Marigene Valiquette | |
---|---|
Member of the Ohio Senate from the 11th district | |
In office January 14, 1969 - December 31, 1986 | |
Preceded by | Frank W. King |
Succeeded by | Linda J. Furney |
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 79th district | |
In office January 3, 1963 - January 14, 1969 | |
Preceded by | None (First) |
Succeeded by | Arthur Wilkowski |
Personal details | |
Born | 1924 (age 99–100) |
Political party | Democratic |
Marigene Gertrude Valiquette (born 1924) is a former member of the Ohio General Assembly.[1] She served 24 consecutive years in the state legislature, first as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, beginning in 1963, and subsequently as a member of the Ohio State Senate, from 1969 until 1986.[2]
During her third year of law school at the University of Toledo, Valiquette became a law clerk for Judge Geraldine Macelwane in 1959 after an unsuccessful run for city council.[3]
For most of her 18 years as a state senator, Valiquette was the only female senator in office.[1][2] She became chair of the Judiciary Committee in 1971; later she chaired the Ethics Committee.[2] During a period in the 1980s when the Democratic Party was in the majority, she was a ranking member on both the Finance and the Rules Committee.[2]
In the early 1970s, as a state senator, Valiquette advocated strongly for Ohio's passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA),[2][4] the proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that aimed to guarantee equal rights for women; in February 1974 Ohio became the 33rd state to ratify the ERA.[4]
In 1985 and 1986, Valiquette was absent from the Ohio Senate for a number of months which ended her career. The absences were attributed to family deaths and financial issues.[5]
In 1978, she was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame.[6]