Mary Sue Terry (born September 28, 1947) is an American Democratic

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

Early life

Terry was born the daughter of Nathaniel Chatham Terry and Nannie Ruth Terry in

Martinsville, Virginia Martinsville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,485. A community of both Southside and Southwest Virginia, it is the county seat of Henry County, althou ...

. She was an active and enthusiastic Democrat as a child. She was graduated from Hardin-Reynolds Memorial School in Critz, Virginia in 1965. She earned a BA in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

from the University of Richmond's

Westhampton College The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

in 1969,

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in government (1970) and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

(1973) degrees from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

and its

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

Early career

Terry was a member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

(1978–1986) and assistant

Commonwealth's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a lo ...

Patrick County, Virginia Patrick County is a county located on the central southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,608. Its county seat is Stuart. It is located within both the rolling hills and valleys of the ...

1973–1977. She successfully argued eight cases before the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...

. She successfully negotiated a nationwide recall of 13,000 defective

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to med ...

s and led a successful investigation and prosecution of individuals and corporations associated with

Lyndon LaRouche Lyndon Hermyle LaRouche Jr. (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2019) was an American political activist who founded the LaRouche movement and its main organization the National Caucus of Labor Committees (NCLC). He was a prominent conspira ...

. From 1990 to 1991 Terry was president of the National Association of Attorneys General and in 1992 she received the Wyman Award, which is the association's highest honor. The Commonwealth of Virginia's courts did not allow prisoners to bring new exculpatory evidence more than three weeks after sentencing. Attorney General Terry once said that "Evidence of innocence is irrelevant."

Attorney general

She was elected

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in 1985 and reelected in 1989, becoming the first woman elected to statewide office in Virginia, the second woman to serve as attorney general of any

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

, and the first non-federal elected official in Virginia to garner more than one million votes in a single election. In 1989, she considered running for governor, but deferred to her fellow Democrat, then-

Lieutenant Governor of Virginia The lieutenant governor of Virginia is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The lieutenant governor is elected every four years along with the governor and attorney general. The office is currently held by Winsome Earle ...

L. Douglas Wilder Lawrence Douglas Wilder (born January 17, 1931) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 66th Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. He was the first African American to serve as governor of a U.S. state since the Reconstruction ...

, who became the first elected

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of any

Candidate for governor

She was

Attorney General of Virginia The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no te ...

from 1986 until 1993, when she resigned to run for

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

against

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

George Allen George Allen may refer to: Politics and law * George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team * George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...

. Allen won the November 1993 election despite Terry's early and significant lead. Her unpopular gun-control stance alienated her

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are de ...

base

voter Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holde ...

s. Her campaign was "lacklustre", and the religious right was a factor even though Michael Farris lost his bid to be

. Her opponents also pointed out that she was

unmarried Civil status, or marital status, are the distinct options that describe a person's relationship with a significant other. '' Married'', '' single'', ''divorced'', and ''widowed'' are examples of civil status. ''Civil status'' and ''marital stat ...

, and perhaps less empathetic on family issues.

Life after candidacy

Following her defeat, Terry was a visiting professor at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

's Jepson School of Leadership Studies. She served on the

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit org ...

at the University of Richmond from 1983 to 1991. In 2007, Terry was consulting for

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...

and nearby

Ferrum College , mottoeng = Not Self, But Others , established = , type = Private college , president = David L. Johns , city = Ferrum, Virginia , country = U.S. , c ...

while living on her family farm in

. Since 1978, she has been a partner in Terry & Rogers, and a partner in the B.H. Cooper Farm, Inc., both in Stuart. In 2008, with Susan Platt and others, she formed "The Farm Team", a

PAC Pac or PAC may refer to: Military * Rapid Deployment Force (Malaysia), an armed forces unit * Patriot Advanced Capability, of the MIM-104 Patriot missile * Civil Defense Patrols (''Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil''), Guatemalan militia and paramil ...

to "help Democratic women seek elected office." In the last quarter of 2008 they raised $6696 and contributed $4000, including $1000 to

Sharon Bulova Sharon Schuster Bulova is an American politician who was chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in Virginia. A Democrat, she was first elected chairman in a special election on February 3, 2009. Bulova was reelected in 2011 and a ...

's 2009 election campaign for Chairman of the

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agen ...

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D. ...

. Miss Terry was featured speaker at a breakfast

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

planned in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

7 February 2009, in connection with Jefferson-Jackson Day. That event was connected to a reception at the Governor's mansion, later canceled because Virginia law prohibits

political fundraising Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political act ...

by state officials while the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

is in session. Democratic party officials argued the event did not violate that ban, because money had been collected before the session.

Awards and memberships

*Service to Youth award,

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, 1981 *Distinguished Alumna award University of Richmond, 1984 *Patrick County-Stuart Chamber of Commerce (charter president and president, 1974–76) *West Piedmont Planning District Crime Commission (1974–77) *

Ferrum College , mottoeng = Not Self, But Others , established = , type = Private college , president = David L. Johns , city = Ferrum, Virginia , country = U.S. , c ...

(President's board of advisors, 1978–83) *West Piedmont Health Planning Council (1975–77) *

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

*Virginia State Bar *Virginia Trial Lawyers Association *

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University i ...

(1980) *University of Richmond (board of trustees) *Patrick Henry Mental Health Center (board of directors, 1975–77) *Virginia YMCA (board of directors) *First National Bank of Stuart (

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit orga ...

, chairman) *

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and ...

Virginia Women in History Virginia Women in History was an annual program sponsored by the Library of Virginia that honored Virginia women, living and dead, for their contributions to their community, region, state, and nation. The program began in 2000 under the aegis of th ...

(2009)

References

External links

Historical Bio for Mary Sue Terry (Virginia House of Delegates) Session 1985Historical Bio for Mary Sue Terry (Virginia House of Delegates) Session 1980Terry's profile
at the

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Terry, Mary Sue 1947 births Baptists from Virginia Living people Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Martinsville, Virginia People from Patrick County, Virginia Westhampton College alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia Attorneys General Women state legislators in Virginia Candidates in the 1993 United States elections