Trailblazing Jewish Democrat #14: Paul Wellstone

Jason Attermann — May 19, 2011 – 2:05 pm | Jewish American Heritage Month 2011 Comments (0) Add a comment

Paul Wellstone was a Political Science Professor and U.S. Senator from Minnesota for 2 terms. He passed away in a tragic accident while campaigning for a third term.

Paul Wellstone was born on July 21, 1944 in Washington, D.C. He received his Bachelor’s degree in 1965 and his Ph.D in 1969 from University of North Carolina (UNC), both in political science. While at UNC, Wellstone won the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship in wrestling.

At 24 years old, Wellstone began teaching at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota in 1969. As a professor, he got involved in grassroots activism on campus and in the community. He inspired many of his students to continue careers in politics and community organizing. In 1982, he ran for state auditor but lost to the incumbent. He served as the Director of the Minnesota Community Energy Program from 1983 until 1984. In 1988, he helped organize Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign in Minnesota.

In 1990, Wellstone challenged the incumbent Jewish Republican Senator Rudy Boschwitz. This marked the first time in history that two Jewish candidates ran against each other in a Senate race. His campaign had little money and relied heavily on volunteer staff. He successfully unseated Boschwitz in one of the most surprising upsets that election season. He again defeated Boschwitz in a re-match in 1996.

While in the Senate, Wellstone worked to improve important areas including health care reform, environmental preservation, veterans’ affairs and mental health support. He also passed legislation limiting the influence of special interest groups and lobbyists. He voted against U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and the Iraq War in 2002. Wellstone ran for a third term in 2002, and was heavily targeted by the Republican Party for his progressive policies and opposition to the Iraq War.

On October 25, 2002, while on the campaign trail, Wellstone’s airplane crashed in northern Minnesota. All of the passengers, including his wife, daughter Marcia, pilots and campaign staffers were killed in the crash. Former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, and more than half of the Senate attended his memorial service.

The Wellstone Action organization was formed in January 2003 to “honor the legacy of Paul and Sheila Wellstone by continuing their work through training, educating, mobilizing and organizing a vast network of progressive individuals and organizations.” The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) created the AFL-CIO Senator Paul Wellstone Award to “honor elected leaders who take a strong stand for workers’ freedom to come together in unions and who fight for social and economic justice.” The inaugural recipients were Governor Howard Dean and State Senator John Burton (D-CA). At UNC at Chapel Hill, the university dedicated a memorial garden in the couple’s honor. The Department of Political Science created a Paul and Sheila Wellstone Memorial Fund, which grants funds to graduate students working to become undergraduate teachers.

Thanks to efforts by former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and David Wellstone, Congress passed the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. The bill mandates that health insurance companies must provide equal coverage for certain psychological disorders and alcohol and drug addictions.

Wellstone married Sheila Ison in 1963. They had three children, and are survived by their two sons.

More about Wellstone can be read in the book Jews in American Politics, which was edited by L. Sandy Maisel and Ira N. Forman.

 

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