Christine Hallquist (born April 11, 1956) is an American politician and former CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC). She is the first openly transgender major-party nominee for governor in the United States, winning the 2018 Democratic nomination for Governor of Vermont with over 40% of the vote. Hallquist worked at VEC from 1998 to 2018, the last 13 years as CEO, until she resigned to run for governor. Drawing national attention as a pioneering example of a CEO transitioning while in office, her transition was documented by her son in a documentary, ''Denial.''

Early life and education

Hallquist grew up in Baldwinsville, New York as one of seven children and later attended Catholic elementary school. She had a difficult time in school and in the 8th grade, a school official called her parents to say that she needed an

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...

. Her parents immediately disagreed with school officials and pulled her out of the school. She attended public high school and later the Mohawk Valley Community College in

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

. At the age of 20, Hallquist moved to Vermont. She started as an engineer at

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

and then enrolled in a training program at the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the Public university, public university system of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell ...

to become an electrical engineer.

Career

After beginning her professional life at IBM, Hallquist took a job at

Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president until ...

. There she joined a training program at the

to become an electrical engineer and worked with Digital to create low-cost power supplies quickly using

lean manufacturing Lean manufacturing is a methods of production, method of manufacturing goods aimed primarily at reducing times within the Operations management#Production systems, production system as well as response times from suppliers and customers. It is ...

. Hallquist accepted an early buyout from Digital and moved back to Vermont to become the CEO of a small electronics company in Barre, Vermont, then founded a consulting firm that worked with such companies as

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...

, Miller Beer, and

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

. She started at VEC as engineering and operations manager in 2000, shortly after its recovery from bankruptcy. In July 2021 Governor Phil Scott appointed her as executive director of the newly-established Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB).

Gubernatorial campaign

Hallquist announced her 2018 gubernatorial campaign in

Morrisville, Vermont Morrisville is a village (Vermont), village in the town of Morristown, Vermont, Morristown, Lamoille County, Vermont, Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the village population was 2,086. Mor ...

on April 8, and said, "I truly believe Vermont is ready to elect a transgender governor because I don't think Vermonters are going to look at that." Hallquist ran on a platform of increased broadband access, universal Medicare and aggressive action against

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. In an August 22, 2018 interview with the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, Hallquist reported she had been getting

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...

s and personal attacks from all over the United States and around the world. The threats caused Hallquist to alter campaign appearances and decide not to publicize the address of her Morrisville campaign headquarters. On September 17, 2018, ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

'' rated the race as "Lean Republican", one step away from a tossup. On November 6, 2018, Hallquist lost the election to Republican candidate and

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Phil Scott Philip Brian Scott (born August 4, 1958) is an American politician, businessman, and Stock car racing, stock car racer who has been the List of governors of Vermont, 82nd governor of Vermont since 2017. A member of the Republican Party (United S ...

Personal life

Hallquist lives in Hyde Park, Vermont, with her wife, Pat. They have three adult children and two grandchildren. She confided to her wife that she was transgender early in their marriage and opened up to her children in the 2000s. She publicly transitioned in 2015. Although her mother accepted the transition, Hallquist's relationship with some of her friends and siblings deteriorated. Hallquist later commented that the transition was much easier than expected and that her relationship with her wife and children remains strong. In April 2020, Hallquist tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

References

External links

Campaign website

''Denial'' movie website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallquist, Christine 1956 births 21st-century American women politicians American chief executives of energy companies American electrical engineers American women chief executives Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Engineers from New York (state) LGBTQ people from Vermont American transgender politicians American transgender women Living people People from Baldwinsville, New York Transgender women politicians Vermont Democrats 21st-century American LGBTQ people