Eunice Groark
Eunice Barnard Strong Groark (February 1, 1938 – May 8, 2018)[1] was an American politician who became the first elected female lieutenant governor of Connecticut in 1990.[2] Groark ran on a ticket with Lowell Weicker. They were both members of A Connecticut Party. The Weicker/Groark ticket won with 41 percent of the vote.
Eunice Groark | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 104th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut | |
| In office January 9, 1991 – January 4, 1995 | |
| Governor | Lowell Weicker |
| Preceded by | Joseph Fauliso |
| Succeeded by | Jodi Rell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Eunice Barnard Strong February 1, 1938 Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | May 8, 2018 (aged 80) Bloomfield, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican (before 1990, 1995–2018) A Connecticut Party (1990–1995) |
| Alma mater | Bryn Mawr College University of Connecticut, Hartford |
Biography
Prior to her election as the 104th Lieutenant Governor, Groark served as Corporation Counsel of the City of Hartford from 1987 to 1990. Before that, she was a Republican member of Hartford's City Council.
When Groark was six, she was trapped in the 1944 Hartford Circus Fire which killed 168 people. Groark, who narrowly escaped with her life, said, even 60 years later, she still could not be in large crowds.[3]
In 1991, Governor Weicker introduced a controversial plan to balance the state budget by implementing an "earned income" tax. When the vote on the plan was tied 18–18 in the state Senate, Groark, as President of the Senate, cast the tie-breaking vote in favor. Groark also broke a Senate tie on the assault-weapons ban proposed by Governor Weicker.
In 1994, Weicker retired from public office and endorsed Groark for governor on the ACP line, against former Republican congressman John G. Rowland and Democratic state Comptroller Bill Curry. Conservative talk-radio host and former state senator Tom Scott also ran as an independent. Groark picked Commissioner of Social Services Audrey Rowe as her running mate. In Connecticut, the incumbent governor's party is listed on top of the ballot. Despite being far outspent by her rivals, Groark won nearly, but not quite, 20 percent of the vote in a five-way race. Rowland won with 36 percent. Democrat Curry came in second with 33% while anti-income tax, independent-conservative Tom Scott came in fourth with 11%. Another third-party candidate came in last with 1 percent.
Because Groark failed to gain 20 percent of the vote to retain major party status for the ACP, its influence ended in Connecticut politics. Some Democrats, Curry among them,[4] blamed Groark for siphoning votes from Curry and throwing the election to Rowland. On the other end of the spectrum, Jonathan Pelto, a former political director of the Connecticut Democratic Party, told The New York Times that had Scott not been on the ballot, it would have been a landslide victory for Rowland.[5] She died in Bloomfield, Connecticut on May 8, 2018.[6]
References
- Election 1994
- "SOTS: Governors & Lieutenant Governors". State of Connecticut. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
- AllHeadlinesNews Archived November 5, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2001-08-26-0108260037-story.html
- https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/10/nyregion/1994-elections-connecticut-governor-now-comes-hardest-part-repealing-that.html
- http://www.courant.com/obituaries/hc-obituary-eunice-groark-20180511-story.html
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lowell Weicker |
A Connecticut Party nominee for Governor of Connecticut 1994 |
Succeeded by None |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Joseph Fauliso |
Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut 1991–1995 |
Succeeded by Jodi Rell |