Shaheen chairs Kerry campaign
N.H. ex-governor says candidate can defeat Bush
MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Former New Hampshire governor Jeanne Shaheen, ending nine months of political inactivity, announced yesterday that she has endorsed Senator John F. Kerry for president and accepted the title of national chairwoman of his campaign.
Shaheen joins a group of prominent women who have announced their support for Kerry in the past week, including Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and retired Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, the first woman to achieve that rank in the US Army. Although Kerry has focused his campaign on national security, the Massachusetts Democrat has also talked about issues traditionally important to women, such as schools and early-childhood programs.
In 1996, Shaheen, 56, became the first woman and the first Democrat in 16 years to be elected governor of New Hampshire. She served three terms, but left office in January after losing a race for US Senate against John E. Sununu, a Republican. Since then, she has been teaching at Harvard and Tufts universities.
"I know you missed me over the last nine months," the former governor joked to reporters she was seeing for the first time since departing the State House. "But now vacation's over. The stakes are too great in next year's presidential election for me or for anyone who cares about this country to stay on the sidelines. . . .
"John Kerry is the only Democratic candidate with the combination of experience and leadership on national security, who has had a lifetime of fighting for issues critical to Democrats, who I believe is going to beat George Bush and take this country in a new direction."
Most of the 10 Democratic candidates had sought Shaheen's support, but Kerry was considered to have the inside track after her husband, Dover lawyer William Shaheen, signed on as chairman of the Kerry campaign in New Hampshire. The former governor had avoided politics while teaching, and she had been expected to maintain her independence into the fall because she was scheduled to moderate four candidate forums next month.
Instead, Shaheen's endorsement was announced the same day that the leader in recent polls in New Hampshire, former Vermont governor Howard Dean, traveled to Boston for a rally on Kerry's turf. Republicans also hoped to capture the spotlight in the region with an appearance last night by Vice President Dick Cheney at a Manchester fund-raiser.Shaheen was on Al Gore's short list for running mates in 2000, and her work to resolve the state's inequities in school financing matches with Kerry's education proposals. Aides said that Kerry had long wanted Shaheen to be his national campaign chairwoman.
Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com.
