Mark MacDonald (Vermont politician)
Mark MacDonald | |
---|---|
Member of the Vermont Senate from the Orange County[1] district | |
In office January 2003 – January 2025 | |
Preceded by | William Corrow |
Succeeded by | Larry Hart |
In office January 1997 – January 2001 | |
Preceded by | Stephen W. Webster |
Succeeded by | William Corrow |
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from the Orange-2 district | |
In office July 1983 – January 1995 | |
Preceded by | Barbara MacDonald |
Succeeded by | Marion Milne Philip C. Winters (2 member district) |
Personal details | |
Born | Middletown, Connecticut | December 18, 1942
Nationality | American |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Roberta |
Children | 3 |
Residence | Williamstown, Vermont |
Alma mater | Clark University Norwich University |
Profession | Teacher, Farmer |
Mark A. MacDonald (born December 18, 1942) is a Vermont educator, farmer, and Democratic Party politician who served several terms in both the Vermont House of Representatives and Vermont Senate.
Biography
[edit]Mark Alexander MacDonald was born in Middletown, Connecticut on December 18, 1942.[1][2] His father was Donald Gordon MacDonald, a longtime official with the Agency for International Development who directed AID's activities in Vietnam during the peak of the Vietnam War, and his mother was Barbara (McCloskey) MacDonald, a teacher, farmer and member of the Vermont House of Representatives.[3][4] MacDonald's family spent summers in Vermont beginning in 1947, and MacDonald became a permanent resident of Vermont in 1974.[1] He is a longtime resident of Williamstown.[1]
MacDonald was educated in New Jersey and Washington, DC, and graduated from Washington's Woodrow Wilson High School.[1][5] In 1966, he graduated from the Borough of Manhattan Community College with an associate degree in liberal arts.[6] MacDonald served in the United States Army from 1968 to 1970, including eighteen months of Vietnam War service.[1]
In 1972, MacDonald received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government & International Relations from Clark University; he then attended Norwich University to obtain his certification as a school teacher.[1][5] In addition to teaching social studies at Randolph Union High School, MacDonald owned and operated a working cattle farm.[4][7]
MacDonald is a member of several clubs, civic organizations, and advocacy groups, including: Orange Southwest Teachers Association; Vermont Beef Producers Association; Orange County Farm Bureau; American Legion; Vietnam Veterans of America; and Chelsea Fish and Game Club.[1] From 1984 to 1994, he served on the Williamstown Planning Commission.[1]
In 1983, MacDonald was appointed to the Vermont House of Representatives to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his mother, who was serving her first term.[4] He was reelected five times, and served from July 1983 to January 1995.[1] In 1994 he was the Democratic nominee for the Orange County seat in the Vermont Senate, and was defeated by the Republican incumbent, Stephen W. Webster.[7]
In 1996, MacDonald defeated Webster for the Senate seat; he served two terms, January 1997 to January 2001.[1][7] In 2000, MacDonald was defeated by Republican William Corrow, a defeat attributed largely to backlash following MacDonald's support for Vermont's Civil Unions law.[8] In their 2002 rematch, MacDonald defeated Corrow.[9] He was reelected every two years since, and has served since January 2003.[1] In four more elections—1998, 2006, 2010, and 2016—MacDonald defeated Webster.[7]
In 2017, MacDonald was elected as the Senate's assistant majority leader.[10] According to press reports, he agreed to serve in this post with second-term Senator Becca Balint in the majority leader's position as a means of bridging the gap between the Senate's newer, younger members and its "old guard" veterans.[10] In 2021, he was succeeded as Whip by Cheryl Hooker.[11]
As of 2017, MacDonald was chairman of the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules.[1] He is also vice chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and a member of the Natural Resources and Energy, Rules, and Joint Energy Committees.[1]
Family
[edit]In 1983, MacDonald was married to Roberta June Pilk.[2][5] They are the parents of three children, daughters Janet and Rustie, and son Max (Mark Jr.); they also cared for several foster children.[5][12][13]
Electoral history
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 3,558 | 46.8 | |
Republican | Stephen W. Webster | 4,047 | 53.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 4,576 | 50.8 | |
Republican | Stephen W. Webster | 4,403 | 48.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 4,217 | 52.7 | |
Republican | Stephen W. Webster | 3,572 | 45.0 | |
Libertarian | Scott Berkey | 204 | 2.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 4,902 | 46.2 | |
