Mary Valentine (born December 30, 1946) is a politician from the

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 so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. She is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

and former member of the

Michigan State House of Representatives Michigan ( ) is a peninsular state in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, Indiana and Illinois to the southwest, Ohio ...

. She represented the 91st State House District, which includes most of

Muskegon County Muskegon County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the population was 175,824. The county seat is Muskegon. Muskegon County comprises the Muskegon, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Grand R ...

, except for the city of

Muskegon Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

and surrounding areas. It also includes a small portion of Ottawa County. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

she ran for the state senate, but was defeated in a landslide by her Republican opponent.

Early life

Mary Valentine was born in

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

and grew up in Bay City. She received a bachelor's degree from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

in speech therapy and a master's degree from

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designa ...

in education. She spent over thirty years working as a Speech Pathologist in the Muskegon area Public Schools until retiring in 2006 to run for the State House.

Political career

Valentine officially started her campaign for the Michigan House of Representatives in June 2006. She was unopposed in the Democratic Party primary election. In the general election, she faced incumbent Representative David Farhat. Farhat was a two-term incumbent who had faced tough elections in the past. The 91st district is a mostly urban district and is one of the most competitive in the State. Valentine won the election by a margin of 56-44 to gain her first elective office. In the House, she was the vice-chair of the Education Committee. She also served on the Commerce, Great Lakes and Environment, Health Policy, and Retiree Health Care Reforms Committees. In

she was a candidate for the open 34th State Senate seat, which was being vacated by Republican

Gerald Van Woerkom Gerald Van Woerkom was a Republican member of both houses of the Michigan Legislature between 1999 and 2010. Born April 3, 1947 in Grand Haven, Van Woerkom received his bachelor's degree in world history from Calvin College and a master's degre ...

. Because of this, Valentine did not seek a third term in the State House of Representatives. She went on to lose the state senate election in a landslide to

Goeff Hansen Goeffrey M. Hansen (born September 26, 1959) is an American Republican politician from Michigan who previously served in the Michigan Senate, having served three terms in the Michigan House of Representatives. Prior to his election to the legi ...

and her house seat fell to the Republicans as well.

Personal

Valentine lives in Norton Shores with her husband Phil, to whom she has been married for 28 years. She has two children Robin and Shawn Valentine. She is involved with her church and has taught Sunday School for the past 16 years.

References

External links

Valentine's Official WebsiteValentine's House Democrat's WebsiteValentine's Campaign Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valentine, Mary 1946 births Living people Central Michigan University alumni Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Northern Michigan University alumni Politicians from Flint, Michigan Women state legislators in Michigan People from Bay City, Michigan People from Muskegon County, Michigan 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Michigan Legislature