Skip to content

Today’s Trivia: Who was the first woman Vice Presidential candidate representing a major American political party?

  • by

By Mirella Flores

Today is March 1, 2016, which means it is officially Women’s History Month!! The national theme for this year is “Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government.” As such, we kick-off our 2016 Women’s History Month Trivia by recognizing Geraldine Ferraro.

http://web.archive.org/web/20040930112720/http://bioguide.congress.gov/bioguide/photo/F/F000088.jpg
Public Domain image of Geraldine Ferraro from http://bioguide.congress.gov/

Geraldine Ferraro began her public service career as an assistant district attorney in Queens County, New York. While in this position, Ferraro created the Special Victims Bureau. This bureau was in charge of persecuting a variety of cases ranging from crimes against children and the elderly to sexual offenses and intimate partner abuse.

In 1978, Ferraro ran and was elected as State Representative for New York. During her three terms in office, Ferraro advocated for women’s right by urging the passage of the Equal Rights Amendments. She was also one of the few women in Congress at the time. Ferraro also served on several committees, some of them including the Public Works Committee and the Budget Committee.

Ferraro was also highly involved with the Democratic Party. As the Secretary of the Democratic Caucus, Ferraro was a part of planning the party’s future direction and policies. Ferraro was further recognized by becoming the Chair of the Democratic Party Platform Committee for its 1984 national convention. This sounds like a big deal because it is!

Ferraro’s accomplishments were further recognized when she was chosen to be the running mate for Walter Mondale, the 1984 Democratic presidential candidate. Ferraro made history as she became the first woman to receive the vice presidential nomination from one of the country’s major parties.

As history has it, Mondale and Ferraro did not will the election. Ferarro wrote a memoir, Ferraro: My Story, which covers her experience as the first and only woman nominated by a major party to run on the presidential ticket. Her book touches on the collective political power and the difference women office holders can and do make to public policy. It would make a great read for Women’s History Month!