Republican | William Corrow | 5,215 | 49.1 | |
Libertarian | Scott Berkey | 487 | 4.6 |
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 1,047 | 97.6 | |
General election | ||||
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 4,290 | 52.7 | |
Republican | William Corrow | 3,844 | 47.2 |
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 895 | 98.9 | |
General election | ||||
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 5,979 | 58.2 | |
Republican | Brian Kenyon | 4,284 | 41.7 |
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 1,345 | 97.9 | |
General election | ||||
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 5,485 | 61.9 | |
Republican | Stephen W. Webster | 3,371 | 38.1 |
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 557 | 98.9 | |
General election | ||||
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 7,397 | 73.2 | |
Constitution | Charlie Russell | 2,691 | 26.6 |
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 2,203 | 96.4 | |
General election | ||||
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 4,524 | 56.1 | |
Republican | Stephen W. Webster | 3,517 | 43.7 |
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 1,708 | 71.7 | |
Democratic | Tig Tillinghast | 671 | 28.2 | |
General election | ||||
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 7,618 | 96.0 |
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 939 | 97.0 | |
General election | ||||
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 3,797 | 54.2 | |
Republican | Robert C. Frenier | 3,200 | 45.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 5,723 | 54.0 | |
Republican | Stephen W. Webster | 4,409 | 41.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 5,167 | 57.3 | |
Republican | Bill T. Huff | 4,409 | 41.6 | |
Write-in | 11 | 0.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mark A. MacDonald | 6,420 | 54.5 | |
Republican | Bill T. Huff | 5,321 | 45.2 | |
Write-in | 33 | 0.3 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Biography, Senator Mark A. MacDonald".
- ^ a b "Virginia Marriage Records".
- ^ "Obituary, AID Official Donald MacDonald".
- ^ a b c "Son to Complete Mom's House Term".
- ^ a b c d Vermont Legislative Directory and State Manual 1989.
- ^ "BMCC was 'a second chance'".
- ^ a b c d "Orange County Senate Seat Rivals Face Off for Sixth Time".
- ^ "Corrow Enjoys Narrow Victory".
- ^ "Legislature: Democrats Make Gains".
- ^ a b "Senate Democrats Elect Becca Balint as Majority Leader".
- ^ "In Coming Session, Women Will Dominate Vermont Senate Leadership".
- ^ "MacDonald Cites ‘Results’ In Reëlection Campaign".
- ^ Vermont Legislative Directory and State Manual 1997.
Sources
[edit]Internet
[edit]- Secretary of the Vermont Senate. "Biography, Senator Mark A. MacDonald". Vermont State Senate. Montpelier, VT: Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- "Virginia Marriage Records, 1936-2014, entry for Mark Alexander MacDonald". Ancestry.com. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, LLC. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
Newspapers
[edit]- "Son to Complete Mom's House Term". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. Associated Press. July 2, 1983. p. 16.
- "MacDonald Cites 'Results' In Reëlection Campaign". Randolph Herald. Randolph, VT. August 3, 2000.
- "Corrow Enjoys Narrow Victory". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. November 8, 2000. p. 12.
- "Legislature: Democrats Make Gains". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. November 6, 2002. p. 8.
- Barnes, Bart (January 15, 2004). "Obituary, AID Official Donald MacDonald". Washington Post. Washington, DC.
- "BMCC was 'a second chance'". BMCC News. New York, NY. April 24, 2012.
- Doyle-Burr, Nora (October 19, 2016). "Orange County Senate Seat Rivals Face Off for Sixth Time". Valley News. West Lebanon, NH.
- Walters, John (January 4, 2017). "Senate Democrats Elect Becca Balint as Majority Leader". Seven Days. Burlington, VT.
- McCallum, Kevin (November 22, 2020). "In Coming Session, Women Will Dominate Vermont Senate Leadership". Vermont Seven Days. Burlington, VT.
Books
[edit]- Vermont Legislative Directory and State Manual. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Secretary of State. 1989. p. 561.
- Vermont Legislative Directory and State Manual. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Secretary of State. 1997. p. 162.
- 1942 births
- Living people
- Politicians from Middletown, Connecticut
- People from Williamstown, Vermont
- United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War
- Clark University alumni
- Schoolteachers from Vermont
- Farmers from Vermont
- 21st-century members of the Vermont General Assembly
- Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives
- Democratic Party Vermont state senators
- United States Army soldiers
- 20th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly