Jean Miles Westwood (November 22, 1923 – August 18, 1997) was a political figure born in

Price, Utah Price is a city in the U.S. state of Utah and the county seat of Carbon County. The city is home to Utah State University Eastern, as well as the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum. Price is located within short distances of both Nine Mile Canyon and ...

. Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern appointed Westwood as the first female chair of the Democratic National Committee on July 14, 1972. Between 1976 and 1988, Westwood worked for the presidential campaigns of

Terry Sanford James Terry Sanford (August 20, 1917April 18, 1998) was an American lawyer and politician from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford served as the 65th Governor of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965, was a two-time U.S. pr ...

Edward Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

, Gary Hart, and

Bruce Babbitt The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has be ...

. Born Jean Miles, she married Richard E. Westwood in 1941. They started a mink farm together in 1951. Westwood was one of McGovern's advisors who recommended dropping

Thomas F. Eagleton Thomas Francis Eagleton (September 4, 1929 – March 4, 2007) was an American lawyer serving as a United States senator from Missouri, from 1968 to 1987. He was briefly the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972. He ...

from the ticket.''New York Times'', Aug. 23, 1997

Sources

Utah history encyclopedia article on Westwood
1923 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American politicians Democratic National Committee chairs People from Price, Utah San Diego State University alumni University of Colorado alumni University of Utah alumni Utah Democrats Utah State University alumni Women in Utah politics {{Utah-politician-stub