grown up poor in Slaughter Beach, she brought that perspective to her job every day, and she never lost her attachment to those roots."

Don't call her 'Ruthie'

The tributes to Minner were not exclusive to her side of the political aisle.

Former Rep. Wayne Smith, who served as majority leader of the Delaware House of Representatives as a Republican representing Brandywine Hundred during the majority of her term, remembered Minner as a deft legislator.

"I've always told people that I've worked with a lot of governors and I haven't seen any who were better than she working with the General Assembly. She really understood the rhythm of the place," said Smith, who now lives in Middletown.

In terms of her toughness, Smith laughed at a memory of Minner being interviewed by Charlie Gibson on "Good Morning America" in 2001 after her gubernatorial victory. She shut down a host who may have underestimated Minner, which Delaware politicos had already learned not to do long before.

"They said something like you have a high school education, grew up poor and were elected the first female governor of Delaware. Have you ever said to yourself, 'Ruthie, how did I do this?'" recalled Smith, who remembered Minner as a tenacious political opponent. "She looked him right in the eye and said something like, 'Well, first of all, no one calls me Ruthie.'"

Gibson apologized.

Minner 'did the right things'

U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester recalled a "simple code" that Minner often articulated: "For Ruth Ann Minner, farmer, gardener and daughter of a sharecropper, it is simply this: Work hard. Do the right thing. And leave things better than you found them." 

"Ruth Ann Minner worked hard," she added, "did the right things, and left things better than she found them." 

Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long called Minner one of the state's "great leaders."

“She was a role model to so many women in our state and her life story and political career was one of a kind," Hall-Long said in a statement. "From her grassroots down-to-earth upbringing, she put in place policies that continue to affect our families today."

And for her part, Attorney General Kathy Jennings focused on Minner's "dogged perseverance" given her modest upbringing and tracking her journey from the daughter of a sharecropper to the state's first female governor.

"It’s difficult for anyone to get by — let alone to get ahead — without independent wealth, an extensive family support network, or an elite education. Ruth Ann succeeded even though she lacked those privileges," Jennings said.

Delaware Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola, Majority Leader Bryan Townsend and Majority Whip Elizabeth Lockman also joined the wave of condolences.

In a lengthy statement, they also cited her life story as a catalyst for the number of women in the Senate Democratic Caucus today, noted her political accomplishments and the ways in which she changed Delaware's history. 

Markell, who served as state treasurer during Minner's two terms, remembered the woman he succeed as governor in 2009 as a pragmatic voice.

"Governor Minner always led with common sense," Markell said. "She was kind and, at the same time, knew exactly how to approach tough issues and could be tough herself when she needed to be."

Accomplishments and failures 

The passage of the Clean Indoor Air Act, which banned smoking in restaurants and bars starting in November 2002, was a landmark achievement. At the time, the push to make Delaware's indoor spaces smoke-free, including every smoky barroom in the state, was controversial and could have threatened her re-election chances.

She also signed the 2005 bill establishing the state's Student Excellence Equals Degree scholarship, making Delaware the first state in the country to offer two years of free college tuition to recent high school graduates. More than 13,000 Delaware students have accessed the SEED scholarship and attended college since.

Two years later, she signed a law abolishing the state's two-year statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits for victims of child sex abuse. It allowed for a wave of new lawsuits against the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, which filed for bankruptcy in 2009.

Minner also had her pitfalls, including a callous comment that Republicans used against her when she ran for a second term. The ads focused on a statement from Minner published in the Delaware State News about the July 2004 abduction and rape of a counselor at the now-James T. Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna. The newspaper quoted her as saying: "In prisons, you almost expect this to happen."

During her second term as governor, the U.S. Department of Justice found "substantial civil rights violations" inside Delaware's prisons. Federal officials reached a settlement with the Department of Correction after regulators identified a host of problems inside the prisons.

The state signed an 87-point agreement promising to correct the deficiencies and "meet generally accepted professional standards." The state was released from the agreement six years later after the improvements were made.

And there was also a sweetheart deal friends of Minner received. At Minner's request, state transportation officials arranged a favorable land deal in Milford for former liquor executive Christopher Tigani.

Tigani, a Minner friend, obtained a 66-year lease on 10.3 acres of publicly owned land for his family's liquor distribution business, N.K.S. Distributors Inc., in 2006 at the per-acre rate of $146 a month to start. When a neighboring homeowner complained, the state Department of Transportation gave him more than two acres next to the N.K.S. property for $1. DelDOT then approved an entrance to Del. 1 – long a limited-access highway – to serve both properties.

Some parting advice

To celebrate Minner's 85th birthday, she sat down at her home for an interview with the Delaware House Democratic Caucus podcast Whip Count, which was posted in early 2020.

Considering her history-making history, she was asked what advice she had for young women.

"Don't tell me who is holding you back," she said, bluntly. "There is only one person who can hold you back and that's you. If you're willing to work and put in the time and the energy, you can accomplish anything you want to and there's nobody out there to stop you.

"Just imagine if I had said, 'Woe is me. I'm a widow with three kids with nowhere to go, no job and no education.' I could still be back there saying, 'Woe is me.'"

Meredith Newman contributed to this report. Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormierdelawareonline) and Twitter (@ryancormier). Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3. Contact Brittany Horn at (302) 324-2771 or bhorn@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @brittanyhorn.